Your Shot Photo of the Month: Freeze Frame

Summer is as fleeting as a shooting star, so capture family memories as they happen—such as this image submitted to National Geographic’s Your Shot community by California mom Genny Salamon.

Getting the shot: Salamon and her family were enjoying the swimming pool at her parents’ Los Angeles home. “I noticed that when my son Cas fell in, the water would move out around him, like a liquid crater,” says Salamon, a part-time attorney, “and I wanted to capture that moment of impact. To retain the details of the splash, I manually set the aperture so the shot would be underexposed. To me, this shows Cas loving every last drop of summer.”

What we liked: “The way the water frames Cas creates an oval portrait that focuses attention on his vivid expression,” notes Traveler‘s director of photography Dan Westergren. “Adding to the kinetic effect is his hair, which looks like an electrified halo.”

Summer photo tips: “Bring a ziplock bag to protect your camera from water and sand,” Westergren says, “and if you shoot in the middle of the day, try a polarizing lens to reduce any glare.”

Want National Geographic to highlight your photograph? Join our Your Shot community and participate in upcoming hashtag challenges for a chance to appear in Traveler magazine and Intelligent Travel.