Want to arrange a family photoshoot with your children, but have little experience in photography? Then keep reading this article to discover 7 tips that will help you take outstanding pictures of your kid.
Get Down to Their Level
Shooting photos of kids from above is one of the most common mistakes. Not only do they look smaller, but they also can’t show their personality like that. It’s better to sit down on the floor or lay on the ground to be on the same level. In some cases, you might even like to get even lower than their eye level and shoot upwards.
This is just one example of how you can play with the composition of your image. For more details about composition in photography, check the link and learn how to make your photos look more professional.
Take Advantage of Natural Light
Artificial light is very difficult to use in photography – professionals study and practice doing lighting setups for a long time before they use it in their work. This is why we don’t recommend using artificial sources of light for your family shooting.
Use natural light instead – it’s free and does not require any special knowledge. The best time of day for shooting in natural light is a golden hour – the light looks warm and soft. You can also try taking shots in the afternoon since there’s normally a lot of light at that time of day. However, the sunlight might be a little harsh, so you’ll have dark shadows in your photos. So make sure there is no shadow on the kid’s face while taking the photos.
Don’t Force Them to Smile
Nobody likes it when someone asks them to smile for a photo, especially children. Even if they smile, it looks neither happy nor sincere. So what should you do?
Just let the kids be kids. Once you give them freedom, they start to have fun. And these are the moments you’ll want to capture.
Enhance Photos in Post-Production
No matter what kind of camera you use, your photos will probably need a little bit of editing – colours might be captured wrong, a stranger might pass by and spoil the shot, or the picture might simply look too dull. It might be too time-consuming to correct all of that on your own.
This is where the filters come in handy. It’s a simple and quick way to colour correct and stylize a photo, as well as improve the overall quality. But you don’t have to apply a filter to each image separately – instead, edit all your photos at once. Follow the link and find out how to put a filter on pictures in mere seconds. This way, your photoshoot will have a unique style, and everyone will think you hired a professional photographer.
Choose a Simple Background
Children tend to wear brightly coloured clothes with lots of patterns and cartoon characters. The background, in contrast to the kid, has to be simple. It will help you draw the viewer’s attention to the children. You should also avoid trees and telegraph poles – they can be very distracting in a photo.
If you can’t find anything suitable, you can make the background blurry or replace it with another in post-production.
Use the Right Equipment
As a family person you might know that sometimes there is just a second to snap a picture before it’s too late. In order to capture the moment, make sure you have your camera set up beforehand.
Modern mobile phones have great cameras built into them, but they still can’t beat a DSLR. Using a DSLR will obviously require a certain level of skill. If you are using a DSLR, it’s important to adjust the settings in advance: ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture, etc. We also recommend you shoot in RAW – photos taken in this file format contain more details and have a better quality. Don’t worry if you don’t know much about camera settings though. The best way to learn is by doing. So just get out there and take your photos without hesitation.
Be Assertive
It might be tempting to capture every single moment and detail you see. But the more shots you take, the less likely it is that you’re going to even open the photos. It will require plenty of time to check out and pick the good shots among thousands of similar pictures.
There’s a popular trick that can help you. You can pretend you’re shooting with film and that you only have several frames in your roll – just think of a number and stick to it.
Conclusion
With these seven hacks, you can take pro-level photos of your kids. But whatever you shoot, make sure to enjoy the process – these are the moments you’ll never take back.