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How To Take Photographs of your Children | Blog & Photography Tips

If you have seen my previous posts on blog tips then you will know I am passionate about helping others, I often get asked how I started my blog or why? How do I set one up and now more so than ever I get asked questions about my photography. I thought I would start to share some tips to give you a little insight.

I should put in a disclaimer and say out right that I am not a pro, I don't claim to be but I do think I have some good tips to share.

So children. The trickiest subjects to take a photo of ever. Worse than pets, for sure! However, I have 2 so have had lots of practice...

how to take a childs photo



Here are my top tips!

(1) Only approach at Happy Hour! And no I don't mean down at the local pub. Time your photograph taking at the right time, don't even think about attempting to bribe them before bed time or when they are felling a little under the weather, you will get no where! If you are in the winter make sure they are warm etc, just think about what makes them happy and is it really the right time to be directing them about to get that perfect shot!

(2) Expect nothing and anything else is a bonus. I never go in with an exact idea in my mind that I would like to achieve. You will be left disappointed most of the time. I like to go with the flow and usually my most used photos are those that were spontaneous and in the moment rather than staged. If you often have your camera out you will find your children get used to it and it isn't such a big deal. Ah the joys of being a bloggers child!

candid photos of a child

(3) Distractions are key. Think bubbles, water, food, things they can explore like nature. Anything to keep their minds off you and your camera. Children don't tend to have much of an attention span either so asking them  to do a certain task such as crafting for a photo could leave you with a very small time frame to get that photo you need. Think outside of the box with this one! Music is often a winner here, get them to sing and dance and this often shows their happy sides too, making it a bit more fun!

(4) Fun! Make sure it is fun for them. Then are children after all and it isn't in their job description to provide you with the perfect image that you want or need! Take them somewhere they love, do something they enjoy, don't make it feel like something they have to do! It also relieves the pressure from you a little too.

tips for photographing children

(5) Set your camera to quick fire! Ensure it is firing shots as quick as it can, that way you may take 100 photos and surely one or two of them will be up to the standard you were after. Children move super fast so making sure your shutter speed is fast enough really is key here too! Continuous mode really is the star of the show here.

(6) Get down to their level. This really does bring a different perspective to your photos, it means you aren't constantly looking down at them and it also means you get their engagement as they wonder what on earth you are doing! If you want to give them impression of them looking bigger than they are then get even lower as if you are looking up at them.

(7) You will no doubt need to crop your images. Don't worry about the fussy clutter around you, you can sort that out at a later date. Just focus on your child and capturing that moment. Also when cropping don’t be afraid to cut part of your child's body off with your framing if it helps the viewer’s eye to focus on what’s important in the photograph, what is it that you are trying to capture?

(8) Don't be worried if they aren't smiling. Some of my best shots are not where my child is smiling. Think candid and natural! You can really capture a personality or a moment that way.



Hayley x

More useful posts:

Blogging tips: 10 tips for photographing children by Surrey Mama


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