Photographing children can sometimes be a difficult task, as kids generally don’t like posing for the camera, especially when they’re busy doing something they love. Everything happens very fast, which makes it extremely difficult for the photographer to capture the moment correctly.
For this reason, many of us end up with some blurry, blurry photographs of children, so you may be wondering: How can I improve my child’s photographic skills to achieve satisfactory results?
- After surfing the Internet for advice on child photography and taking crazy photos of all the children who come across.
- You need to find a clear and specific article that gathers all the tips to get a great children’s photo.
But first, you must understand that child photography goes far beyond simply asking children to look at the camera and smile, a true portrait will reflect each child’s personality, energy and uniqueness and joys.
Here’s a rundown of the most important factors in child photography that you should always consider:
While things can get a little out of hand in child photography, try planning the photo shoot as much as you can. First, you need to know what kind of equipment you’ll need for this photo shoot.
If you plan to turn inside, bring all the necessary equipment with you. The light inside the house or building may not be as big as outside and you may need additional photographic equipment for things to work. It is not recommended to shoot with it indoors, simply because these devices produce a lot of noise in low light environments.
To have quality images inside, you will need a good light source to illuminate children and the whole environment. Capturing a child’s photo through a large window or a well-lit room can be very helpful. But you can also rely on your flash and other professional lighting equipment if natural light is out of reach.
For outdoor children’s photography, it is necessary to know the basic lighting techniques. Remember that capturing images against the sun is not pleasant, especially if you don’t know how to manually control the camera.
What camera settings should I use?
Because children are fast, dynamic, and spontaneous, it’s virtually impossible to order them to do what you want. Set up your camera for an environment where you can easily control the process. The aperture priority mode is highly recommended for children’s photography, as you can play with depth of field, change the aperture and let your camera choose the best shutter speed.
In low-light environments, you’ll probably need to adjust your aperture as little as possible, however, a fast lens with a large aperture like f/1. 4 helps a lot to have a reasonably fast shutter speed. the light starts to fade, increase the ISO configuration a little. Even if the images are a little grainy, you can capture a worthwhile image for the entire photo shoot.
Remember that it is better to have a sharp image with more noise than a quiet but blurry image!If your camera has an automatic ISO function, turn it on. A little noise isn’t a big deal, however, you can get rid of it in Lightroom or Photoshop, for example.
What are the best cameras and lenses for children’s photography?
Any camera will work well, although a DSLR camera with quick release lens is strongly recommended. You don’t need high-end DSLRs for this, any DSLR camera will work a lot for child photography, after all, most importantly. part is the lens.
Fast lenses are a must, as they work very well in dark environments and do a fantastic job of isolating people and creating a beautiful background blur, also known as “bokeh”.
There are thousands of lens options for your DSLR camera, your available budget will determine your purchase, however, remember that this is the key to make your child’s photography a success, so don’t get too out of it.
What lighting equipment should I use for low-light indoor photography?
Excellent question! If you do not have a large and powerful light source to illuminate the room, such as a large window, your only option, unfortunately, will be to use a photo flash/external lighting. Remember that you should not use a built-in flash for any kind of portrait. The camera’s built-in flash creates dreadful shadows on children’s faces and backs, so don’t try to use it.
For rooms with white ceiling and not too high, a good way to illuminate the room is to use an external flash mounted on top of the camera, with the flash head facing up, this means it directs the light towards the ceiling, giving softer shadows.
When using a flash, set it to “TTL” mode, set the camera to “Manual” mode, then set the aperture between f/ 2. 8 yf / 5. 6, the shutter speed to 1/200 to 1/250 second and ISO to the lowest number (100 ISO or 200 ISO).
In “TTL” mode, the camera automatically determines the power of the flash and fires the appropriate amount to properly expose the image. This will leave you without problems, works very well and offers excellent results.
For Nikon DSLRs, you should look at the SB-600 and SB-900 flash units, while for Canon DSLRs, see external flashes 430 EXII and 580 EXII.
When you have time, try to meet the child before the photo shoot. Try to determine what the child likes, find common ground, be your friend. Don’t be another adult who dictates what to do. Stick to your level of innocence, play and make the children’s photo shoot more fun for the little ones, make them laugh and show them that they can trust you.
Contrary to what most photographers think, there is absolutely no need to ask the child to smile at the camera, besides having muted and fake images, you will get nothing fancy, since most children’s photo albums have a similar image.
Let the child play and have fun, be himself, while you do your job as a children’s photographer. Ask parents to stay right behind you, so that when everything is ready, call the child yourself or ask the parents to do so. while the child looks at the camera, instantly adjust the focus closest to the eye and take a picture. Remember that even without a smile, you can have exciting, sensitive and moving images, but it’s important to connect with your child for the best results.
Storyboard: To truly capture the child’s personality, child photography must be in its purest appearance, capturing the child as he moves and plays, with this you will have at least 3 to 4 large images with only 15 minutes to create a series of images in a frame. This action-packed image series tells a longer story than a single image and also adds variety to your final product. Parents love this kind of cliché!
