I’m pretty sure we can claim to know cool mom, author, and photographer Tracey Clark “when,” since we featured her first book way back when we first started our site. She even took our first official Cool Mom Picks photo, back when we each only had one kiddo. Ah, the memories!

Since then, Tracey has founded Shutter Sisters, an amazing online photo community, and written two more books, including her newest which is truly a must-have for any mom with a camera. And isn’t that all of us?

Tracey’s new book Elevate the Everyday: A Photographic Guide to Picturing Motherhood should be wrapped and gifted at every new or seasoned mom’s baby shower. And I don’t just say that because I’m biased. The early chapters offer an excellent how-to when it comes to camera techniques and settings; thorough without being confusing or overly complex. Then she offers a slew of photographic inspiration prompts that are far from obvious — like daily routines, places, and connections (friends, families, even pets).

A once-through of Elevate the Everyday will have you truly maximizing your camera’s capabilities, whether you’re got a DSLR or your smart phone, and taking advantage of photographic opportunities that often go unnoticed.

And I love how she intersperses her gorgeous photographs as well as posts from other photo bloggers, that all do such a wonderful job of supporting her suggestions. My only wish is that I had this amazing resource when my older kids were little. But it’s never too late to start taking photos with a purpose. Nothing special, other than your beautiful kids, required.

You can purchase Tracey Clark’s new photography book Elevate the Everyday at our affiliate Amazon