Heading to the playground? Because there’s so much going on there, it can be hard to take a simple, uncluttered picture of your active toddler. Try this: Climb with your baby to the wobbly bridge, then tell him you’ll wait for him at the other end while he crosses. As he heads your way, click. Depending on his level of daredevil, you might shake the bridge a little for extra laughs.

Invite your baby to a dress-up party! Find some pieces of fabric and ribbon, some hats and shoes (yours, of course), a purse or briefcase. Then trade: He wears your shoes, you try his pacifier or don his hat. Crank up the ipod, get out the camera and shoot. You’ll end up with photos of a very amused, very happy little clown. If you have a tall mirror on hand, use it to take pictures of the two of you. Don’t forget to turn off the flash!

Sometimes, all it takes to turn a good photo into a great one is some simple manipulation. Several sites offer free tools for picture enhancement – everything from sharpening the image, cropping it and fixing the exposure, to applying effects such as sepia or black-and-white. On the computer, try Picnik.com (grab pictures from and post to your Facebook); on your iphone try Photogene; on your Android use Pic Say. Try them now so you’ll be all set to enhance your baby’s birthday pictures.

She’s been dying to get her hands on your lipstick. Put her in front of a mirror and hand over the brightest red in your makeup bag – chances are she won’t stop at her lips! Stand to one side so you can get both your child and her reflection in the shot, and if you can avoid using flash without risking a poorly exposed image, try it.