Try to show the emotional appeal, sensitivity and spontaneity of your images. Let the child contact you. Let the child tap the back of your camera and display their images on the LCD. The little ones have a natural curiosity, take the opportunity to make them more comfortable with the children’s photo shoot.
Like adults, children tend to be nervous after seeing a room full of equipment or a stranger in the family. While we already know that bonding with your child is essential, it’s also helpful in helping you stay relaxed.
Give them something to play with, a person can have many options to entertain children. The first step is to consult with parents and find out what their children like to do, then be sure to bring the material so you can create links. Have toys such as balls, balloons, candy, fruits at your fingertips. Although you can perfectly use these accessories in your pictures, the main goal is to make the child relax and distract their mind during the children’s photography session.
While it’s common to go down to your child’s eyes with your camera for more fantastic images, you can also try several things against these common rules.
Take photos from different angles, capture the child’s toys and objects, try different and even unusual angles. Remember that creativity is your friend, so work with her. Keep in mind that you create memories for the next few years, so sensitivity is a big part of child photography and should be evident in your images.
Local? Location is very important for creating great images and you may have read it at a later time, but in children’s photography, this is especially true. Some parents let the photographer choose the location, others want to be part of that choice.
Anyway, just make sure you choose the area in advance, don’t miss the opportunity to travel, if you have the time and means to do so, this way you’ll learn more about the area, identify the best places for your child’s photography, and finally better plan your child’s photography.
Context? When taking pictures, make sure there are no distractions in the background. Ideally, the child is isolated from the background, which should appear pleasantly soft and blurry. Pay attention to rough objects and unpleasant colors, both in the background and around the landscape. to make child photography more effective.
Clothes? I advise you to look at your child with something that really matches his or her personality. It’s your job to be creative and try different things to see if one approach works better than another, so tell parents to bring extra clothes and other items, such as hats, sunglasses. , etc. , during the children’s photography session If you think the outfit is not very attractive or suitable for the environment, talk to parents and kindly ask them to change outfits, if any, assign suggestions based on your experience as a children’s photographer.
Program? Time is another important factor in obtaining successful images. To avoid shadows and various exposure problems, try taking pictures early in the morning or late afternoon. Cloudy days also contribute to great work, as clouds help soften light.
Don’t assume that the child’s parents understand and share their tactics and how they treat their children. Take the time to explain your plans and get close to them. Since they feel comfortable and confident with their style and idea, they can help you a lot. during the period of child photography.
Some children tend to respond better to the photographer if they notice that their parents sympathize with the professional, that is, they first conquer the parents so that the child’s sympathy comes. In addition, parents can act as intermediaries between you and the child. helping them interact with each other and making everything more natural.
Another point that cannot be denied is that parents know their own child better than anyone else, their trick can be fundamental to composing a successful child photo without much work.
Being a child photographer is no easy task, children are very unpredictable, you can’t even predict your children’s behavior, if you have it, what about a child you just met?
Be patient, give them time to get used to you and your presence. Reassuring parents and children will mainly facilitate your investments in child photography and if you’re patient, things tend to go well. The special thing about children is that they are very sensitive, so they can notice the minimum stress on their behavior and feel uncomfortable about it.
Children can become very temperamental during the child photography session if they are tired or bored, from time to time they will want to get up and have their attention imprisoned, even temporarily, by something more cheerful in another room of the house.
When you realize that you are losing your child’s attention, try shifting your focus and bringing him back to the child’s photo session. Some good bribes help, but check with your parents to see if they can use them. Ultimately, if you can’t capture all the footage you need, schedule a session for another day or later.
Yes, taking many photos is extremely important in child photography. Don’t sit there waiting for the best time to press the camera shutter as it may never appear. Take lots of photos, change angle and capture even more pictures, zoom in, go further and keep photographing!Chances are you’ll have plenty of images to select the best ones to be part of the final result of your child’s photography.
Oh, and when the child collaborates, take advantage of this moment to take as many photos as possible, after all, you never know when your mood will change and the child’s photo shoot will end.
As a general rule, we recommend that you do not perform too much post-processing on your images, especially when your work produces well-composed photos, which rarely need to be processed.
The best part of child photography is that kids don’t have imperfections or imperfections, allowing you to remove editing from your photos, so try to keep the image as natural as possible.
There’s nothing wrong with giving your child’s photography a few finishing touches, but not doing so can save you a few hours of work and, at the same time, excessive treatment can change the child’s personality and you don’t want it, I’m. Right?
You may need to crop the image, correct the angle, and add thumbnails to highlight the theme in the center, in which case, feel free to edit the images, but if you can leave the children’s photo intact, it’s better!
It is obvious that due to the impatience of the children, it will be difficult to adjust their camera correctly, sometimes the settings can be corrected in post-processing, however, when you can get the best composition to capture the image, do it!
The above tips will help you create an excellent photo for kids, because the protagonist of the photo can be very volatile, the last recommendation is to do everything that is best for your star.
Now, if you’re a professional child photographer, help enrich this discussion by leaving your personal trick in the area below, or just your opinion of the article.