I am smack dab in the middle of processing dress rehearsal photos so another quick post. This time some tips for working with younger kids, in this case a four-year-old but these tricks could work with any kid that is able to walk and maybe even younger. Some of these are repeats, but I am very much for repetition. You repeat things until you get them done solid and then you repeat them even more.
1) If they aren’t feeling like a smile, then don’t make them smile. Worst case scenario is that you end up needing to work in some framing or some shadows and grayscaling the photo so it matches the tone of the mood. This way you end up with a much better moody photo then you could ever end up attempting to force a smile which at best will have a clear as day fake smile and at worst a child in tears.
2) Try a different angle if the shoot is feeling too generic. On our nature walk, we stopped by a small playground. Instead of settling for a straight on shoot on the playground, I walked around to the other side. This resulted in a more energetic shot and a different take on a playground shot. But…..
3) Sometimes settling for a generic shot isn’t that bad. Once I got her on the slide, I asked her to stop and took the photo. She shot me a serious look and I just went with it.
Bonus tip. Most of my photography tips have a theme: just roll with it. You can and should plan your photo sessions but understand even the best plans reach a point where something isn’t going exactly to plan and you just have to go with it and play through. Photography is all about the unexpected and by embracing the unexpected your photos will be more interesting.
Anyway, I’m not sure I will have anything posted Friday. If not, things will resume Monday of next week.