Time flies in the blink of an eye and children grow up way too fast.
Once upon a time your little girl was turning one. Or maybe she was taking her first steps in her grandmother’s yard. A few years pass by and it’s now time for the first day of school.
Sitting in the school’s courtyard in between waves of emotion and nostalgia you’re left wondering, when did my baby turn into this young little lady already?‘
Don’t let all these beautiful and unique moments pass by without trying to immortalize them in your family’s narrative. And what other better way to preserve things as they are right now and keep your beloved memories alive, than by taking as many pictures as you can.
Although many people are satisfied with taking a bunch of shots of their kids from different angles, getting a frame-worthy picture requires so much more than that. If you’re passionate about taking beautiful pictures and you want to educate yourself into learning photography, here are our top 10 tips to help you improve your skills:
1. Get Down To Your Kid’s Level – Position and angle are two of the elements that can greatly influence the outcome of any picture. One of the easiest ways to get great pics of your child is by lowering at their eyes’ level. If you bend down or even lie on the floor, the child can look in the camera straight on, allowing you to catch their best face expressions.
2. Allow Your Child To Express Freely – Don’t force your kids to sit into stiff positions and don’t insist with getting certain expressions out of them. Most importantly, don’t tell them to smile! Seriously, this thing can annoy anybody. Allowing children to express freely and behave spontaneously will offer you the best photo material.
3. Timing Is Everything – As with everything else in life, timing is everything when taking good pics too. Trying to take pictures when your child is tired or cranky will just turn into a losing battle. To save both yourself and your baby the trouble is better to choose a time of day when you know that your child is usually happy and in a good mood.
4. Shutter Speed – Shutter speed is especially important when your child is moving or running around. That’s why if you work with an automatic camera you should always keep an eye on the speed selected. If you don’t want your pics to be blurred, you should ideally choose a speed of 1/200th of a second or faster if you can.
5. Good Lightning Is Everything – In photography, lightning can make or break a picture but good lightning can be quite difficult to get. The best light for photos will always be the natural one but try to avoid direct sunlight. Instead, take shots at sunrise, sunset or by a bright window.
6. Learn How To Edit – No matter if you’re using your cellphone or a professional camera it’s always a good idea to edit your photos. Most modern PC devices nowadays allow for several editing tools to be installed. Adobe, Picasa or Pixlr are just a few of the great options out there.
7. Focus On The Child’s Face – Children’s faces are so perfect and beautiful that it would be a pity not to fill your frames with their portraits.This can be done either by blurring the surroundings or by getting some face shots from close by. For better effect, try not to zoom but instead choose to move your position closer to the child.
8. Simple Backgrounds Are Always Better – In life, simple is often better and pictures are the same way. If you take pics inside, you can do a bit of accessorizing but don’t overwhelm your shots with too many background elements, colors or patterns. If you’re shooting outside you don’t need to plan anything. Nature is already perfect without any extra help from us.
9. Use A Help – Especially when trying to shoot babies, having someone to help will always come in handy. They can make sure that the child stays safe while you take the photos and they can also create some interaction with the child for some more picture perfect facial expressions.
10. Have A Great Time – Last but not least, each opportunity you have to take pictures of your child should be filled with laughter and good mood. These precious times are fleeting so fast that nothing should cloud them. A blurred picture or your kid not standing still for the photo are no reasons to spoil the mood.
