Consumer Critique: Your Child in Pictures and Design Aglow

Disclosure: I received complimentary products to facilitate this post. All opinions are my own.

I recently had the chance to look at e-copies of two new books from Amphoto: Your Child In Pictures  by Disney “Photo Mom” Me Ra Koh and The Design Aglow Posing Guide for Family Portrait Photography by nationally-acclaimed portrait photographer Lena Hyde.

Both books are very well done and offer a ton of tips and examples of unique photos. They're appropriate for novices through those with more advanced knowledge - you might not learn quite as much as a beginner if you've been taking photos for a long time, but you can always get new ideas! The books are beautiful, with lots of touching photographs, and tips you can put into practice right away, even if you're just taking snapshots of your own kids.

If you develop your skills, it can be a great way to save money. My husband has a little more advanced equipment, which means that we don't have to pay for children's portraits or family photos. It does take a lot of practice, but with books like these, you can be taking artistic, amazing photos of your family too!


ME RA KOH loves cameras, kids, and parents, and spends her time bringing them together. She is host of the Disney Junior TV show Capture Your Story with Me Ra Koh, and the former guest photography expert on The Nate Berkus Show (NBC). She also writes a weekly column for Babble.com called A Focused Life. Her work and photo recipes have been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Lifetime Television, VH1, and Martha Stewart Living Radio, as well as in the New York Times, Parenting, American Baby, Popular Photography, American Photo, and on such websites as Mom It Forward and Today’s Mama. Me Ra and her husband and business partner, Brian, are also producers of the award-winning instructional DVDs Refuse to Say Cheese and Beyond the Green Box. She is proud to be a SONY Artisan of Imagery, representing family portraiture, and is a sought-after speaker, with frequent appearances at WPPI, Photo Plus Expo, and female-oriented blogging conferences. For the past four years, Me Ra's CONFIDENCE workshops for women have sold out nationwide. She is also host of the annual SOAR! scholarship for aspiring female photographers. When she is not writing and shooting, she works closely with partners like Target, Disney, SONY, Sesame Street, Nielsen Photo Group and Southwest Airlines to find ways to inspire the creative hearts of moms. 

LENA HYDE is a professional portrait photographer and founder of Design Aglow, a premier online resource for professional photographers that attracts more than 400,000 visits each month. Lena's photography has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Casa da Fotografia Fuji in Brazil, and has been featured, along with her design work, in such publications as Martha Stewart Everyday Food, USA Today, People, Life, San Francisco Chronicle, Rangefinder, and Professional Photographer; online at The Knot and Decor8; and in the book Mamarazzi. Lena teaches several sold-out workshops each year and acts as a consultant to top photography studios around the world.