How to Photograph Your Kids Successfully

How to Photograph Your Kids Successfully

As a photographer, newbie, keen hobbyist, or even a professional, photographing your own children can be one of the hardest assignments to complete. There are so many factors to photographing children that you never know what you will be confronted with. However, there are some tricks and also things to keep in mind on the quest to get the perfect image more easily.

Capture Them Naturally

Before you start, try to imagine what your goal is. Do you want to capture your children in a way that documents their life? If so crying is life, and laughing if life too. The memories are in the expressions, the tears, the tantrums as well as the laughter and giggles.

If you want them to smile and looking at the camera, you need to sit down on their level and engage with them in a way that they will smile and laugh naturally. If they can talk to you and forget the camera is even there you will have a golden shot.

Be playful, act like a child, and make them laugh. Some professional photographers will put leaves in their mouth and spit them out to make a kid laugh or roll around in the grass like a dog to get a beautiful, candid shot of a child laughing. Don't dismiss eating leaves as a tactic to get the shot you want. Never force a smile, because it won't look natural.

Understand Every Day is Different

In the world of kids, a day can make a huge difference. For instance, one day you might have the smiliest and most agreeable little one imaginable, and the next day you might have a kid who acts like they are hiding from the paparazzi. So if it really isn't easy on a certain day don't push it. Put the camera down and try again on another day.

If you force your children to take photos by bribing them or telling them off if they don't cooperate it will make them resent having their picture taken, and in the future, it will become almost impossible.

Also, if you take the pressure off yourself to get the perfect happy photo by understanding that some days a child will be grumpy and disagreeable, you will feel more relaxed and not turn into the frustrated parent with the camera.

Photograph Them Often

Just like anything, practice improves your skill. Photographing children is no different. If you pick up the camera and photograph your children often you will certainly get better shots in the long term. They also change so quickly, which is another reason not to leave too much time between photo shoots.

Let Them Participate

If you show them the photos and ask them if they have a pose or facial expression they want to show you it will change their perspective of being photographed. The simple act of getting them to participate on their terms will often turn the experience from a difficult one to an easy one. For young children, you can be sure they will poke out their tongues and pull faces, and for older children, they will dab and do other gestures. Let them roll through the poses and when they run out you will be left with smiles and candid shots. Another way is to let them take your photo for a few frames.

Through the ages from baby to toddler to teens, you will find different challenges. It's certainly is not easy to photograph children, but it can be mastered with patience and practice. Once you feel confident you might want to try to get the family pet in some images. But you know what they say about never working with children and animals!

Mixbook offers great photo book themes to showcase your best shots. Once you’ve managed to capture your kids the way you intended. Check out these beautiful children’s photo albums.