How to Take BETTER Photos of Your Kids

As a children's portrait photographer I get asked a lot, "Angie how can I take better photos of my children? How do you do it?"
It's funny because I didn’t just wake up one day and was super skilled at taking children's photographs. My own kids were my guinea pigs for several years prior to opening my own business. When my daughter was born I only owned a simple point and shoot camera however, I would often get praise on how great some of the photos looked. The reason being I knew a little bit of the basics on composition and light. I later invested more into my hobby upgrading my camera to a Canon 5D Mark II. But the skills I learned about composition along the way can be used with any camera to take great shots of your children…...

Keep it Candid - Nothing is worse then an over posed, un-natural shot. I want to remember my kids as they truly are; active, spontaneous, and free. Go to the park with them and let them run about. Follow them secretly with your camera and ask them to play a little peek-a-boo behind a tree. If you have more then one child ask them to skip, or hold hands together. For the more affectionate, tell them to give each other a kiss or hug. I love doing this cause it really shows a strong bond between the siblings and emphasizing their life long friendship.

Keep Them Busy - Have you ever tried to take a photo of a toddler? They don’t sit still do they. My trick is to keep the hands busy. Grab a flower and ask them to pick the petals off of it. Have them blow bubbles or lick a colorful lollipop. But be careful - they have a very short attention span and move on fast. Have your camera ready or you may miss an adorable moment.

Don’t Say Cheese - I NEVER tell me clients to say cheese. Around the age of 4-6 kids who say cheese, really say CHEESE. They oversell it causing their face to squint up to a very unnatural smile. I have a few tips to avoid this. Have them say nothing at all. This give a great introspective look on the childs face. To get a more natural smile I may ask for them to say bananas or marshmallows. Or I will ask them to tell me their favorite TV show or color. This makes the month round better and they become more relaxed because you are not putting them on the spot. When all this fails to work I pull out my dork card. Meaning I do something silly like dance, sing, or say, "BOO" from behind my camera. I got some pretty great moves that make the kids think I pretty crazy. But it works.

Get Down To Their Level - One of the best tips I can give you is to not be afraid to get dirty and get down LOW. Kids are smaller then us and if you really want to capture their sprit and soul you need to go to the windows, aka their eyes. On my photos shoots it is very common to see me on my belly or knees and I get in close to the eyes. I like to shoot with a marco lens that really shows detail and clarity. But if you don’t have a DSLR camera you can still work this tip with your point and shoot. Keep your focal point and focus on the eyes for crisp clarity.

Light -Light means everything to a photographer. I am a light junkie and geek out over great light. Most think the best time to take a photo is when the sun is shinning in the middle of the day. They could not be more wrong. When the sun is at its highest in the sky it can cause harsh face shadows, bright spots, over exposure and squinty eyes. The best times to shoot is just after sunrise and just before sunset. At these times of the day the sun is warm and gives a flattering glow to the subject. However, if you cant shoot at these times there are options to combat this problem including; using a reflector, shooting in open shade, using fill flash for those shadows and shooting into the sun (backlighting).
To make eyes stand out and glow, make use of catch lights. Catch lights are small reflections in the eyes. If you are shooting indoors have your child stand facing a window so the natural light is reflected in their eyes. When outdoors have your child sit at the edge of a shaded area so the eyes pick up the brightness from the areas that are not shaded and reflect back.

Composition - Don't always think you have to have the kids sitting center in the photo. Use a good rule of thirds with shooting and its ok to put them in the right or left side of the frame. Make sure there are no objects in the back that will distract from the photos. For example a tree branch that looks to be growing out of the child's head. :)

Stay Calm - It is so easy for parents to get stressed out at a child who won’t stand still for a photograph. However, if you want to get a great photograph you need to take a step back and breath. Children sense stress in their parents and reflect it back in their photographs. If you yell to your kid - "Sit still and SMILE! They will tense up, some may even cry. The key is patience. If you are relaxed, so will be the child.

I hope you found these tips helpful and interesting. For more information and examples of these tips in use visit my BLOG or stop by and say hi on my Facebook wall. Would love to hear feedback if you gave them a try and if they worked out for you.

Loves - Ang

www.angiecoxphotography.com or LIKE me at FACEBOOK