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.
Stacy Kraft's blog The Land of K.A. is mostly about her two toddlers Kai and Anya. She also posts kid-friendly recipes and photo tips, but as she describes it, the blog is "usually photos of our extremely photogenic children and the ruckus they cause in our lives." She also sews and works full time as a CPA.
Stacy got interested in photography when she was about 10 years old and received a 110-film camera as a gift. She told me "I loved to take pictures with it, but since it was pre-digital, I couldn't take a lot. The quality wasn't the greatest either, but they are great memories when I look back at those photos."
She kept that camera for many years, and when she got married, one of the presents was 35mm film camera:"It wasn't fancy, but it took some really nice shots and my love of photography began sparking. When we had our first child, the flame was ignited, and it has burned brighter and brighter ever since!"
She now uses a digital SLR with several different lenses, an 18-55m, 50mm and 35mm.
Every photographer has a favorite shot, even if it is just the shot of the moment. Stacy's favorite is one that she took with her film 35mm camera when her son was six months old: "It was the ONE. It was the photo that really showed me what I could do with a camera. I loved it so much, but didn't know why. Looking at it now, I know that somehow it had everything technically correct in it, beyond the fact that my son was so dang cute in it!"
Whether they are professionals, talented amateurs or just snap-happy like me, moms take pictures of their kids. I asked Stacy, as I asked all the moms who were interviewed for Photographic Memories, about her favorite photos of her children. She related: "I have a revolving "my favorite pictures" page on my blog. My favorites change all the time, depending on what I have captured this week, or this month. I love ALL of them of course, but my favorites tend to change."
She says that the best photos of her children are candids, and she has a great post on her blog about this: "If you truly want to capture your children's personality, it is the candid moments where they are having fun and playing and laughing that make the best photos. You just have to be at the ready and quick to capture those elusive moments."
We recently gave my seven-year old son his first camera, for which he had been lobbying for a while. I wondered if Stacy's children, young as they are, had expressed an interest in photography?
"They are interested but since they are only 2 and 3, their interest is limited to wanting to play with the camera. I let them take pictures with my nice camera, while I hold it, of course, and occasionally I let my oldest take the old little digital camera and shoot to his heart's content. Digital is wonderful since the child gets instant gratification for all their "hard work" in pressing the shutter."
We gave everyone we interviewed two of the new HP Photo Books. Stacy says hers "will most likely end up in the hands of two very proud and loving grandmas. They don't get to see them as often as they'd like, so sharing their lives in pictures is a great way to stay connected."
If she were to keep a HP Photo Book for herself, she says she'd be most likely to use it for a collection of her favorite photos of the kids: "I like to share pictures of them in their everyday life looking cute and being little kids. Little kids have such varied expressions and fascination in the world around them. That would be the thing I would want to share the most."
Print or Share online?
"Both. I regularly print photos for our immediate family and also for my scrapbooking. I also share the best of the bunch on my blog, and post a picture every day. Our families live a few hours away, so sharing online really helps them see the little ones grow."
Printable version
Stacy Kraft's blog 
Every photographer has a favorite shot, even if it is just the shot of the moment. Stacy's favorite is one that she took with her film 35mm camera when her son was six months old: 
Whether they are professionals, talented amateurs or just snap-happy like me, moms take pictures of their kids. I asked Stacy, as I asked all the moms who were interviewed for Photographic Memories, about her favorite photos of her children. She related: