Lean to the left, lean to the right, head up, chin down, say cheese! One more time… Please Honey, just once more. I promise, just one more.

The last time we spoke about the importance of beautiful light and believe me, every great photograph begins with beautiful light. By the way, did you notice what time of day it was? I hope so, because light changes from hour to hour and day to day as the sun travels across the sky and the seasons change. I know it does not sound that important but as a professional, I know how the right light makes the photo.

But there’s more to it than just the magic of light. Having a willing subject is also necessary. Not that your 5 month old has much to say about it. But your toddler and older children will have a great deal to say about it and usually do. Take a look at my website where a large portion of the children I photograph are professional models. Believe it or not, they are not always willing to cooperate, so I guess I am also paid a great deal for my ability to coax a shot out of an unwilling child.
If you want great shots, you may have to resort to some small illusions that have served me well over the years.
One of the best ways to involve a child (toddler and older) is to role-play. Let them become part of the process. Give them the camera, show them how to look at the screen and snap the shutter. Let them take a photo of you, smile, grin, ignore them, make funny faces, turn around and scare them. Your husband and the neighbors will enjoy seeing you make a fool of yourself as much as all the children in your child’s nursery school and at the country club. Then it’s your turn; suggest to your child that he or she give you the same routine.
Role-play is loads of fun and who knows, maybe one of your pictures will end up on your child’s wall… Pretty Mommy!

Light meters, Depth of field, “F” Stops, Shadows, Halo’s and of course the ever-dreaded “Red Eye” ……

Wait a minute! I’ve been paid handsomely for years to know about all these things and more. But this is how I pay the rent and put food on
the table for myself and Albert Albert my faithful Yorkshire Terrier. If you visit my website, you’ll see photographs of him.

However this blog is not about me, it’s about you and how you can take better photographs of your children. So let’s start with the number one thing… LIGHT. Light creates and equals mood. Look for the beautiful light, if you have lovely light in the garden or coming through a window, try shooting there. Don’t be afraid to move the furniture and spread out a blanket on the floor. Position your child away from the wall (no shadows), so the pool of light streams in.

Experiment and avoid too much backlighting or halo (“halo affect”)… not a pretty sight. Try to avoid the hot light of midday. Shooting really beautiful photographs for many reasons is best if done either very early in the morning when the light is cool and soft or late in the day when it’s all warm and cozy. I love the beach and the blue sky. Seasonal shots are beautiful, such as in an orchard or pumpkin field, or against the fall leaves. I also love clean backgrounds. So don’t be afraid to take a couple of plain sheets outside, drape them and shoot with them as the background. Just leave yourself enough room once again to avoid shadows.

I can’t emphasize enough that in order to take wonderful photographs of children it’s necessary to take a lot of pictures – and learn from your mistakes…. There’s no other way to learn.
You can’t learn it from a book…you have to see it.

Remember: 1st look for the beautiful light and 2nd look for the beautiful light……

Stay tuned… more to come.