1) Family Self-portrait.

You can do this! You all need to scrunch together. And then get a little closer. It’s fun when everyone’s heads touch. Whoever has the longest arm gets to hold the camera. Take several shots in a row. Hold steady! Practice makes perfect. This is a great skill to have and will yield that most coveted and elusive image: the family (all of you!) out and about or just at home having fun. It doesn’t matter if someone’s eye gets cut out. We get the picture. And you will enjoy the memory.

No one ever photographs me and my son. (My husband would rather have his teeth pulled out. Although he does relent for birthdays and other special occasions.) So just to make sure that when he grows up he remembers that I was part of the family, I take pictures of us every now and then.

I use a Canon Powershot S90. I throw it in my purse. It comes to the beach with me in a Ziploc bag. It sometimes gets a little sand in it and I’ve been known to drop it, but it’s better to have a beaten up camera and fun family memories than a perfect camera that gets lonely sitting in a drawer at home. If an extra camera is too much to carry, familiarize yourself with your phone’s camera and how it will perform under different lighting conditions and distances from your face.