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A mum challenged her husband to take more photos of their kids. The results are incredible.

In late 2015, Natasha Haumesser had one request of her husband, Phillip: “Take some more photos of our kids.”

Presented with this challenge, Phillip obliged in grand fashion…

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Natasha and Phillip live with their two sons – Reuben and Richard – on a wilderness-like, ten-acre property in Missouri. So Phillip didn’t have to go far to find the breathtaking rivers, trees, and animals among which his photography takes place.

“We got a decent little starter camera, a Samsung nx500, and started taking some photos, Haumesser says on his website.

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“I decided I would start trying to capture our children in the most magical and mysterious ways that I could… that’s when I really stepped things up.”

Listen: Holly Wainwright bribes her kids with ice cream to grab the perfect family photo, on This Glorious Mess. Post continues…

Looking at the sheer beauty and effort behind his photographs, it goes without saying that “it became an obsession”for the father of two. It’s mind blowing when you realise Haumesser has only been a photographer for little over a year.

Haumesser maintains his first shoot in late 2015 was the hardest. “The kids got bored immediately because Dad was trying to get them to pose and sit still, something I discovered quickly is not the natural state for children two and under”, he told Huffington Post.

Bunny and the Beast

A post shared by Phillip Haumesser Photography (@phillip_haumesser_photography) on

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Since then, he’s adopted a more relaxed, candid approach.

“I decided we were just going to try to make this fun and not care about how the photos turned out, and if we got some good ones it would be a plus,” Haumesser said.

“So we did just that. I just let the kids start playing in the barnyard with the animals and I would even get in there and play with them, sometimes I forget we are even taking photos, then I’ll just step back and snap some photos.”

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The forthright approach worked wonders, lending a real organic intimacy to his photographs.

Haumesser now views his work as a “photo diary of their everyday lives”; a portfolio documenting his family’s adventures and lives growing up surrounded by beauty.

Image credit Phillip Haumesser Photography.

The Adobe Photoshop connoisseur now runs tutorials too, most of which can be done online through his website and many of them are completely free.

"I've fallen in love with photography and I strive everyday to learn more and get better and better. I also love teaching and decided to start making tutorials and training materials so I can teach others what I’ve learned.

Image credit Phillip Haumesser Photography.

"I’ve also created a getting started course for those who are just starting out."

A free course teaching us to take photos of our own kids? Sign us right up.

You can follow Phillip Haumesser on Facebook here, and on Instagram hereView all Phillip's images, sign up for his courses and learn more about his story on his website, here.