4 More Tips for Photographing Children
My first post ever here was on being a Momarazzo and my tips for aspiring parent photographers (trying to invent a nickname for us).

Parentgraphers? Photogrents? Still working on that….watch this space). My tips for photographing children aren’t isolated to those few I shared with you in that first post. I’d like to continue to share as I continue to discover.
{1. Playground reflections} I wrote a post recently about the use of reflectors. Before I ever dreamed of being a ‘real photographer’ (whatever that means), I made this grand discovery that photographs taken on the huge silver metal slide at our local playground were amazing because the slide reflected the light! I seriously thought I’d made some ground breaking discovery. I later came to understand about the ways to reflect the light to achieve a beautifully lit face, but I still love to get the kids on the slide.

{2. P.O.V.} Try a different point of view. It can add an edge to otherwise same-same photo situations and give your kid shots a whole new life of their own.

{3. Forced Perspective} Forced perspective photography is that which forces a subject to look larger or smaller than it is in reality. This can be especially rewarding with children because it can make use of the irony of how small they actually are compared to their ‘co-subjects’. I love this snap of my son and husband. Just makes fun of the fact that he totally thinks he’s in charge!

{4. Not just the kids} Parents out there know there is never a lack of art projects for which we must find a home – a final resting place. I’ve only recently discovered the joy of photographing, not only them, but their art. It preserves it long after it has gone and takes away from the guilt on inevitably trashing it while they’re not looking. When I photograph my sons’ art, it makes them feel proud and encouraged that I think what they’re doing is important and I really love the results of thinking outside the box when photographing objects.





22 Responses to “4 More Tips for Photographing Children” - Add Yours
November 25th, 2009 at 12:32 am
The forced perspective is a good technique, I’m not sure you pulled it off in your example, who wants a pic of the top of their childs head?
November 25th, 2009 at 12:56 am
The picture from above the child was a ‘point of view” demonstration….showing how you don’t just have to take portraits head on. I think this was a really nice article…particularly like the idea of taking pics of the kids projects!
November 25th, 2009 at 12:56 am
I haven’t tried the forced perspective thing yet. When I’m photographing children, one thing that gets good results is simply getting down on their level. You have go pretty much crawl around on the floor with them and play. You’ll get your shot.
November 25th, 2009 at 12:57 am
And just one more thing….the pic from above the child is such a beautiful shot…..in terms of composition, feeling, color, and time/space perspective.
November 25th, 2009 at 4:39 am
Wow, what a nice photograph, the baby hanging a man. I think, photography is an art and it is all about creativity.
November 25th, 2009 at 4:44 am
Reflections on the beach can work well too for portraits of children. I made this portrait earlier this year. It was a completely candid moment actually:
I want to try using playgrounds for my next child portrait session.
The environment is definitely the key to good child portraits I think. It has to be a dynamic area, nothing static. At the beach two days ago a 2-year old had a blast running around chasing seagulls. When we stopped to do some posed portraits with his family, the fussing started.
November 25th, 2009 at 6:07 am
I fully agree that reflections and untypical point of view are very a very good ideas.
November 25th, 2009 at 8:57 am
This is a very well written piece. I do a lot of high volume shooting so I sometimes forget what it was like to get creative like this!
November 25th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Thanks for the tip on playground reflections
November 26th, 2009 at 12:40 am
Thanks for the tips; my main subjects are children so I’m always looking for new ideas.
Jason Collin – I love the beach portrait!! I really want to start doing more with reflections also!
November 26th, 2009 at 5:52 am
Very useful tips, especially about using reflections on the playground. Never thought about that before! Thanks for sharing, Elizabeth!
November 26th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Very good tips for doing children photography. I am sort of “Parentgraphers” and I do enjoy the moment with my kid and love.
My experience for shooting children is try to get your partner playing with them for a while before putting out your heavy weapon. I just feel having more good shots by doing this way.
November 26th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
I consider really UNPOLITE to put images with NO EXIF data on this site. This is a “school” site, so everyone can learn from tips & tricks. Very disappointing!..
November 27th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Thanks so much!
I love photographing children and always enjoy reading more tips from others!!!
Best wishes,
J
November 27th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
paul, i feel you but then again the post is about taking different perspective on shooting kids, not about the technical aspects of exif, but more on being creative. take the advise on creativity and apply what you have learned on the shutter, aperture, exposure, iso, etc. from other posts. sometimes spoon-feeding takes out the creativity in us.
November 27th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
thanks; think you right
November 27th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
I’ve tried the forced perspective but my Mum was the subject.
November 28th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
In this present fevered climate, I doubt I could be in the playground with MY grandkids AND a camera without being labelled a paedophile!
November 28th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
@trevor: check out one of my first posts ever about that very thing. http://digital-photography-school.com/im-a-photographer-not-a-terrorist-how-to-shoot-in-public-with-confidence
December 1st, 2009 at 12:52 pm
PARENTOGRAPHER! That’s a good name for parents who want to take professional pictures of their children.
January 30th, 2010 at 11:04 am
I’ve done a few photoshoots where I’ve just let children wander and play, here some good examples of places they found to be photographed! Somtimes (like my tree and mini-cave photo) they find the places that make the most captivating shots! http://www.newlightlife.com – look under personal : )
December 15th, 2011 at 5:27 am
I too agree that the beach is a fantastic location for a shoot. Both kids and adults are more relaxed at the beach which helps a shoot flow naturally.
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