Portrait Photography: Let the Kids be Kids
If there’s anything I’ve learned over the last seven years of photographing portraits of families and children, it’s that the kids run the show. There’s only so many instructions a two-year-old will take in, so it’s good to have a game plan for when little feet are in the mood to run. Here are some tips that I’ve learned from the last few sessions I’ve done.
G and The Threes.
During G’s three-year-old session, she was far more interested in playing on the playground at the park than posing and saying “cheese!” I told her to go up and down the slide and several times. I captured the genuinely happy emotion she was expressing while going down the slide, while also utilizing the interesting shadow pattern made my the daylight.
When she was done with the slide, she was tired enough to sit for a few posed portraits, but they weren’t loved near as much as the photos of her running, playing, and being her happy little self.
It Takes a Village.
Little D wasn’t interested in taking family photos, but he LOVED the idea of playing instead of posing. After trying to get a few “stand and smile” portraits, I decided to let him work out his energy buy jumping up and holding his parents hands. After a few action shots, I got and image with all happy faces that captures more personality than I could’ve before.
When it came time to do a cousin portrait, we had already figured out that the “stand and smile” method wouldn’t work. I used the older, more cooperative cousins to initiate a group hug, then with the help of the parents to get attention (there may or may not have been a few fart jokes included), I was able to capture an image of all the cousins interacting and genuinely smiling.
Want more tips for photographing children? Tweet me at @boldjoyphoto and let me know!
Elizabeth Leland is a senior at The Art Institute of San Antonio where she is earning her BFA in digital photography. After picking up a camera in 2007, Elizabeth developed a love for interacting with people and making genuine connections through the lens. Elizabeth continued to grow in photography and took every opportunity she could to learn from small business owners, established photographers, and teachers. She has worked happily as a portrait and event photographer for most of her career, and found her passion in commercial photography.