Child Photography

Child photography is one of the first reason to get the camera out of a bag! All babies are innocent and beautiful. Most of them are picture perfect and it is the photographer's eye to capture the unique look of a child.

Child photography with young ones, who can walk, is a difficult task. A child will not follow any directions, thus always gives candid shots. However, there is an odd one, who will peep in to the frame with a curious look, but still give an expression of a life time.

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Important consideration is distorted proportion of a baby's head compared to the body. Baby's head is much larger compared to his or her body. Higher camera angle will further distort this proportion and we will spoil the appeal, because of bad proportion. So kneel down or sleep on your stomach and shoot a sitting or standing child from his or her eye level or from slightly lower level.

Photograph by Anwarali Kapasi

Try to avoid direct flash light as it not only flattens the image and removes that delicate molding from the child's face but it may harm child's eyes as well. Instead, bounce the flash on a white wall or a reflector or use higher ISO setting to shoot in available light.

In child photography, crawling baby is a real tough subject. It is of no use giving him any direction. So be ready with the camera settings on auto mode. This will allow us to concentrate on the subject and composition rather than camera settings. We can also shift to auto focus mode, if it is there on the camera.

When doing child photography outdoors, avoid placing the child in direct sunlight. The contrast ratio in direct sunlight is so high that we will never get a pleasant look. Instead, go to a place with open shade. Bounce back some light with a reflector if required. Avoid placing the baby under a tree as we will not even be able to notice but the green color cast, reflected from leaves, will be recorded mercilessly on the delicate skin tone.

Use of a faster shutter speed is needed to stop any movement. This will force you to use wider aperture so the back ground will go out of focus because of shallow depth of field.

Defused soft light is ideal in child photography. It brings out the defined molding. The skin tone is also improved and this can be enhanced with use of a soft focus filter. Be sure not to defuse too much as the expression will be lost.

Grown up children are the best subject to record different activities. They can follow directions and they can give required expressions.

Read more about these subjects of photography

Baby photography: Photography tips of a small baby.

Candid photography: This genre of photography is easy, right? Well, read about it.

Family portrait: Family portrait as a snap shot has no value. Proper approach can give a pictorial appeal. Get some tips on it.

Holiday photography: Some tips on what photography equipment we need for holiday trip.

Outdoor photography: Here are some tips on how to do outdoor photography.

Outdoor portraits: Shooting portraits in outdoor? Must read tips on this subject.

Photography in direct sun light: Direct sun light is generally not preferred in photography as it gives washed out high light and dense sharp shadows. Yet, we can artistically use this light for a shoot. Read about it.

Portrait photography: One of the most shot subject is a portrait of a person. It can be in a studio or outdoors. Here are some tips on studio lighting of a portrait.

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