Childrens Photography: Capturing the Beauty of Youth
As a photographer, one of the most rewarding areas in my own career has always been child photography. It can also be one of the most frustrating. Childrens photography is different than any other area you will ever work in. Small children don’t sit still like that building or that still life photo, and many times they aren’t as cooperative as your adult subjects. However, that one perfect shot always makes your frustrations worth it; when you capture the beauty of youth!
To help you get that perfect photo here are a few tips for childrens photography.
Working with Children
The first area to cover is working young children. Young people tend to be uncooperative when it comes to cameras and gaining some skills in this area can help. Of course, liking children is a good place to start.
When it comes to babies, it may be helpful to keep some props in your list of equipment. A simple wicker bassinet or that leaned baby chair can make your job easier. Babies cannot hold themselves up, and as a photographer you shouldn’t count on the parents to have the right props for a truly exceptional photo.
Next you will need to learn some skills is in patience. Rarely will a baby or a small child smile because you tell them too, or look this way because you want them to. In this case the child’s parents are your friend.
Explain to the parents what you intend, and they will usually have an idea of how to get their children to cooperate. Even with that though, the perfect child photo usually takes patience. One thing that is worth noting is: when you work with a child in their own home, removing distractions such as the television will make your job easier.
Capturing the Moment
The next thing we need to cover, in childrens photography, is the photos themselves. The way you take the picture can greatly affect how the final images turn out. Here are a few tips to help you get started.
Lighting: When it comes to child photography (and all photography for that matter) lighting is everything. The best lighting for child photos is natural light. A brightly lit window, or an outdoors shot will give you the power of the sun to work with. If you can’t use natural light then your next choice should be softbox lighting.
You should avoid using your flash with children as it will create too many shadows that take away from that youthful glow. Your flash can be useful for another purpose however.
For example if there are too many shadows created by the sun, bouncing the light of your flash off a nearby object can make the shadows more subtle.
Exposure & Lenses: Having a variety of lenses on hand is important for childrens photography. You should have a 16-35mm zoom, a standard 50mm, 85mm, or a 100mm, and even a bigger zoom lens. At least one of your lenses have an aperture of 2.8 or better. Understanding how lenses and exposure times can affect your photo is very important to capturing the subtle details that will really make your picture stand out.
Setting: Some of the best child photographs are taken in a natural setting. Unless you are going for a more formal, studio photo, the child’s home, the family’s favourite destination, or a nice lush-green park are all good choices.
Stay in focus: The last thing you should know is that you’ll need to be ready at all ti
