3 months, 3 months.

Dear Jack,

Something I’m not good at is remembering to take videos of you.

However, I probably make up for it in the number of pictures I take of you each week.

Not only do I feel responsible to archive your life in letters, but I also feel the same way about the pictures I take to accompany those letters.

I have a big flashdrive which contains the story of your life, in pictures, going all the way back to the day you were born in November 2010.

While there are several thousands of pictures stored in that flashdrive, it doesn’t mean they are all good ones.

I’m not claiming to be a great photographer, but I do attempt to be decent. By now, I should consider myself an advanced amateur.

Hmm… maybe I should design a cool logo for all the pictures I take of you now, like I did for our couplies…

Over the years, I’ve learned a lot the hard way.

Lighting is a big part of it. I realize that I take a lot of indoor photos of you; many of which are hazy because of the lighting in our house.

Living in a townhouse means we only have light coming in from the front and back of the house; not the sides. So I try to take as many pictures of you as I can outdoors because the light is natural and obviously better.

However, I take pictures of you as life happens, which may or may not be in the best natural lighting.

Throughout these past 3 years and 3 months of your life, I have sort of taught myself some tricks.

I wish I would have had a “cheat sheet” when I first started taking pictures of you. I do now, though… it’s at the bottom of this letter, courtesy of Obaby.

For example, I know the importance reducing “busyness” in pictures of you, by taking pictures closer if there’s a chance that the background will distract from you.

And I know not to use the zoom option, as it degrades the quality.

I’m far from a good photographer of you, but I am aiming for decent. Compared to when I first started this over 3 years ago, at least… I feel like I’ve met my goal: At best, I am an advanced amateur.

 

Love,

Daddy

© Obaby