How You Can Take Great Pictures of Your Kids
Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010
by Autumn Lockwood
YourPictureFrames.com
Fine tuning your basic photography skills will help you with taking better pictures of children, but there are a few tips and tricks specific to photographing kids that will do wonders in getting some beautiful photos truly worth framing.
The best photographs of children tend to be candid shots, but if you are taking portraits of children, practice with your camera first because kids have a hard time not fidgeting.
Focus on the subject. The most interesting pictures focus on the subject rather than trying to get everything nearby into the shot.
When taking photos of kids outside, you should use "sports" mode on your camera or use a high shutter speed like 1/500 and a wide aperture. The larger aperture will cause the background to blur when photographing children 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 a "burst" mode, this can be great to use with active kids. Burst mode will take several pictures in rapid succession, so you can later choose your favorite.
If you're taking pictures inside and have good indirect light, use your camera without a flash to avoid distracting the children.
Speaking of flash, be extra cautious when photographing babies. Before you use a flash, always check your camera's manual to ensure you're using it from a safe distance. In many cases it will be three feet.
The easiest way to pose a baby is in their parents arms. Always put safety first when posing and photographing children. When you're taking a photograph of a child and parent, have 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. Take lots of pictures, so you'll be sure to get some really good ones.
If you want to get a good picture of a child at any age, wait for them to get fully engrossed in something that really interests them before taking any pictures.
Try to get pictures of those "firsts" like first step, first bike ride, and all those 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 like to be asked.
Preschool age children can be quite cute when interacting with other kids their age. Always look for the cute photo opportunities when kids are holding hands or helping each other.
As you take more photos you will find that it isn't difficult to get great pictures of children but it does require some time and forethought.
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Autumn Lockwood is a writer for Your Picture Frames and loves photography. Shop online and see our large selection of picture frames in a wide variety of styles, colors and sizes . Visit our website and see our selection of wood photo frames and decorative frames.
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