Having been in the portrait business for over twenty years, some people don’t understand why I am always asking “do you take video of your kids?”.

When I was a kids my parents took 8mm home movies. It was very expensive, and very inconvenient (maybe that’s why there is a total of about three minutes of me as a kid!). As I got older, those big Beta and VHS recorders came out—expensive cameras, but videotape was relatively cheap, and you could tape over it. Then the digital video cameras came out—still kind of pricey, but they were a little smaller, and the tapes were still cheap. The only problem was that although smaller, the cameras were still rather bulky.

Of course even with cheap videotape there is still the issue of “all those boxes of videotapes” piled in a closet somewhere.

Several years ago, right after digital cameras hit the marketplace, the “point and shoot” camera manufacturers developed still cameras that capture great quality video. This meant that if you had your camera with you, you also had a video camera. Most people I know didn’t really use the video mode of their camera—many didn’t know it was there—and a lot of people didn’t know what to do with the video once they took it.

Today we have even more choices. I purchased a Flip Video camera several months ago—VERY convenient as it is so small you can put it in your jeans pocket, and so easy to use. One of my favorite all time videos was taken with the flip (see below). It is so convenient that you can easily take it with you anywhere—and always grab a minute or so of video.

Most new cell phones take not only decent photos, but decent video, which means you almost always have a video camera with you. Most people I know haven’t used their phone for video. Have you?

When you are hanging out with your kids, and see them doing something that makes you smile, take out your cell phone (or point and shoot camera), put it in video mode, and capture the moment!

My suggestion is to not take sixty minutes of video, but sixty seconds (or less). Catch that moment you want to capture, transfer it to your computer (I have emailed my video clips to myself), and back it up.

After you get your video on your computer, upload it for viewing and storage on any number of sites. Personally I like HoldMyMemories.com—memories (videos, still, audio, and written) are our business. Whether you use us, or any other service, capture the memory! One month from now, one year from now, one decade from now you will be glad you did.

These memories are fleeting—hold them!