How to Take Better Pictures of your Children

I want to go ahead and say I am not an educated photographer, or the best one that I know. I do take pictures professionally, and my father was a full time photographer for a number of news papers during my childhood. I have learned a lot from him by just watching and attending a few of his classes that he taught at a local technical college when I was a kid, because I just wanted to be with my daddy. A lot of this stuff is subconscious. I say all that to say, I have had a number of my friends ask me for some tips on how to take better pictures of their kids, but I am not a perfect photographer myself, so take my advice how ever you want.

 
 1. Make sure your subject is in focus.

This may seem like a well duh, but I see this mistake all the time. Take the time to make sure your subject is in focus. Normally the eyes are the most important thing when taking a picture of your kid.

2. Get Low, Get Low
Kids are short, and we are tall. We need to remember that. When we are taking a picture of them, it looks much more natural if we get face to face with them. There are times to break this rule, like in the picture below.

3. No Flash Photography Please
 I have noticed when taking pictures of children, nine times out of ten, keeping it on the sports setting is best. Kids wiggle around a lot, it automatically turns the flash off, and because they move around so much, you do not have time to set the controls manually.
 

4. Pay Attention to What is in the Back Ground
Junk in the back ground is distracting. You want your kids to be the only thing you notice. They are the star, not your folded laundry. Although, in my house, I am proud of my folded laundry. 

5. The Light Source Should be to the Back of the Photographer
This is a rule that I break to get flare, or a silhouette of the subject. If you can control your light source, make sure it is to your back, unless you want a different effect. One of the only times you would use your flash, is if you had no other choice, but to have the light behind your subject instead of behind you.
 

6. One Picture is Never Enough
 As you can see, only one of these pictures came out with a decent facial expression. If  I had stopped with one, I never would have gotten a good one. 

7. Pay Attention to what Your Lens is Doing 
All of the pictures in this section are taken with a kit lens. 18-55mm. If you have a DSLR and you can not get a better lens, or just do not feel like, keep it at 35mm. when you are taking portraits. There is a time and a place for a wide angle setting, and this is not it.  Do you see how distorted it makes her face? Some times I like to do it to be funny.

8. Crop Your Pictures
Follow the rule of thirds. If you do not know what that is, Google it. If you do not get a good picture in camera, just crop it. It makes a world of difference.

9. Lighting is Very Important
This is one thing that clients do not seem to understand when setting up a photo shoot. To get good outside pictures, the time of day is crucial. If the light is too bright, you get the pictures like the top picture. Early morning or evening time is the best time to take pictures, if you can not control the time, find some shade.