Every photographer’s goal when taking portraits (and especially when you’re a mom!) is to show your subject’s true authentic self, and have their soul shine through. When you capture the soul of a person in a photograph, a lot of things are naturally revealed, like their personality, heart, strength, experiences, humor and what makes them THEM!
But how do you make that happened? Is there a specific setting or button on your camera to create this? The bad news is unfortunately now, but here are some tips and tricks you can rely on to help you capture the true essence of your child.
(1) Candid is best
Capturing your subject’s normal, spontaneous behavior is a great way to catch who they really are in photographs. Overly posed portraits tend to look unnatural and pretentious. When you are able, try to take your photos while your child is around friends, family or playing (especially doing something they really love) works really really well.
(2) Engaging eye contact
As they say, the eyes are the window to the soul! Usually your subject’s eyes look down the lens and that creates a sense of connection between your subject and your audience. But you can also have them glance elsewhere. As your subject to look at something out of the frame. This creates a neat candidness and a bit of intrigue on the part of the viewer, because they wonder what the child in the photograph is looking at.
(3) Get close
Tightly cropped photos reveal more detail. When photographing portraits close up, you can choose just one part of the body – the lips, eyes, hands, etc. to lock in your focus and draw the viewers eye in. These focused images will leave the viewer wanting to know more about the subject creating great visual interest.
(4) Switch up your angles and speak their language
The single most important thing when it comes to working with children is creating rapport with them. Stay away from cliche images like the typical headshot. Instead think outside the box and ask your child to make silly faces, twirl like a princess, rock out like a death metal band, take a big dive into their bed, or even do a cartwheel. This will great some fun energy and motion in your images while conveying a sense of innocence and play.
(5) Be sure to take a series of images
Be sure to have your camera set on continuous shooting or burst mode. When you take multiple images, you are sure to capture more emotions, expressions and actions from your child. As a photographer I love capturing a range of emotions showing a full spectrum of my subject’s personality. Children will also feel more at ease as you flow through different (and fun!) scenarios allowing your images to look more real and candid. Plus it’s always a good idea to err on the side of having too many so those truly authentic ones just jump out!
Remember to keep it light and fun, get down on their level, and enjoy every minute!
