How to take better photographs of your children

Welcome.

1. Study photographs to get ideas.

2. Read your camera's manual. Get some good books on technique. If you really like our work, look for books on how to use natural light. Read your camera's manual again.

3. Good lighting: Control your flash. If you have nice lighting, turn off your flash. If you have harsh lighting, turn on your flash. Good light will be found in the shade, under a covered patio, or near a window indoors. Harsh light is in the direct sun. Turn off your flash if in the shade. Turn on your flash if in the sun. An exception to this rule is when you have golden light--the best lighting of the day occurring during dawn and dusk. If you are shooting in golden light, turn off your flash.

4. Imagination is more important than knowledge. If you have a photo in mind, go for it. If it doesn't work, try to figrure out why, make adjustments, and try again. This is easy to do with a digital camera because you get instant feedback. You ask, "Try again? Try what?" Keep reading.

5. Practice patience when photographing children. Be patient, but be ready. Make sure children are well rested, fed, and happy (or properly bribed). Don't try too hard to get them to do something they don't want to do. Just put them in the general area where you have a decent composition and lighting and wait, and be ready. If toddler keeps scurrying away. Let them go. Let them have a little freedom. Then ease them back to your photo spot a few moments later to try again. We have found that silly dads are good at getting kids to laugh/smile/look up.

6. Take lots of shots. With toddlers, I will take 15-30 shots in the hopes of getting just one good image. I read an article a while back about National Geographic photographers that said they take many thousands of shots per one image published.

7. Fill the frame. Get close to your subject and fill the frame. This puts all of the attention on your child and reduces background clutter.

8. Simplify your composition. Try to find backgrounds that are simple, not cluttered or busy. Look for homogeneous backgrounds that are low contrast.

9. Use your zoom for people portraits. Zoom in and back up.

10. Look online. there are lots of great websites that are full of good information and ideas. One of my favorites is www.photo.net.

11. Blur the background. Many moms ask me how do I blur the background. A simplified answer is to use a telephoto lens (zoom in) in combination with a large apeture. If this doesn't make sense to you, then give Chad a call at (210) 833-4521.

12. If all of this sounds interesting but you want some more detailed instruction or just want to learn how to get the most out of your camera, I offer photography classes. Call Chad at (210) 833-4521.

13. Good luck and happy shooting!