When you are more active on Instagram, your account gets more visibility and I had someone ask me how I get pictures of children the way I do. He asked if I had a blog post or some tips I could email him. Well, I am ALL about not giving away the farm completely, but I am also all about helping other photographers as much as I can, while protecting my own business. There were so many that helped (and still do help) me along the way, so sharing a few tips also feels really right! <3 So read below if you want!
Tip 1: Don't force children into poses. Especially toddlers or extremely strong willed children. It can get ugly really fast. And once children have a meltdown, there's rarely any turning back from that. Rather, pick a time during your session to get one good shot of everyone looking at the camera and smiling. And if smiling AND looking at the camera doesn't work out, so be it. Pick one.
Tip 2: Set the expectations for parents. If you tell parents that you will be able to coerce children into a fully posed photo shoot, you have just set their expectations for that. And those are really hard expectations to meet. If you tell them that toddlers tend to be a bit free spirited and you can't guarantee any (Pinterest) poses (but you sure will try), that's what your clients will expect from you.
Tip 3: Details Matter. When I set out to do a photo shoot here in Conroe, Tx, I always always always think to myself: "What is it that I would want out of a session that I was paying for, taking the time out to do, etc?" The answer tends to be: "US." When my family and I do portraits, I want our spirit captured, who we are, us having fun, us looking beautiful, and also the details. Details.... I LOVE details. Mainly because time is so fleeting and you can only trust your memory so much, so to have tangible proof of my daughter's mullet (yep, she has one and it's adorable), my son's bottom two missing teeth, them holding hands.. their hands... ah, I can't even. You know, those are important to me. Also, details are NECESSARY if you want to story tell with your photography.
And for any clients that might be reading this, share to your photographer what is really important to you and your family. What's important to me may not be what's important to you. And that's ok. Communication really will get the most bang for your buck! <3
Tip 4: Get down on their level. Kids love attention. Kids love to feel cool. Kids love praise. Kids love for you to make believe with them. Kids love to feel 'grown up.' So if you are taking pictures of girls having a tea party, a great way to get those genuine smiles is to simply ask for a cup of tea yourself. Heck, take a sip, too. Ask what they are eating/drinking at their tea party. You have to have your settings perfect and you have to be ready to shoot, because those smiles won't stick there for long.
**Note, in the above example, if you shoot with a long focal length lens, that tip would be really hard to obtain in that case. A 50mm or a 35 would be perfect in getting a shot like I described above! :)
I think those are great tips for starting out on how to get great portraits of young children. I want to start writing this more, so if you have any questions you'd like to ask me, or ideas for additional blog post topics, comment below! <3 Happy New Year, everyone!
Andrea Surak Photography is a: Conroe, Tx Family Photographer The Woodlands, Tx Family Photographer Montgomery, Tx Family Photographer Spring, Tx Family Photographer Willis, Tx Family Photographer Houston, Tx Family Photographer Tomball, Tx Family Photographer Conroe, Tx Child Photographer The Woodlands, Tx Child Photographer Montgomery, Tx Child Photographer Spring, Tx Child Photographer Willis, Tx Child Photographer Houston, Tx Child Photographer Tomball, Tx Child Photographer
