Five Must Know Secrets to Working with Children When Shooting Photos
“Kids go where there is excitement. They stay where there is love.”
-Zig Ziglar
Are you an aspiring child photographer? Do you love capturing toddlers and kids with your camera, but find it challenging? Photographing children can be really hard at times as children usually do not follow instructions while posing for the camera. Things happen at a blistery pace and often the right moment gets lost resulting in out of focus and blurred images. The following tips can, however, will help you get the best possible results when you set out to do child photography or baby photography.
1. Careful planning
Before you go on the challenging, sometimes frustrating but ultimately, rewarding quest of children photography, you need to plan your shoot as much as you can. The first step of this is choosing the right gear and camera settings for that particular photo shoot.
Light plays an important factor in the quality of photos, whether you are shooting indoors or outdoors. So, if you are shooting inside a house or building then a suitable light source is required. For that purpose, a properly lit room or a shooting by a window can help illuminate your subject. It is always handy to have your external flash or shoot using reflectors, if you are not getting the desired results.
As for outdoor children photography, it’s better if you use indirect natural light as it gives their faces vitality. It also adds soft shadows, which in turns deepens the composition of your photos and sparks realism. The times for doing an outdoor shoot would be early morning hours or an hour just before sun set. This is because the warm, soft glow of the sun can greatly complement the child photographer’s subjects. You should also try limiting or turning off your flash in natural light. One smart thing you could do as a child photographer is to have the environment free of unnecessary distractions like a branch that could appear to be growing out of the child’s head. Alternatively, by choosing a fun location, where they can be their playful best like a park, beach or even your own garden will instantly put children at ease.
Another important factor that shouldn’t be overlooked is clothing. Try asking parents to bring extra clothing and different items like hats and sunglasses. It would not only help get creative with the shoot but also come in handy if things aren’t working out well.
2. Camera setup
It is always good to know your camera settings in detail. A bit of research on your camera functions will enable you to get that special touch in your photos. The first thing you should do is switch to “aperture priority” mode on your camera while shooting children. Doing so will enable you to creatively control the depth of field to a satisfactory degree.
A fast lens with aperture settings of f5.6 or f/1.4 and great zoom capability is great for doing child and baby photography. Learning how to change the shutter speed of your camera is essential as children move around a lot. Ideally, fast shutter speed (1/250th of a second) can help you capture children even if they are running about. Depending on where the shoot is taking place, learn to bump or lower the ISO settings. Preferably, keep the setting to 200 if there is a lot of light but fewer than 800 to avoid pixilation.
3. Interaction & comfort
If you have time, interact with the child before the photo shoot. Children don’t like to be ordered so it is best if you try to be friendly and patient. This will reduce their uneasiness around you and will make the shoot fun for both parties.
Contrary to common belief, there is no need to ask the child to smile for the camera. Capturing their innocence, playfulness and energy should be your main goal. Doing so will help you get some truly magnificent images filled with emotion and sincerity. It is always good to have their parents standing nearby to manage the anxiety level of the children. To capture children at their lively best, come equipped with intractable things like balloons, colors and streamers.
To hold the attention of toddlers and babies, try making silly sounds, goof around and keep shooting rather than waiting for the right moment to present itself. Keep the baby engaged in an exciting activity or introduce the family. Stay in the background keeping the interruption to a minimum.
4. Patience & freedom
If you think that everything will go according to plan in child photography and you will be the one calling the shots then you couldn’t have been more wrong. Children have short attention spans, are unpredictable and rarely ever sit still. Keeping these things in mind, it’s better to admit that children run the show and just go with the flow. Kids respond positively to kindness. You are more likely to get genuine smiles and timeless photos this way rather than forcing them to comply with your demands.
Child photographers have more chances of succeeding if the kids interact with the environment rather than just posing. Let them run, dance, climb a tree, swing or ride a bike. The more fun a child has the better your chances of writing a truly beautiful story. Having said that, always stay mindful of the mood swings. If that happens, let the child relax and resume work after a break.
5. Bend to their level
Your objective is photographing young children. Therefore, it’s vital to get down to their level. Explore your angles; get on their eye level and click away. This way you can get more intimate shots. Parents understandably want to see the faces of their children so focus on their expressions rather than the environment.
While performing baby photography, get on ground level with the toddler and get abstract. Focus on their features, like hands, feet and especially their eyes. The eyes of a child are an important feature of the photo, so special attention should be given to them.
There are few things more beautiful in the world than photographing a child though sometimes painstakingly difficult to accomplish. Children offer the chance to capture some truly breathtaking moments. The key lies in letting them run wild, being friendly and never forcing them to smile for you. Most importantly, enjoy and be unique with your approach. These simple tips will hone your skills as a child photographer.