Photos & Travels with my Toddler: My love of travel photography while I travel with my toddler

Becoming a mother is one of the biggest adventures of a lifetime. In a way, it’s a lot like traveling. You learn things and build instincts and abilities you never knew you had. Being able to combine the two together and capture the memories to keep for a lifetime is one of the biggest perks and inspirations of travel photography. I often get asked what it is like to travel with a child and apart from having to plan a lot better, it is a very fulfilling experience . As a photographer who travels a lot for my work, juggling being a mother and complete my commitments professionally is not without its challenges.

The way that a toddler sees the world is a lot different than an adult. Toddlers don’t know about all the bad and evil things that can happen; they only see good in the world. They don’t have any stress about money and finances or personal ‘grown up’ problems. It gives us adults new perspectives and something I really cherish.

Being able to experience and see the world is one thing but being able to see it through the eyes of a toddler is a whole new experience. Capturing those moments in photographs is something that will never change the moment, even though the world will eventually change the toddler.

Traveling with children forces you to live more in the moment; always focusing on your child, what they are doing or where they are, keeping them safe at all costs. Being aware of your surroundings is one of the most important parts of staying safe when traveling, and being a parent keeps you on even higher alert. So planning your work before travel, researching the area we are visiting and visualising the shots are paramount in order to achieve what you have come out for.

It is a lot more challenging when traveling with a toddler versus traveling by yourself. When you travel with a child, you travel less like a tourist, and more like a resident, and that really brings out the culture of the place you are in and forces you to live in the present moment. This will be hard, but the rewards and the fulfilment you will receive are by far worth it.

The world influences children as they grow up. I want my daughter to see the world as a good place, experience different cultures, learn to love and not to judge people just because they are different from herself. I want to watch my daughter’s eyes light up when she sees the different wonders of the world and watch how traveling molds her into the person she is becoming.

Photography lets her experience even more than the places she visits, as many times as she wants. I can tell her stories and teach her about different places in photographs. Capturing the world in photos will show her that the world is a big place, there are millions of places to explore, and that anything is possible.

I want her to know that her dreams are achievable, no matter how far away or different they may seem. Additionally, I hope that photographs of places that once brought her joy and happiness, will one day lift her spirits when she starts to experience burdens in the world.

Photography and traveling have brought so much joy into my life, but still nothing compares to the love for my daughter. Being able to combine those three aspects of my life has been a dream come true. I hope to continue to watch my daughter grow and experience the world,

while capturing every moment of it. Some of my photography work is posted on Instagram @krasiworld and has been shared by many tourist boards, hotels I have worked with and brands.