We’ve all been there. Dealing with the child who has zero interest in having their pictures taken and won’t look at the camera. Maybe it’s your own child or something you encounter on a shoot. CMadmin, Megan Moore is on the CMblog today with a few tips on how to make the most of those times and recognize that you will often get something more amazing by capturing children just as they are.
They Don’t Always Need to Look | 3 Tips for Photographing Children
Creating images where kids DON’T need to smile and say “cheese”
by Megan Moore
I love capturing kids being themselves. Whether that is silly or serious, delicate or crazed, I love it most when kids are who they are. When I was first starting out with my photography business, I knew this was the direction I wanted to go in. Yes, I can (and do) create the more traditional portraits where everyone is looking at the camera and smiling, but this is where my passion is. Kids. Being kids. Happy, sensitive, cooperative, stubborn, quiet, rambunctious. Photographing a child’s true personality is one of the most important things I can do for my clients – and for my own family.
With the help of my amazing and trusting clients, I’ve been able to create some of my favorite photographs using the tips below. These can easily apply to almost any session, but I am focusing on children here because that is who I photograph most often.
1. Interacting with each other
I’ll ask siblings to tell each other a secret, tickle each other, or ask them who has the silliest laugh, messiest room, etc. It can be anything, really – as long as they forget there is a camera in front of them, and interact with each other. This one works especially well with families also.
But: don’t ask anything too wordy, or you’ll wind up with a lot of images of the kids mid-sentence instead of laughing/smiling/whispering to each other.
2. Engaged in their environment
Because I shoot a lot of sessions outside, this is fairly straightforward and simple. There are loads of distractions to be found outside! Leaves, rocks, trees, grass, the sky, another person off-camera, anything. Point something out to the child, sit back (camera at the ready, of course) and wait for their reaction.
But: be careful about pointing out something too exciting or tempting (an ice cream truck, the ocean, a busy playground), or the kids are likely to run away from you without a second glance.
3. From a different perspective
We all know one of the most popular tips for taking photographs of kids – get down on their level. But also…don’t! Shoot down on them from up high. Shoot up at them from below. Get photos of them walking away. Find a small detail (does she tug on her hair with her fingers when she’s nervous? does he fidget with a loose string on his jeans?) and photograph that. I want to capture their little particular mannerisms just as much as their entire selves.
But: keep it relevant to the child. Don’t ask them to do something that isn’t “them”, or keep going with an idea they aren’t comfortable with. Let them lead you, and you find the interesting angle to photograph it from.
Thank you so much for the tips and sharing your beautiful images with us, Megan!
Megan Moore is a self-taught photographer located outside of Boston, MA. Megan specializes in children’s and family photography, loves capturing everyday life as well as the occasional wedding, and works mainly on location. Along with being a CMadmin, Megan is a Teaching Assistant for the following CMworkshops: “Shooting 301 :Composition & Creativity” , “Shooting 301: Elements of Design,” “Shooting 201: Beyond the Basics” and “ Lighting 101: Natural Light for Beginners.” Megan is also available for mentoring through our CMU program.
Have a question for Megan? Log into the CMforums and ask her in her “Ask the Pros” thread!
If you have a tip that works well for you when photographing children we’d love for you to pull it out of your bag of tricks and share with us in the comments!
great post!
This is awesome! Photographing children is so much fun but can also be a little bit of a challenge. I love your idea about asking them a question or telling them to share a secret. Such a sweet moment that you will be able to capture!
Awesome post! Definitely could have used this info the other day, lol!!
Wonderful ideas, Megan! Thank you for sharing!
This is great!! Thanks so much.
Fantastic ideas and reminders, Megan! I have long admired your work and absolutely love the ways in which you capture children, in particular. Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
Thanks for this. Some great tips for sure!
Wow! These pictures make me so, so happy. Brilliant!
Megan, Absolutely LOVE, LOVE, Love your shots. Each one is creative, emotional, beautiful and a powerful image. I wish this was what MY portfolio looked like. But, given time….
Thanks for sharing these pointers! Can’t wait to try them out! Have an awesome day!
Absolutely LOVE, LOVE, Love your shots. Each one is creative, emotional, beautiful and a powerful image. I wish this was what MY portfolio looked like. But, given time….
Thanks for sharing these pointers! Can’t wait to try them out! Have an awesome day!