Parents know better than anyone the importance of capturing precious moments of your kids. Having beautiful photographs of your children at various stages of childhood is a keepsake for the whole family to look back on years down the road. But here’s the truth: family portrait time only comes a few times per year, and you mostly likely don’t have a family photographer at home with you to document these special moments in real time.
How to take the best pictures of your kids
Not to worry, though — I’m here to help!
As a family, maternity, and newborn photographer, I have a few tricks up my sleeve for getting those sweet, perfectly-lit candid photographs of your little ones.
Here are some tips that are sure to help you get those beautiful images of your kids right at home:
1. Lighting
Without a doubt, lighting is the most important thing to consider when taking photographs of your kids. The difference lighting can make in your final images is huge, and can truly make or break a photograph.
Now, I’m not telling you to go out and invest in studio lighting equipment, or anything like that. Instead, simply learning to utilize the natural light in your home, backyard, and daily activities will be more than enough to significantly improve your photos.
With that in mind, here are some tips to improve your child portraits using natural light:
- Find soft light: Soft light is the holy grail of natural light photography. Locations with open shade (beneath a tall tree) or filtered light (near a window with blinds) are perfect places to find soft light.
- Avoid harsh light: If soft light makes for flattering portraits, harsh light has the opposite effect. You can find harsh light in direct sunlight, or outside on a sunny day with minimal cloud coverage. The light is bright, intense, and may be difficult to look at. When you’re in harsh lighting, you’ll notice that your shadow on the ground is pronounced, and this will translate to your photos. To avoid shooting in harsh light, try to find a shady area nearby or a source of diluted, softer light.
- Use the sun to your advantage: If you’ve ever worked with a professional natural-light photographer, you may have noticed that they rarely schedule sessions in the middle of the day. Instead, photographers often prefer to photograph in the two hours during/after sunrise and the two hours before sunset, or “golden hour.” When the sun is rising and setting, the light is naturally filtered, and makes for soft, flattering portraits. If you’re able to, try going in the backyard and taking some shots of your kiddos early in the morning or right after dinner — you’re sure to notice a difference!
2. Get On Their Level
One of the best ways to improve the photos of your kids is to simply get down on their level. Photographing your kids at eye-level immediately allows you to capture your kids’ expressions and idiosyncrasies, which is a key ingredient in a beautiful portrait.
From your child’s level, you will be able to see the world from their perspective, and will add plenty of interesting angles and points of views in your portraits.
Further, using this technique ensures that you’re not photographing your kids from awkward or unflattering angles. Instead, get on the floor with your kiddos and capture that eye-contact, silly giggles, and unique expressions.
3. Document Candid Moments
When taking photos of your kids, try and capture the beautiful natural, authentic moments of your daily life.
Allow your kids can play games together and incorporate movement when you have your phone or camera out to take some portraits. Have a dance party in the front yard, play red-light-green-light, or have the kids play with any pets you have.
Further, you can ask your kids “how high can you jump” or “how fast can you run” and give them all the praise when they show off to you. I promise you, your kids will reward you for making photo time fun!
4. Ready For Your Close Up?
A photographer friend of mine once gave me this piece of advice that I’ve held onto for years: if something doesn’t add to an image, then it detracts from an image. Try to fill the frame of your image with an aspect of your kids, and to clear on what your intended focus of the image is.
Do you want to highlight your child’s soulful eyes, crooked smile, or heartfelt interaction with a friend or loved one?
Whatever your focus is, make it clear in your image by getting up close and filling your frame. Getting up close to your kids will surely add intimacy and emotion to your photos.
5. Get Creative!
Take it from me — the sky is truly the limit when taking creative, one-of-kind child portraits.
Experiment with setups, locations, props, and accessories that you gravitate toward, and don’t be afraid to go all-out! Run by the local florist and pick up some fresh flowers to incorporate into your photographs, or dig through the linen closet and use a plain white sheet as a backdrop.
There really are so many ideas and ways to play around when photographing your kids without
the direction of a professional family photographer.
When it comes down to it, there’s no wrong way to document your kids’ childhoods. Whether you’re an iPhone photographer, motivated shutterbug, or true camera enthusiast, your kids will be grateful to look back at these images years down the road, and to remember just how loved they were during these precious days.
Click here to learn more about Lauren Peterson’s photography!
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What tips do you have about taking pictures of your kids?
