One Year Ago: Charlie
Two Years Ago: Meet Phin



This is a question that I get a lot. The way I think of it, photographing children is a lot like photographing monkeys. They are super cute, so most anything you get is going to be great. They are also super fast. Kids just want to go go go. There are a few things that you can do to make your shots of your kids even better.

1. Kids are fast

Unless they are not crawling yet, kiddos are on the move. Trying to keep up with them is hard enough; trying to do so with camera in hand is quite a feat. How many times have you taken a photograph and ended up with a blurry photo? Well, the reason is that your munchkin probably moved while the film was being exposed causing the blur. Sometimes this is ok, sometimes the blur is a good way to show motion, but it is all about control. You want to be able to control the end product. So, I am sorry to say it folks: you are going to have to take that camera out of auto mode. If you want to make sure to stop motion you are going to need a shutter speed that is faster than your kiddo. Fast shutter-speed = stop motion. 

2. Minimize distractions

With kids comes stuff. Diapers, bottles, toys and the list goes on. While it might be cute to have a favorite toy, having all of the other stuff in the background can be distracting. If the subject of your photo is your cute kiddo, get rid of all the other stuff that might be a distraction. If you can't get rid of the background stuff, try to throw it out of focus. How do you do that? Once again, you are going to leave that safety zone and take your camera off of that auto setting. You are going to put the aperture (size of the opening of the shutter) to the smallest possible number. Think: small number = blurry background
  

3. Focus on the eyes

The eyes are the windows to the soul right? Don't let your camera decide what to focus on for you, take control! Most cameras have a way to lock the focus. Lear how to do this on your camera. When you are taking a picture, focus on your subjects eyes, lock the focus and recompose as you would like.  

4. Change your perspective

Way too often I see photos of children taken from above. After all, kids are short. While this can be a fun perspective from time to time, I would recommend getting down on their level whenever possible.  

5. Let them guide you

Get photos of them doing things that they like to do. Capture what is unique about them. If they love the outdoors, take them out exploring. If they love to read, capture them with books, take them to the library or figure out a fun way to use books as a prop. The possibilities are endless to make their personalities shine.

Let me know if this was helpful to you and if you have any other questions. Happy Friday!