HP Photo Books are perfect for sharing memories. In these interviews, mom bloggers share their thoughts on photography and the photos that captured the special moments of their lives.
Elizabeth Edwards sets her Table For Five in Michigan with husband Chris, sons Ryan and Nathan and daughter Kaitlyn. A stay-at-home mom, she also writes a family-friendly recipe blog MomCooks and a reviews blog MomReviews.
Elizabeth didn't have her own camera when she was a child, although she recalls using the family camera during a trip to Washington DC when she was in third grade and ending up with 32 blurry pictures of the Nation's Capital. She got more invested in photography when her first son Ryan was born: "We took a whole roll of film for each couple of weeks of his life."
When she started blogging, she wanted to use photos to embellish the story and realized she had to improve her own photography skills to have the quality she wanted. "I try to take lots of shots, and pay attention to the lighting and shadows. My house is very dark, so if I am inside, I have to be very careful. My favorite pictures are taken outside. Indoors takes too much thought."
Elizabeth credits her husband Chris and son Ryan with being the real photographers in the family. "My favorite pictures are ones that Chris has taken, like one series that he took of our daughter playing out in the front yard. He got one shot, with a wide angle, where she turned in profile and I think she looks just like a porcelain doll."
"Ryan has his father's eye. If you hand him the camera, he has a knack for getting just the right picture. He took a picture of his father and me recently that I love." Elizabeth really appreciates this as it gives her a chance to be in some of the pictures.
Right now she is "between cameras" as the shutter button on her digital point-and-shoot is broken. She's been borrowing her husband's digital SLR and comparison-shopping for her next camera.
Elizabeth, like most moms, loves to take pictures of her children. One of her very favorites that she took herself is one of her husband and daughter: "She's on his shoulders, and he just turns, and he has this look that says ‘I'm a happy daddy.' I just snapped the picture as quickly as I could."
Another favorite is from a few years ago, of her son Ryan eating a carrot at a Farmers Market on Halloween. She also likes to look for scenes that juxtapose nature and technology.
Elizabeth plans to use one of her HP Photo Books to make a "brag book" for herself with some of her favorite pictures of the children. The other book will be a gift for her father and stepmother. "We've always been into documenting our lives with photos, and the Photo Books will give me one more way to do it. I think it would be fun to do books of birthday parties, Christmas and special occasions."
Print or Share online?
"We share digitally. The only pictures I have printed in a very long time were 13 rolls of film I found in our sideboard "junk" drawer when we moved. They turned out to be photos I took during the boys' preschool field trips, and we couldn't remember the names of most of the kids in the photos!"
Photos by Elizabeth, Chris and Ryan Edwards. Interview by Susan Getgood
Printable version
Elizabeth Edwards sets her 
Elizabeth, like most moms, loves to take pictures of her children. One of her very favorites that she took herself is one of her husband and daughter: