I’ve been taking pictures of my children well before I received my first HDSLR camera. I have hundreds of photos on various phones I’ve had over the years uploaded to Google Drive or the myriad other online storage websites. There is a special joy I get out of not only photographing my children, but children in general.
I have not been doing professional photography for very long, but I have come up with a few tips for those who want to get the best stock images possible when photographing young children.
- Don’t drive yourself crazy trying to get them to pose just so. The spontaneity of a child can make all the difference in a photograph
- Patience. Because.
- Try to use the ‘Rule of Thirds’. (Picture the image being divided into nine equal parts by two evenly spaced horizontal and vertical lines and make sure that the subject is placed along the lines or the intersections.)
- These seems to be a given, but make sure the child is in a good mood (unless you want to photograph a sour-faced toddler—which can be cool too! I’ve done it)
- If you’re photographing a particularly bashful child, I find that simply talking to them and letting them touch and see the camera and showing them their picture after each shot goes a long way to instilling confidence in them.
- Each child is unique and they shine in their own special way–find that and make it work for you.
- Have fun!
Whenever I photograph children I tell them to go crazy! We play games like ones at www.funtopiaworld.com/naperville/, jump, throw leaves, laugh, fall—whatever their little heart desires. My youngest daughter tends to be a little shy and I get the best photos of her when she isn’t aware that I am photographing her. There is one in particular that I took on my camera phone of her wearing too-big glasses and reading an apartment-hunting circular. My oldest daughter is very out-going and she is literally the happiest person that I know. I never met a kid so thrilled to be alive as she is.
I love photographing children. They are unguarded, unpretentious and utterly spontaneous. These qualities shine through the photograph! I was asked before, if I would go into portrait photography for children and that is a question I can’t answer right now. I love capturing a picture that I probably could not replicate on command. If I could make a living from simply photographing children being children—crying, laughing, playing, sleeping and eating without the need to pose them, I’d be a very happy photographer indeed.
Alicia Evans
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