Capturing beautiful pictures of children requires more than just good, solid photographic skills. You need to really engage with your subjects and use a little psychology! Read on for my top tips on photographing kids, and find ideas for shooting children's photos with your DSLR.
- Give yourself plenty of time! Sometimes children are in the mood to be photographed ... and sometimes they're not. You need to allow plenty of time, so that you can engage your subjects and help them to relax. If kids are shy or in a bad mood, it will show in your photos. Take the time to play with them with your camera in your hand, so that they become used to you and the equipment.
- Follow them with the camera. Children move quickly and don't often hold poses for long, so keep your camera lifted to your eye and your finger on the shutter button, so that you can capture shots quickly. It's worth switching your camera's autofocus mode to AI Servo/Continuous, which will keep focusing the shot as you move the camera around.
- In conjunction with the above point, try to keep your focus point on or near the eyes, because eyes should always be pin-sharp in portraits. Choose a specific AF point to help you.
- Make them laugh. Don't try to force a child to smile, as you'll only get a strained grimace! Instead, try and clown around -- make silly faces, or convince their parents to do so. If they're older, tell them jokes. That way, you'll end up with natural smiles and laughter.
- Don't try to shoot photos of children for hours on end. I always put a limit of between half an hour and an hour on children's photography sessions, depending on their age. Otherwise, you run the risk of the kids ending up over-tired and emotional ... with tears and tantrums bound to follow.
- It's especially important to communicate. Treat children as if they were adult subjects and tell them what you want. If they're younger, make lots of noises and laughs to engage them. Don't just sit in silence with kids, as it will make them nervous!
- Use props, and let the children play. If there's a favorite toy or activity that your subjects enjoy, use this to your advantage. Make them comfortable or engrossed in a game, and you'll be rewarded with relaxed and fun shots.
- Move down to their level. Don't loom over children when you're shooting, as it's unlikely to relax them! Instead, sit on the floor or lie flat with them so that you're on their level.
- Lastly, if you want to have kids look directly at you, ask them if they can see their reflection in the camera lens.