Tips for taking great photos of your children

Collaborative post¦ I don’t know about you, but I am forever taking photos of my child. In her first 3 years of life, she has just grown so fast and I almost feel like I want to capture every moment on camera. However, photographing children can be tricky! Whether your bag boasts (Professional) Full Frame Mirrorless Cameras or the your trusty smart phone alongside the snacks for bribery, there are some challenges that I want to help you to overcome with the tips below.

Get down to their level

When it comes to photographing children, it’s usually best to get down to their level. It shows the story the picture is telling from their perspective and makes for some great shots.

Toddler making sandcastles on beach

Use burst mode

Children move around a lot – and usually very quickly too! Even when they’re still, their expressions are constantly changing. Using burst mode or increasing your ISO allows you to take many shots in quick succession. This way, hopefully at least one of them will be a decent shot!

Mess around

Children are innately fun. Being too serious just won’t work when taking pictures of them (although if you feign seriousness and tell them to NOT smile, they will undoubtedly smile for the camera!) For most photos, you’ll probably want to capture the happy, carefree side of childhood anyway. Therefore, be silly, laugh and mess around while you’re taking photos and you’ll all enjoy the experience!

Lighting

Thinking about the lighting conditions is always important in photography. Natural light is best – if you’re inside, light from a window looks wonderful hitting the side of a face. My favourite lighting condition is “golden hour”, the hour before sunset. The light changing in the sky and long shadows make for some really captivating shots.

Photographing a toddler during golden hour

Remember they’re children

Children have a very short attention span – they just want to have fun! Therefore posed shots are probably not your friend, especially with younger children. Just go with it, let them explore and see what happens and before you know it you’ll have photo albums full of wonderful pictures. Always have the camera ready, because you never know quite what’s going to happen!

Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.

2 thoughts on “Tips for taking great photos of your children”

  1. Some great advice there. I am new to the blogging world and my biggest struggle so far has been getting good shots of my little man. Will give these tips a try and hopefully I’ll get the hang of it soon!

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