Taking photos of your children can often seem like a battle of
wills. Your children are uncooperative, and the more you try to control
the situation the worse it gets. You try to get them to smile and they
repay you by getting even more grumpy. But there are things you can do
to change all that. Here are my top 5 tips for great natural photos of
children.
Don't try to control everything
As parents we often feel it is our duty to tell our children what to do. We tell them when to go to bed, when to eat, and when to have a bath. This is how we care for children. However, there is one thing that kids know more about than we do. They know how to be kids. When you are photographing your children you are photographing childhood, and children are the experts in that. Let your children express how they are and record it for posterity. Follow, don't lead, and use your camera as a tool to learn about them. Avoid posing your children, they will feel constrained and resentful, and worse still they will grow to hate having their picture taken.
Know your equipment
Children move fast and have short attention spans. If you want to catch that great photo it is important that you are familiar with the equipment that you are using and know the best settings to get the type of images you want. This means practising with your camera, reading the manual and getting to grips with the technicalities. Photography is like anything else. If you want to be good at it you have to do the work. I like to shoot on aperture priority and set the autofocus to track my subjects, but there are no hard rules. Experiment and find out what works for you.
Persistance
Don't be disheartened if you don't get a great shot in the first five minutes. Sometimes you have to take a lot of bad shots to get that one good shot. Often the main difference between an amateur and a professional is that the amateur gives up before the professional would. Remember your worst photo is always the one you didn't take. Being a great kids photographer is all about persistence.
Shoot from Their Level
Always try to crouch down when you are photographing children. Not only does it make for better a better composition, it helps connect with them on their level. Try to talk to them and interact with what's going on so the situation seems more normal, don't hide behind your camera and silently take photos - that will unsettle them.
Pick a Great Location
Going to the beach or out into the country will help you take great photos. Keep your children occupied and make the day an adventure and great pictures will jump out in front of you. Better locations give you a great start in producing great images and keep your children interested.
Follow these 5 simple tips and you have a great basis for making great photographs of your children. They are great starting point but ultimately you have to practise and experiment to see what works for you and your kids. Everyone is different and portraits are about expressing that individuality. Don't be afraid of forging you own path and you'll never go far wrong!
Don't try to control everything
As parents we often feel it is our duty to tell our children what to do. We tell them when to go to bed, when to eat, and when to have a bath. This is how we care for children. However, there is one thing that kids know more about than we do. They know how to be kids. When you are photographing your children you are photographing childhood, and children are the experts in that. Let your children express how they are and record it for posterity. Follow, don't lead, and use your camera as a tool to learn about them. Avoid posing your children, they will feel constrained and resentful, and worse still they will grow to hate having their picture taken.
Know your equipment
Children move fast and have short attention spans. If you want to catch that great photo it is important that you are familiar with the equipment that you are using and know the best settings to get the type of images you want. This means practising with your camera, reading the manual and getting to grips with the technicalities. Photography is like anything else. If you want to be good at it you have to do the work. I like to shoot on aperture priority and set the autofocus to track my subjects, but there are no hard rules. Experiment and find out what works for you.
Persistance
Don't be disheartened if you don't get a great shot in the first five minutes. Sometimes you have to take a lot of bad shots to get that one good shot. Often the main difference between an amateur and a professional is that the amateur gives up before the professional would. Remember your worst photo is always the one you didn't take. Being a great kids photographer is all about persistence.
Shoot from Their Level
Always try to crouch down when you are photographing children. Not only does it make for better a better composition, it helps connect with them on their level. Try to talk to them and interact with what's going on so the situation seems more normal, don't hide behind your camera and silently take photos - that will unsettle them.
Pick a Great Location
Going to the beach or out into the country will help you take great photos. Keep your children occupied and make the day an adventure and great pictures will jump out in front of you. Better locations give you a great start in producing great images and keep your children interested.
Follow these 5 simple tips and you have a great basis for making great photographs of your children. They are great starting point but ultimately you have to practise and experiment to see what works for you and your kids. Everyone is different and portraits are about expressing that individuality. Don't be afraid of forging you own path and you'll never go far wrong!
Tobias Key is a Portrait Photographer based in Chichester,
England. You can see more of his work and get loads of hints and tips on
how to improve your photography at http://www.tobiaskey.com
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tobias_Key
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire