7 Tips For Photographing Children

I’m so excited to have a guest post from Cathi Green of Cathi Green Photography.  She’s a fellow blogger (check out the lovely pics on her blog), an amazingly talented photographer, and a long time friend (around 25 years – yes, she’s got tons of dirt on me).  Since every photo I’ve taken recently of my toddler is a blur, I’ve asked her to share some tips on getting great pics of kids.  I hope you enjoy her post as much as I did!

I’m a photographer in Southern California. I have always loved photography, and about two years ago, decided to pursue it as a profession instead of a hobby. I’ve travelled to numerous states and to the UK to photograph people and events. It’s been an amazing experience so far, and it just keeps getting better.

When I photograph children, I have a couple of things in mind. First, my goal is to truly capture their personality, emotion and essence. Second, it’s to chronicle that specific moment in time. If your kiddo is glued to his superman cape, embrace it! Superman isn’t going to be happy in the corduroy pants you bought for his photo shoot when he really wants to wear his cape! I want my pictures to stir your emotions and help keep your memories fresh. Lastly, I want my clients to have fun, be comfortable, and just be themselves. I’ve found that with these things as my goals, I get some awesome shots that make families very happy.

Kids are super fun to photograph. Whether you are taking portraits of your children for holiday cards, shooting a birthday party, or just taking some pictures to scrapbook, I hope you find the following 7 tips helpful.

Tip #1 – Action!

As you moms know, kids are on the go. Go with them! You can get some great action shots that will show movement if you set your camera properly. If you want to “freeze” the action, use a fast shutter speed, as high as it will go. 1/2500 of a second will give you a nice, crisp shot. If you’re using the automatic mode on your camera, look for the “sports” mode (usually a little guy running). If you want to show more movement, slow down your shutter speed to get a little motion blur. You can experiment quite a bit here. Be patient, and just keep practicing while you play with shutter speed!

Tip #2 – Get Low

Kids are small, get down on their level. Sit, squat or lay down to get your camera at their eye level when taking a portrait. This will help to eliminate distortion that comes with taking pictures from “up high.” That being said, it’s not a hard and fast rule. You’ll still want to experiment with some different angles. Try getting up on a chair and taking picture of your child playing with his or her toys across the room. Or lay down at the edge of the pool and get a water-level shot of your child swimming. Ask your child’s teacher if you can sit in their seat and take a shot of your child at his or her desk. Taking a shot from someone else’s perspective can be pretty interesting and is a great way to preserve a specific piece of your child’s childhood.

Tip #3 – Be Sneaky

Taking pictures of your kids when they don’t know you’re doing it can produce some wonderful images. It’s a great way to capture the child’s personality and emotion. If they are completely focused on playing with their toys, or reading a book, zoom in for a nice close-up of their expression. Depending on your camera, you have a couple of options. You can use the portrait setting (usually a silhouette of a head) on your camera. When it’s on that setting, the camera tries to blur the background so that subject of the picture stands out more. It’s called a shallow depth of field. You can also set your aperture somewhere between f/2.5 and f/5.6 if your camera allows you to do so. This will give you a nice blur in the background, bringing the focus to the subject.

Tip #4 – No More Cheese Please

If you ask a child under six to smile, you will most likely get a showing of the teeth, not really a smile. As a result, I’ve come up with some off-the-wall techniques for getting some good, genuine laughs and smiles. I’ve also kind of ditched the formal poses because they look, well, forced. The phrase “stinky feet” makes kids laugh for some reason. Peek-a-boo behind the camera works great for younger kids. Even better, though, is catching them when they are genuinely happy. Maybe it’s when they’ve been able to choose their own outfit, or they are working on a puzzle, or when dad’s throwing them up in the air.

Tip # 5 – Watch Your Back (ground)

How many times have you taken or seen a great shot, with the exception of something distracting in the background? Mind your background and watch for anything that might pull your eye away from the subject (cars, garbage cans, people, etc). You’ll also want to watch placement of trees, poles, etc. You don’t want them looking like antlers!

Tip #6 – Plan Ahead

Have some thoughts about how you want your finished product to look before you start shooting. Do you want to see your son outside with a baseball and glove, or your daughter inside playing dress-up, or do you want some adorable naptime pictures? Be prepared with any “props” you may need. If you’re going to be playing dress up, be sure your background is cleaned up, and the clothes are ready to go. The more you can “just add the kid” when you’re shooting, the easier it will be, and the more shooting time you’ll get without having to set up as you go.

Tip #7 – Just Keep Shooting, Just Keep Shooting, Just Keep Shooting, Shooting, Shooting

Kids are unpredictable. You rarely know what they’re going to do next or what expression they’ll be wearing from one minute to the next. The great thing about digital cameras is that you get to delete what you don’t want without wasting film. Be patient with yourself, and have fun.