Photographing Children
Author: Marina Ćosić
Children are one of very common and the most interesting objects in photography, however, also the most ungrateful. Continuously moving, unpredictable, hard to capture in a good position as well as frame, and also hard to focus, all at the same time. So for a start, forget about capturing them in a good position and bunch of other rules of photography. In these circumstances it's far more important to capture them in their own world and not worry about the technical quality of the photographs. Here are few suggestions on how to handle children.
Photograph them from their early age. Children who are growing up with presence of a camera are very likely to get used to the lens, they will be more open to being photographed and less afraid of it, get darken or run away when they spot you lurking on them.
Get on their level. Photos from the bird perspective can be very good and interesting, but not if all off them are alike. If you get on their level, it will be easier to approach and make contact with them. This kind of photographs will give you much better access to their colorful children's world and also be much better than the ones taken from above.
Surprise them. Children are hard to keep calm when posing. Although, photographs like that are alright, if you surprise them you will achieve what matters – their spontaneity; playfulness, innocence, puzzlement, astonishment or, maybe, admiration. Keep lurking on them while they play, draw, watch TV or talk with other children, when they are looking at adults doing their daily duties; wait on them and photograph them when they least expect you to. This way, you'll capture their faces in most interesting moments and will be able to enjoy them many years later.
At the end, when you get used to working with them, try, also, applying everything you've learned so far about photography and your accomplishment is guaranteed!
