How many time have you attempted to get some nice photos of your children and not really got what you wanted to? Lets be honest here, it probably most of the time. All you want is one nice photo at a family party and what you end up with is cheesy smiles and half closed eyes. After several attempts of getting the same result you give up and move on.

Pass the wine!

Sound familia?

Don’t worry, you are not alone

This is happens to almost every parent. I have spent years developing my craft and this is the main reason why people choose a professional photographer. They just want some beautiful images of their children, with natural, non cheesy smiles, but getting them is not that easy.

As much as I would love to come to every family day out and holiday, sadly you are going to be totally on your own. So as I want you to have the best possible photos from those times you are not with me, I’ve come up with my top tips for getting the best photos of your children.

My top 8 tips for photographing your children

1. No more cheese. If I here one more “say Cheese” I think i’ll turn into a mouse. It makes for some very strange facial expressions and you can guarantee you will never get a nice natural smile from getting them to “Say cheese”.
2. Awkward. The number one way to get children (and adults) to feel awkward is by trying to get them to pose. Instead, get you children doing something. Ask them to pick the flowers or jump in the air. Get them to build a tower together.  Tell them that you want to get some nice photos and how much it means to you. Get them involved by asking them what they would like to do.
3. Talk Talk. This is great for older children who can often feel a little more self-conscious in front of the camera. Get them talking about what made them laugh at school recently or to tell you about their favourite video game.
4. Play time. This is the best tip when photographing children. IF we are outdoors, we go on bear or fairy hunts. We find stick to use as swords and run around. They will be so caught tup in the fun that they will forget that you are taking photos of them.
5. Get low. By crouching down or laying on the floor you will see the world from their perspective. This gives for a lovely feel to an image.
6. Keep it light. Getting those catchlights in a persons eyes really makes the photo pop. So when positioning your subject you need to be placing them toward the light. If inside try and keep the subject close towards a window. If outside try and keep them around  a 45 degree angle from the sun.
7. Keep going.  As the old saying goes Practice makes perfect the more you take, the better you will become. Just keep practicing.
8. The everyday. Don’t just photograph the days out, photograph the everyday too. Kids getting ready for bed, bed time stories & bath time. These are the little things that you will want to treasure and remember in the years to come.

I really hope you will get your cameras out and have fun.