Carol Swales Photography: Non-Technical Tips to Take Better Pictures of Your Kids

I originally wrote this article for our preschool newsletter, but I got several requests to post it on the blog as well so here it is!

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Most parents would like to take better pictures of their children. Although I have always loved to take pictures, in many ways my journey into photography started with a desire to take better pictures of my son. With photography I wanted to show who he was and tell his story, to capture the sweet moments in time as he was growing and changing so quickly.

In the last two years I've learned a lot about the technical side of photography, and I've made a significant investment in equipment. However, while both of those help, there are several things you can do to improve your pictures without a big lens or ever even knowing what an "f-stop" is. Here are some non-technical suggestions that you can use regardless of what kind of camera you have.

1. Fill the frame
I've heard this said in many different ways. A friend told me that his high school photography instructor used to say, "The three rules of photography are: get closer, get closer, get closer." By filling the frame with your subject, you minimize distractions and help the viewer focus on what is important.

2. Get down to their level
For photographing children, I like to get right down to their level. I generally hold the camera right at the child's eye level, or just slightly above. As adults we are so much taller than children we're used to looking down at them. By shooting at their eye level you make the child a more powerful subject, and the shot more interesting. I was literally lying on the floor to get this shot of Niall playing with his cars on Easter morning.

3. Off-center is more interesting
Instinctively we tend to compose pictures with the subject right in the center. For more interesting compositions, put the child slightly off-center in a way that makes sense. For more detail on this you can read up on a rule of thumb for composition called the rule of thirds.

4. Take pictures that tell the story
Take pictures of your child while they are playing with toys, with their friends, or doing something that they're struggling with. Look for shots that capture how small they are, like reaching way up to open a door. This shot is of my niece, Asha. She was working so hard learning to throw the frisbee that day!

5. Take more pictures
Increase the odds of getting a good shot by taking more pictures! Many cameras have a continuous capture mode, in this mode as long as you are holding the shutter button the camera will continue to take pictures at a certain rate. I use continuous mode 99% of the time.

To get this one shot of Annabelle, I watched and waited, clicking away. I took about 15 shots to get this one of her struggling to ride her bike up over the edge of the mat.

6. Pre-focus to minimize shutter-lag
If you have a Digital SLR camera you probably don't have this problem, but some digital point and shoot cameras have a very long pause between pressing the shutter button and taking the picture. If your camera has a significant shutter lag, one thing you can do is pre-focus. If you know where the action is going to happen, focus on that spot by holding the shutter button halfway down. Continue holding it, and your camera will be ready to take the shot when you are. When it's time, press the button all the way down to take the picture.

7. Go outside!
The idea here is to avoid using the camera's direct flash. The best days are bright and overcast with a lot of diffused light. In sunny weather look for bright shade without dappled sunlight. One idea for older children is to set up an activity on a table lined with white butcher paper. The white paper will reflect light on the child's face, and the activity will keep them in one place, or at least slow them down long enough to take a few pictures.

What's next?
If you already have a Digital SLR camera and want to take it to the next level, here are some suggestions.

Learn to use your camera's Manual mode. By adjusting ISO, aperture, and shutter speed you can get more creative results. It's not that difficult, it just takes practice.

Shoot in RAW (instead of JPEG) and learn to do post-processing in a program like Lightroom, Aperture, or NikonView. In JPEG, the camera does a great deal of processing and then compresses the image. In RAW, all the original data is preserved, and you do the processing afterwards to make sure the image looks just right.

Recommended Resources:

Local photographer Me Ra Koh has an excellent DVD series to help parents learn photography. The first is Refuse to Say Cheese and Capture the Story. The second, Beyond The Green Box: Understanding Your Digital Camera, is all about learning to shoot in manual mode. These are a great introduction to digital photography and she makes everything very easy to understand. She also does photography workshops for mom's and posts tips on her blog.