Monday, January 3, 2011

PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: SHOOT CHILDREN WITH STEALTH

Child Photography takes patience; more patience than Wildlife Photography if you ask me.
The secret to capturing a great photo is to use stealth.
Now, I'm not going to try and give you tips on how Studio Photographers shoot kids, that's a whole different form of art.

I'm talking about catching candid shots of the little critters when they're outdoors and um, pretty much like wildlife because that's what I do.
It's just children are a little more of a challenge at times.

Like a bird may look right into your lens when you're composing a shot but, he probably won't skrunch up his face and stick his tongue out at you.
Children, well, they do whatever kids will do.


Get them used to seeing you around with a camera.
Point it at them enough so they become accustomed to it.
Make sure there's nothing hanging or dripping from their noses, no chocolate on their faces.
Walk around pretending you're shooting other stuff.
Soon, they'll think you're ignoring them.
They'll start ignoring you back. That's where the stealth part comes in.

When they act natural, which children have a habit of doing, sometimes, move to where the light is best for you, frame the shot carefully and quietly: SHOOT THE CHILDREN WITH STEALTH !


4 comments:

Gene said...

Good advice for getting the candid side of Children. They see you then it's wildlife photography. =)

RyukyuMike said...

Gene,
Yeah, kids can be lots more devious than wildlife in nature!

Unknown said...

Good words of wisdom.

Having spent a fair bit of time photographing my own child, I can say that it's a difficult - and sometimes frustrating - task. If only he would stand still just 1 more second!.

It's always hard to capture moments with children... and those moments are always the priceless photos (as a parent).

Having said that the good thing about photographing your own children (as compared to capturing others) is that you love even the in-between moments.

RyukyuMike said...

AdelaideBen,
It's great if they're your own kids and they're used to seeing you with the camera, too.
The novelty wears off and they start getting curious about other things. Click, click, click !