If you want to take better pictures of children, here are some helpful tips that will help you improve your pictures right away.
If you want to improve your pictures of children,
here are a few tips and tricks that will help you get children pictures truly worth framing.
Usually the best pictures of children tend to be candid photos, but if you are taking a formal portrait, always practice with your camera first so you're ready.
When taking candid pictures of children outside, use an optical zoom or a telephoto lens for best results. This will help you take pictures further away so you can become less obvious when taking pictures. The more noticeable you are taking pictures, the more likely the children will be silly or clam up making it hard to get a natural expression. And you will need to be patient. Let them get used to you being there with your camera. Over time they will settle down.
Focus on the Subject in the Picture. Avoid trying to get everything into the shot and instead just focus on the subject.
When photographing children outdoors, you'll usually get the best pictures in Sports mode or by selecting a high shutter speed, such as 1/500 and a large aperture. With the larger aperture, the background will blur when photographing a child from about 10 feet away. You can also do this with portrait mode, but the great part of using manual settings is you can blur the background and freeze the action.
If your camera has burst mode, this is also a good one to use with active kids. It will take several pictures in rapid succession, and then after uploading to your computer, you can choose the best.
If you're taking pictures inside and have good indirect light, use your camera without a flash to avoid distracting the children.
Be especially carefully when using a flash when you're photographing babies. Before using flash with anyone, consult your camera's manual for the maximum safe distance. In many cases it will be three feet.
One of the best ways to pose a baby is in the parents arms. Always think "safety first" when posing children. When photographing a child and parent, show relationship by having them look at each other or at the same thing. To get baby to look in the same direction as the parent, shake a gentle noisemaker like a bean bag or small rattle.
When taking pictures of toddlers, you will need to take pictures fast. Always be prepared to take lots of pictures so you'll be sure to catch a few really good ones.
One of the very best ways to photograph a child of any age is to wait for when the child is engrossed in something that is really interesting to him or her and then shoot away.
Always focus on getting pictures of the baby "firsts" like the first step, first birthday, bike ride and all of the other important moments.
Finally, before taking a picture of someone else's child, unless the child is in public in a group, like marching in a parade, ask the parent for permission. It's legal to take pictures of people, including kids, without permission, but put yourself in the parent's shoes. Most parents would prefer being asked.
Preschool age children can be quite cute when interacting with other kids their age. Look for those buddy photo ops like when two little ones are holding hands or helping each other with a task.
As you can see taking better pictures of children isn't really complicated but it does require some time and forethought.
