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| Get them involved. Photograph them doing what they like to do. That's half of the problem solved! |
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| The more at ease they are with their surroundings, the better the photo (and the less stressed the photographer - YOU). If a clown scares them for instance, how can you expect them to even smile at you let alone hold a pose while you take a picture? |
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| Be ready to click away! That great "moment" just might escape you because YOU weren't ready! |
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| Say somethings funny. The smile you'll receive just might become a wide, big grin! |
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| Get upclose and personal! |
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| Reward them AFTER. |
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Taking pictures of your kids need not be a nerve-wracking experience that would leave you drained and frustrated, and them angry. Some kids can truly test your picture taking skills to the limits.
Others will require you to exercise a bit of child-psychology. Very rarely would kids patiently stand still and hold that smile or pose for you as you fidget with your camera.
If you plan to scrap great pages of your kids, you got to have great pictures! Here are some tried and tested tips to capture those precious moments easily and without much fuzz.
- Get them involved in the process. Taking great pictures of your kids will be much easier if you involve them in the process. Try not to “boss” them but encourage them with a gift, a reward or something that they can see and will get afterwards. Keep reminding them of the “gift” that awaits them as soon as they finish posing for you. Try not to “control” them by telling them how to “behave” in front of the camera but let them be at ease and capture that very “essence” that makes them so adorable in your eyes.
- Location, location, location. Kids will be more at ease posing for you in they are in a location that is familiar to them or speaks of “fun.” Try taking your kids to a place where their innate curiosity will be aroused allowing them to walk, investigate, explore their surroundings while you go “snap away.”
- Speed! Kids not like sitting still for long or holding a particular pose while you fumble with your camera controls. Just keep on clicking! You can always correct the errors later or pick the one great picture from among a dozen that didn't work out. Keep shooting even if they pull those funny, dumb, hilarious faces at you. Some of those will be great and you can be sure that there would be “normal” faces in between those funny ones. Just click away!
- Patience, patience, patience. Great pictures don't happen instantly. Patience! Say some funny things to them while aiming your camera! Try some different techniques to stimulate their imagination as they pose for you. Just keep shooting. Patience is a virtue – and it can make great pictures happen.
- Choose your equipment wisely. Use your tried and tested settings and forget about tripods. Studying or working on brand new camera settings or fiddling with your lens and flash while they are posing for you will get them bored and cranky. The rule is: have your gear ready to fire even before they pose for you.
- Get down and dirty! Try and shoot at eye level at all times – your kid's eye level, not yours. This means going down on your knees and getting their pictures directly in their line of sight. Get down and get dirty!
- Close and personal. The only way to capture those wonderful expressions is to move closer to your subject. The closer you are, the more dramatic those expressions will be.
- Perfect finish! Let them take a picture while you hold the camera. Give them their token of thanks for posing patiently for you. Instant Polaroids are great for this – you leave them with a wonderful “note” of thanks!
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| Tip for this upload: |
| Try to put yourself in your child's shoes. Think like a kid and you'll be amazed how well you can "psych" them up to pose and smile for you! Photographers tend to forget that their subjects are KIDS - they WONT stand still, they WONT smile, and they WONT pose the way you want them to. The key is to be quick with your camera when they let down their guard and FINALLY get tired playing "difficult." :) |
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