Seeing photographs of babies is surely heart warming and could move us to smile on how cute, sweet and adorable they all are. When a few years are added to these babies and are turned into playful children, they are still as sweet and adorable as they were before. Only that you can see more facial expressions this time and you can even let them follow some directions from you to get a good shot. But unlike baby photography, children should be able to conform to what you want for the pictorial, if not, you will not be able to force them to do what you want. Hence, it is important that you are able to communicate with them well and establish a connection.
After that, you can go on with what you have planned for the shoot. The entire photo session has to be fun-filled for it can make the shoot easier and you will also be able to come up with better outputs. Be creative with your shots because the children will be totally pleased to see a good picture of them. So, if you are just new in this field, we have prepared a few tips for you to take note of. Read on and learn what these children photography tips are.
1. Always be patient.
Image: Ninaz Design
You should not force the kids to pose for your photo. You have to be patient especially if you are giving them instructions on what to do. They might not respond at once but they soon will listen. You should be able to speak well to them and build a connection. Once you have gained their trust, it would be easier for you to take pictures. Also, do not forget to make it fun. Kids get bored easily.
2. Take candid shots.
Image: Baleze
The children will appear more childish if you will just let them do their thing. Let them laugh and play and do whatever they want to do. This way, your photos will look livelier and fun. If they are crying, you can also get a photo of them. It will surely be full of emotions if you take candid shots of these children.
3. Shoot them with their favourites.
It is normal for kids to have some stuff that they truly value. Like their favourite toys, books, or even a pet. You can take a picture of them with those stuff. Capture the interaction and attachment between a pet dog and the kid. You can also take a picture of their connection to a favourite toy. This would show some emotion to your photo.
4. Take photos outdoors.
Image: Ria Lee Photography
There are more photo opportunities outside. Your output will also look a lot better with enough sunlight. Let them play outside and also try some pictures with your directions. It would surely be fun to take photos in a park, by the sea or anywhere outside. You can also feature the kid’s connection to nature.
5. Consider your background.
Image: Mohammadreza Momeni
Before you start taking photos, see to it that your background suits the entire look. Do away with unwanted clutter that may ruin the image. But you can always retain those that would add more stories to the entire picture. If you want the children to be the center of attention, you can remove anything that would distract the picture. Have a clean background to drive the viewers eyes merely to your subject.
6. Choose good clothing.
Image: Tatyana Pronina
Of course, you would have to inform the parents of the kids before the pictorial. Hence, let them prepare clothes that would look good for whatever theme you have. You can even let them dress up into whatever they want to look like. Just be sure that the colors are prominent than the background that you will be using.
7. Look for emotions.
Image: Suppi-lu-liuma
When taking photos of kids, look for different emotions like if they are laughing hard or crying out loud. Children are always sincere in whatever emotion they have. Hence, it would really be good to take pictures of those expressive eyes and entire look of their face. Even when they are blankly staring at something, it still looks interesting.
8. Get to the child’s eye level.
Image: Kelly Smith Photo
Some may forget doing this and would end up having photos of these kids looking up at the camera or maybe you’ll get the top of the kid’s heads only. To avoid that, kneel down or do anything in order to get a picture with the child’s eye on the camera. Getting a good shoot of the eye can make a huge difference to your photo.
9. Use props.
Image: Becca Bond Photography
You can also use props in photographing kids. Be creative in choosing your props. Utilize the things around you or you can also prepare for different props to make the pictorial more exciting. Just make sure that your props won’t harm the kids.
10. Have lots of fun.
Like any type of photography, always have fun. Enjoy what you are doing. But you will even have more fun when you do that with kids. It can also be a lot easier to take great photos when the children enjoy what they are doing.
11. Experiment with focus.
Image: SA Photographs
You can try different focus for the photos. You can capture emotions when you focus on the child’s face. Whatever emotion it is, it can surely be perfectly seen once you take a photo with the face framed well. You can also get pictures of some parts of their body like the hands, the feet and others. This can also look cute.
12. Try black and white.
Image: Christina G Photography
Well, black and white always looked great in photos. But if you think that children’s photos have to be colorful all the time, you are wrong. It can actually look even more colorful when it is in black and white. The beauty of the kids is seen more on it especially with their genuine emotions.
It’s Your Turn Now
Children are good subjects for photography especially that they are sincere with their emotions. They also look good on pictures whatever their expression and emotion is. The photographs above can show you what we mean. How about you? Are you into children photography? What are the things that you take note of when you do it?
