Gadi Ohad, photographer

Children are the most beautiful thing we have in life, and they are so close and accessible. However, childhood passes all too soon, and before you know it, your little ones are already attending the first grade, getting their graduation diplomas and leaving home in the blink of the eye. 

One moment before that happens, you have a precious opportunity to capture your children's beautiful and innocent moments which will flee soon enough, leaving you with only the photos and memories to remember them by…

Here are 10 good tips for photographing children, and I'll start with the most important one.

1. Patience

Photography as a whole and children's photography in particular requires patience and practice. Always remember that the child won't necessarily cooperate with you and is not always interested in the fact that the adult playing and watching him/her wants to take their picture right now. For that reason, you should be patient and remember that there is no guarantee that you'll get the photos you aim for. With time skill is acquired, your photos will improve and you'll learn how to get your child's cooperation (see the other tips…).

2. Stoop to the child's level

 When I say "stoop to your child's level" I mean shooting  from the child's point of view and not your own. I see many parents shooting their kids while standing tall above them. Shooting from above creates an optical illusion which dwarfs the subject. Your child is already small, and shooting him/her from above will "glue" him/her to the floor. Therefore, all you have to do is kneel down to their level, sit on the floor (sometimes lie down) and shoot your kid from their own point of view, making their image look more similar to real life.

3. Lighting

Lighting is a key component of the photo. The best time of day to shoot is when the sun isn't high and bright, so an afternoon in the park when the sun is low in the sky is perfect, and will help you avoid hard shadows and create a more balanced photo in terms of lighting. In case you have no choice but to shoot during the "hard hours", try and place the child in the shade and make sure the background isn't too bright as well.

4. Background

The background is an inseparable part of the photo and might form a distraction for the real subject you set out to capture. Therefore, make sure that the background doesn't steal too much of the attention. There are several elements that might distract attention from the subject, and they should be avoided when choosing the background (either in the front or back of the frame), such as poles or trees sticking out of the child's head, anything blocking the child's face, very bright or white (burned) elements, and graffiti writing or billboards that don't contribute to the shot.

5. Direct glance

Shooting a child during play is a wonderful thing. We often shoot the child without him/her noticing it, but shooting a child who is facing directly to the camera may upgrade your shot. I often see parents try and capture the kid's attention by calling his/her name, clapping, jumping up and down in the air and making sounds of monkeys in the jungle, yet despite their best efforts are unsuccessful in getting the child's attention. Nothing will distract a child who is focused on playing, except for a loud unexpected noise. If instead of calling the child's name you sneeze very loudly, the child will instantly look up in search of the source of the noise which interrupted his/her playing, and that is your golden moment to take the shot. Remember that this trick doesn't work when practiced repeatedly.

6. Posing

Kids are much smarter than we think. They like to imitate others and play with friends/family. If you want to shoot a child in a particular pose, you should explain what you want and even demonstrate. Once your kids reach a certain age, you can even ask them to show you how something looks or do as it does, for example: "Barak – could you show daddy what a monkey looks like?"

"Shaked – could you point at that bird?"

Sometimes you should sit or lie in the position you want to catch your child doing and ask the child to do the same, "Dvir – let's see if you can do what mommy is doing".

7. Cooperation

In order to increase the child's cooperation, include him/her in what you're doing, by showing him/her the photos you took and complementing him/her on them –"Barak, look how nice you look, let's try another one and this time I want you to stand like this …" If the child fails to cooperate, try the same thing on someone else, for example mommy, and compliment her on how well she poses. Your child will instantly want to receive the same compliment and look as good as mommy.

8. Shoot outdoors and not only indoors

Go with your kids to the playground, let them play in the garden, let them climb on the facilities (this way you don't have to bend over as much), use a facility at the playground as your background, frame the shot by using a facility that will fill the edges of the frame.

9. Dressing up and role playing

It's true that not every day is Halloween, but when deciding to go on a photo shoot, every day can become a masquerade. Excite your children with role playing, "Ronen, today you are a king," dress him up and play with him, "Ronen, let's see how an Indian stands, show me your sword," and get extraordinary, great photos.

10. Preparing ahead of time

When shooting your child it is important he/she feels comfortable and not troubled by unrelated issues, so prior to shooting make sure your kid is well fed, well slept, and is of course clean. It's wise to carry with you an extra set of clothes and diapers, and some "sweets" for the road to help achieve a tolerant, relaxed child. 

These were 10 short tips on children's photography. There are many more other important tips to add to upgrade your photography skills, and the more you practice – the better you become, and photography becomes your second nature.

Learning even more

There are many ways to get the most out of your camera and yourself. For that you can join a wonderful photography course in English at the Galitz School of Photography. There are courses for different levels, from beginners to advanced and we even got them to give ESRA members a 10% special discount.
For more photography tips and articles and information about the courses, you’re welcome to go online – www.galitz.co.il/en (for English) or call 077 409 0280.