DSLR Photography Forum

Hi there - ive stumbled across your website and have found it ever so interesting I though YEP IM SIGNING UP. Photography has always been a hobby and ive never really considered it more than that but i have now enrolled into a course and am very much enjoying all aspects. Children ?? HMMM im finding are not the most easiest to photograph !!! I took these 4 photos which just happened to fall neatly into a sequence but wanted to know 1. do these look ok ?? 2. could it be better in anyway 3. how do ya get the buggers to be in one spot to take a good photo or are you just having to rely on luck??

G'day hearno, and welcome!

You're right with children - especially hard to plan with them, but I guess you trade that off with spontaneity and the fun element that they always bring to a picture.

Love the series of shots you've posted - #2 is my favourite. The expressions on their faces are wonderful!

Hello Hearno!

Now I'm not one to appreciate children shots, so anything I say will be pretty irrelevant subject-wise.
However, I know a good image when I see one!



Welcome.

Very nice shots indeed! I agree with ST, #2 is standing out, but the whole series is great.

As you asked for critique: They could have been even better IMO with a wider aperture, to get the background more blurred. You could try to do this with an image editing program, shouldn't be too difficult. And, of course, they'd look better without the time display.

I'm not much of a children photographer, but I suppose it's similar to birds and animals in that you need to take your time. Once they get used to you and your camera being around they will relax and behave natural. This is when you get the best shots. Just my 0.02 €.

Oh, and welcome to the forums!

Wonderful series and story, Heamo

Both are beautiful children, she is a little sunshine.#2 is so sweet because of the contrast of emotions they express, but I love #3 her expression is great!

Welcome to Shuttertalk

Aww what a lovely series of images. My favourite would be #2 the expression on the litte girl is priceless.

And yes taking photos of the kids sure is a challenge.

/P.L

Hi Hearno,

Just in case you don't yet feel welcome enough, welcome!

I'm no expert in kids photos as I don't have any of my own, but I'm happy to give my opinion FWIW.

1. do these look ok ??

They look great - better than OK. I love the eyes of both kids in #1, but their expressions in #2 really makes that photo stand out as my favourite. The contrast in their expressions combined with the different directions they are facing also adds to it nicely. But all four images work well together as a series too.

2. could it be better in anyway?

A couple of things that may help could include:
- Try to choose a less distracting and more appealing background if possible.
- Try to blur the background in portrait shots to focus attention on the people. You have done this to some extent already here, but I don't know if it was a conscious effort or if your lens/camera allows you to reduce the depth of field (open the aperture) any more.
- Remove the date stamp! tsk tsk. With digital photos there is no excuse for defacing your photos this way - you can always look at the EXIF data in the file (or even the "date created" of the file) to see when it was taken. If you print it out, then by all means scribble it on the back of the photo if you need it there.
- Maybe zoom out a bit to give a little bit of space around the kids' heads, so they aren't hard up against the edges of the image. Obviously this has to be balanced against making them appear smaller in the image though. In shot #2 I'd say the boy is a good distance from the left edge of the image. Alternatively, if you really want to focus attention on their faces then zoom in and make their face fill the image and feel free to chop the top off their head.. but it should be one thing or the other - it can be a little distracting when it is in between.

3. how do ya get the buggers to be in one spot to take a good photo or are you just having to rely on luck??

Nail their feet to the floor? I don't have kids, but I have taken enough shots of my cats to know that it is just a matter of them becoming comfortable around a camera, trying to encourage them to be a nice location with nice light and a good background, and then its mainly luck!
I guess you can do a couple of things to maximise your luck though...
- Always be ready. If the camera is tucked away in a bag, the moment might be gone by the time you get it out and get ready to shoot. If you only need to raise it to your eye and shoot then you will capture a lot more of those spontaneous moments.
- If in doubt, zoom out! Remember you can always crop images on the PC later and effectively zoom in to frame them the way you want. If you include more in your shot than you need then you have a LOT more control over which bits you keep and which bits you chop out later, and although you lose a bit of resolution it is MUCH better than ending up with images that are ruined by half a missing face or a shot that is hugely off-balance to one side. The more unpredictable and fast-moving the shot, the more of a "buffer zone" you should leave around the main subject in your shots.

Thats about all I can think of at the moment... and portrait photography isn't really my strength, so I'm probably not the best person to be giving advice here anyway.
I find taking photos of ANY people isn't easy - landscapes are much more patient and forgiving.

thank you all for the welcome - already reading your replies i have taken in so much. Trial and error i guess im still only learning to i guess be serious in what pictures i take rather than do the random shot here and there. Thank you for the tips you all have already made me more determined to try all next time (tommorrow hahaha im on the case) - I look forward to pasting more pictures and having you help me further my new fasination.....hearno

G'day Hearno,

everyone one has already said it ...............but #2 frame it........its a gem!!!!!!!