Do you struggle with photographing your kids together? I think we all do. Follow these 3 simple tips to snag an image of your kiddos in the same shot.
1. Start with the more willing subjects. A majority of the time when I photograph families there is one child who is more willing to take the photo and my kids are no different. My little man is such a ham and will sit for me and smile away. So I set up my blanket, choose my angle and meter all with just him in the frame to get ready.
2. Always bring another set of hands. Since my daughter is the one who does not like getting her photo taken, she tends to not want to be around during the set up process. I can’t be in two places so I always bring my husband with me. That way when I am prepping he is tending to her and I can focus on what needs to be done before I bring her into the frame. He is also great at fixing things for me and moving the kiddos around.
3. Shoot fast and know your time is limited. I know this common sense but I really have to remind myself when I photograph my own kids. You know the saying kids behave better for others? Well my kids are the hardest subjects I photograph when I’m trying to get that one posed shot. So I go into it ready to hold that shutter down and know that within minutes they are done and I need to be done as well.
Every time I have set up a shoot for my children and remind myself of these three tips, I have always come out with a frame worthy picture. Hope this helps and if you have any other tips that have helped when photographing your own children I’d love if you’d share in the comments below!
Good tips, I’m going to try this with my twin grandkids when we go pumpkin picking, it’s impossible to get them both two cooperate at the same time.
In order to make them more willing to pose for me or just let me photograph them, I’ll often ask them for suggestions so that they feel like they have a part to play in the session. I find kids love to show us their ideas and have them photographed too! Or, if they can’t stop being silly, I’ll strike a deal. One silly shot for one nice shot. Usually works!
Great pictures and tips!! I noticed that you have a Nikon d700. I have the same camera and I’ve been trying to figure out how to toggle the little red box for choosing a focus point. I can’t seem to find any answer anywhere. How do you do it?
Another thing to do, is give the kids something they can do while you’re taking pictures. You can get some great candid moments. Painting can get fun for instance.
Literally JUST finished shooting a couple of photos, figuring I’d use one of them for my 365 and walked back inside of the house to check Click It Up A Notch to see if there was a new post to read. So ironic. Definitely having a hard time being inspired by day-to-day events but I’m attempting to look at my project as a way to better learn my camera and how to deal with different types of lighting. Hopefully a few months from now I will start to see some differences in the quality of photos I am taking. Awesome post!
Whoops, ignore my above comment. Totally meant to comment on the post about completing a 365 lol sorry!