Putting children in the picture is sometimes quite a task. With these six tips in mind, it will be much easier to make a beautiful children's picture. Without pasting them behind the wallpaper or hiring a clown.
Photo By Simon Rae
1. Settings for kids photography
Portrait photography covers child photography. The institutions are therefore mainly in line with portrait photography. Preferably use a light-intensity lens. This is not only useful in low-light situations but also gives you beautiful depths of focus to your photo. To do this, use an open aperture (low number) and try to keep your shutter speed as little as possible to prevent motion blur of the children. A wide-angle lens is not recommended as it will result in distortion. You better photograph a few meters away with a small telephoto lens (100mm) to avoid distortion.
2. Light
To avoid harsh shadows and to pinch eyes, you can photograph the best portraits with soft light. Go to your photography location to find this light. Look outside the shade, cover in a too bright light source with a white sheet and make use of a (flash) umbrella in the studio. Do you shoot in a relatively dark space and need more light and do you want flashes? Weather the flashlight then always through the ceiling or a wall. Still, pay attention to the shadows: Make sure they are not too hard or have strange spots running through the child's body posture. You can watch more detail about setting light of camera in this video
3. Location
Where are you going to photograph the child? First of all, you can choose a photo studio. You have much influence on the exposure of your photo. The disadvantage is the unknown space for a child. A second option is to photograph on location. You have less influence on the exposure, but you can easily give the atmosphere to your photos. One last option is to shoot the child at home. The most significant advantage of this is that this is a trusted location for the child. Moreover, you have sufficient influence on the exposure.
4. Eyes
Children also apply: Put the sharpness on the eyes! Pocket through your knees or even lie on the ground to photograph the child at eye level. Photograph yourself in the studio, use an Octabox to make the light shine on the eyes. Outside you can reflect the sunlight in the eyes through a reflection screen. With the sharpness on the eyes, you create radiant eyes. Caroline Boogaard tells her blog how to capture the eyes sharp and sparkling. If necessary, you can add a twinkle to the eyes or increase the brightness through a layer mask.
5. Exciting
Probably a child will find such a photo shoot very exciting. Indeed in an unknown studio with an unknown photographer. Therefore, set the child first on his or her convenience. Explain what you're going to do, let them play with their favorite toys or make some sample pictures of the parents. When you have younger children playing dolls, they are in their element, and they forget the camera. This is how you photograph them when they are entirely self-explanatory.
6. Spontaneous
Children lose their concentration quickly. How do you get them spontaneously in the picture? In younger children, let the parents communicate with them to make them laugh for example. In older children, you can also lose the emotions in a child. For example, put a crazy voice, make a joke or pull an insane beak so that the child will start laughing. It is essential that you keep eye contact with the child during the shoot and you are not hiding behind the camera all the time.
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