Kids

Photographing kids for me is second nature by now. Parents and some pros have asked me how do I do it, most tell me, “you must have a lot of patience”. Well I do and I don’t. The trick is incredibly simple, place the kid in his/her environment, let them have fun within the boundaries of what you need to shoot. In commercial work, have a great and very fast stylist working with you. Oh! and plenty of wardrobe to change into. Yes they eventually get messy, so stop and take a break while they change. In your personal life it gets a little more complicated but most times you don’t care if they got a little messy, it is the way they are. I actually have considered some messiness in commercial work, I like showing it like it really happens. But I do understand clients who want it all clean.

Natural light + reflector

You remember that expression said by your photography teacher “all you need is 1 picture from the roll”, its pretty true here. With film I could have shot 20 rolls from which many were great, but all I needed was 1 shot. Today with digital photography, who cares how many you shoot as long as you have time to delete! I know a mom that once told me that every shot she had of her kid was with her eyes closed. Older digital cameras don’t shoot exactly when you press the trigger. So shoot 3-4 shots on the moment you want, at least 1 will have the eyes open. Yes it is also true that I don’t really do that today, after 20 years shooting, you kind of get the hang of it. Learn the mannerism of the kid your are shooting. Does he turn more often left than right? does she put her hands in her face often? what triggers that, surprise or laughter? I rather not ask a kid to put their hand by their face, I rather it comes from within so the expression is and looks real. OK yes, you may need to do this 10 times to get the shot, so either get an arsenal of phrases you can use or have someone with you who is good at it, I usually use the latter (my wife).

If you are starting to shoot kids professionally, you are not going to like this part. Have another person with another camera from another angle shooting at the same time. As long as you are directing the shoot, that shot belongs to you, now you are also a Director. I was taught this by an old photographer friend, and it changed everything. I still do it if I have an available human to hold a camera.

Baby pictures are the easiest and sweetest. All babies look cute sleeping, so use that time. Search the web for baby photographers, you will find incredible ideas and poses to put your baby into. Of course be gentle at all times.

Clothing and background are key for portraits! if you are just capturing the moment, then just try to see what would be best to be in the background, just move around if you are able to. Energy is another thing you will need to follow and capture that shot, if need be.

ISO 6400 light from the lamp post

The only technical aspect of shooting that I will give you here is this: make sure your camera is shooting above 1/160 of a second, otherwise your shot will have motion, which sometimes looks really cool. If you have a point-and-shoot camera and don’t know about this, ask a friend who may know. Also look for the little symbol of a person running! If you have a camera that allows you to shoot manual then just make sure to get that setting right. Don’t be afraid that your ISO needs to go to the thousands, is best to have a grainy shot than none at all. And limit shots with flash, camera flashes usually take away from the beauty of the moment. Again, unless you are shooting an extreme closeup, do not be afraid of using ISO 6400 if available. Keep it as low as you can, just don’t be afraid to go there.

Please feel free to write questions below, I will try to answer them as I have time!

Thanks,

Carlos