Documenting my children

Mar 27

While I’m sad not to be doing professional photography at this time, I am enjoying getting back to some documentary photography and of course, taking way too many photos of my children. As you can imagine, my children are very well photographed. I love documenting their life and personalities. It also gives me a lot of practice and opportunities to try different styles.

Some tips for photographing your own children during this historic and difficult time:

Wait for it… While it’s tempting to click away, more often, the images are best when you wait for the more impactful moment
Mornings and late afternoons. Generally, the morning and evening lights are better. If shooting midday, embrace the harsh light and make it part of the image. The best light, of course, is during that golden hour before sunset.
Natural expressions. Refrain from asking kids to smile or scolding them - I see it all the time, and it instantly changes the children’s expressions to be less joyful or natural. Instead, tell them a joke, ask them to turn slightly, use simple less strict directions.
Everyday moments are often just the best! If you practice, you can set up a scene, see what unfolds, and capture great imagery.
On phones, use portrait mode. This has less distortion of natural facial features.
On cameras, use 50mm or higher, preferably 70mm or higher!
Angles and cropping. Play around with cropping and angles. It can completely change the emotion of an image.