Sorry I haven't posted for awhile! I wasn't quite sure how this was all going to work! I have waited for people to send me some examples of their work, but I am realizing that you are all on different schedules and priorities in life. Perhaps the approach I'll take is to keep posting photo tips and tricks, and if you want to send me some pictures for me to critique, I'd be happy to do so. If you are a better student by having to be accountable, then send me your homework! If you would rather read the blog and keep these things in your mind and practice on your own time, then do that too!
Today I'm going to talk about photographing Kids. Let me preface by saying that this is SUPER HARD!!!. And since most of you have kids, and the reason that you want to learn to take better pictures is so you can take shots of them...well, this lesson is for you!
What makes photographing kids hard?
-They have very little attention spans
-They don't like to "hold still"
-They don't like to pose, smile, stand straight, or take their hands out of their mouth all on demand...
-They sometimes just want to do their own thing!
Yesterday I had the great opportunity to do a kids session in Salt Lake City. This was a fantastic and successful session for a few reasons. To see some pictures of the shoot, go to my photoblog . Here's some personal tips: (I warn you that this post is strongly biased! But it's my blog and I'm going to express how I feel! ) But first! A Tangent!
#1 GET AWAY FROM TRADITION AND "perfect" PICTURES
Get away from the quest for Perfection: All too often I think we get stuck in a world of photography where we think that the best picture is going to be the "perfect" picture. The one with everyone looking at the camera, posed in the perfect pose, and smiling. If you go to a studio, that's normally what they're going to try and produce. For my taste...I think its all fake. ---I know of a studio that has everyone come in and photographs each family member individually all wearing black and then picks the best picture of everyone, pieces it together so you can truly have the "perfect picture". Since when are we perfect? And especially our families? I know of others that give specific requests to the photographer to shave off 20 lbs in Photoshop, remove double chins, and do other extraordinary editing to achieve the look that they "wish" they had.
Bottom line: Life is real, our pictures should be too.
Getting Away from Tradition: Yes, its fine and nice to have a traditional studio picture of everyone sitting gracefully, looking at the camera with smiles that have been in place for the 3 second count down, as a way to record and document our lives, but I'm a strong advocate for non-traditional photography. Photographing in locations that have meaning to us, wearing our own clothes that are flattering to us individually (not all dressing in matching polo's and khaki pants that only look good on the boys--that we'd never wear for any other occasion, and that we feel slightly awkward in), and trying to capture the moments that have emotion.
The following picture is one of my favorites that I've ever shot! I love it! I love that the mother let her daughter wear a Tu-Tu for their "Pay a Professional Family Pictures"... It's not traditional, but it's totally HER. It's her favorite outfit anyway, and it tells who she is, and who the family is. Be unique! Be individual! Tell YOUR story;)
Some of my favorite pictures are the ones that everyone is NOT looking at the camera! The one were two kids are looking at each other with mischievous grins and giggles that only they know about, or the one of everyone laughing between shots because someone said something funny...those are the ones I love! Those are the ones that show true relationships and emotion. I've actually been known to use photoshop to swap out heads--NOT to create the perfect picture of everyone looking, but to piece together the picture of everyone interacting!
Here's one from the same shoot that I took while we were walking to our next photo location. They didn't even realize I was shooting, AND it ended up being the picture that they chose for their enlargement;)
Here's some examples from another one of my favorite family shoots this summer. Some pictures are actually pieced together of a few different ones, while others are just moments that happened to be caught. (Hint: take pictures at all times,...not just on the count of three when they THINK you're taking pictures, or when everyone is looking.)
Lest we think that emotion shots are just laughing...here's one of my favorites as well:
I love this shot because it shows a couple of things...first of all, the little one is NOT HAPPY, but second, you can see the loving compassion her sister has for her as she's trying to calm her. This shot would have been missed if I was waiting for them both to look at the camera, and both to be happy and smile.
The following picture is of the mother trying to get her son to smile and pay attention for the pictures (he's 7 months...it's near impossible). I love the family interaction that is here. Take pictures even when you're "waiting" for the perfect shot...sometimes these are the ones that end up being "just the one".
Now to my original intent for this post! PHOTOGRAPHING KIDS!!!!
When the mother of yesterday's shoot contacted me she said that she wanted "motion" pictures of her and her daughter. (She's a modern dancer and wanted pictures of the two of them dancing and playing.) After going there I realized that in large part this was the ONLY type of shoot that would have worked for them. This 2 year old was CRAZY BUSY! She wouldn't sit still for a full 2 seconds, and if you were to try and get her to look at the camera or pose she'd get VERY upset! However! We made it work!
Yesterday's shoot I believe was so fun and successful because of a few reasons:
-It wasn't traditional
-we were in the natural environment of the child (she was comfortable there, and knew what to do and what to play with)
-we didn't seek for the "perfect picture", but to show the "real side".
-she was never asked to look at the camera! Her mom was playing with her, but the shoot involved running, playing, twirling, music, having fun! I think the smiles are absolutely genuine, and not forced, because of these reasons.
-P.S. It helps to have someone "playing" with them. I love the interaction between this mother and daughter. When I go on family shoots that have small kids, I often ask the family to bring along someone that the kids know, who can be "playing" with them behind me while I shoot. When taking pictures of "just the kids", parents can fill that role wonderfully!
**** There's nothing that will end a shoot faster with kids than yelling at them to smile and stand still!
Three more tiny small tricks:
-(I got this trick from my camera teacher, Dustin Fife.)When I'm taking family pictures with kids involved and we need a picture of "everyone looking", play a game with them. Tell them to raise their hands high above in the air. Tell them on the count of three they're going to bring them down really fast! This gets them completely involved in picture process, they love it, and the smiles you get are really exciting!
-Show the kids your camera, and let them take their own picture.
-Don't wear them out. Take a few pictures, and then tell them to go and run around and play. Takes shots of them playing. If you want more formal shots just be sure to "space it out".
Hope all this was helpful!
