Think wildlife photographer when photographing kids!
I wanted to share a few images with you from a little while ago. You see, my 4 year old daughter likes nothing better than to dress up. Normally, she will take my 7 year old son’s shoes and his school bag and then proceed to get ready for school (she already attends but this is a weekend game!). She then goes through the motions of greeting all of the teachers before sitting down and pretending to be in class. She even has a little nap before going home. It’s really cute!
I want to talk a little bit about how to capture great photos of your kids.
First off I would say when photographing kids don’t be obvious. If your kids are like mine, as soon as they see a camera they immediately go in to “if you think you are going to get a cute photo of me you have to be kidding” mode!
Second, be aware of the lighting conditions and make sure that your camera is set appropriately. I can give you a lesson or two on this!
Third, try not to let them know what you are doing. Children = see camera > run a mile.
Fourth, a longer focal length is often best as you can keep your distance.
Actually, thinking this through, photographing kids is more like being a wildlife photographer; you are in the bush, maybe wearing camouflage and, you have a massive lens. Perfect!
But, seriously, there really is no reason why you shouldn’t get decent photos with the equipment you have, it just takes a little thought.
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What to do when photographing kids
- be stealthy!
- prepare your camera settings in advance
- think about backgrounds
- think about what they are wearing
- be patient!
Good luck!
For baby photos see the Baby Photography section go here.
