Pretty as a picture
Filed Under Tips & Tricks | November 26, 2007
It’s the time of year when opportunities for snapping shots of your little ones abound, and yet the results aren’t always all that you’d hoped for. We decided some advice from the experts was in order, so we asked local photographer (and mum) Brianne Oliver from luv u photography, “How can we take better pictures of our kids?”
Here are her top three tips:
Tip #1: Stop trying to pose your kids
Your kids are kids, their job is to run around and have fun. Trying to get them to stop for five minutes for a photo op is torture for them. What you need to do is capture them doing what they do best… playing! Photograph them in the moment. Take a few pix when they’re not looking at the camera (be sneaky about it), then call their name and as they look up, snap another shot. Make sure your camera’s all set up prior to calling them, or else you’ll fall prey to that nasty camera delay, and lose your shot.
Tip #2: Get down to their level
You may have to lay on your stomach or get on your knees, but images of your child looking straight into the camera will always pull on your heartstrings. You can also try the opposite and get up on a chair and photograph them straight down (from the top) this creates a more funky, artistic look. Have fun with it.
Tip #3: Never say cheese
If you are going for that “cheesy” smile then go for it, but if you want to capture your child’s true smile, make them laugh! Sing a silly song, talk in a silly voice, call them a silly name. If you need to, get a helper to do it for you, but you must have them stand directly behind you, at the same level as you, so the child is still looking at the camera.
Remember to take lots of pictures. Digital cameras have given us the ability to capture hundreds of images without worrying about the cost of film. Have fun with the whole process. Take a couple shots of the same thing, then erase the ones that don’t work and keep the ones that do.
Brianne Oliver is a Maple Ridge mother of two who turned her passion for kids and photography into luv u photography. Bri specializes in maternity, newborn and kids photography in the Lower Mainland.
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