As your children grow, so do their personalities. Photographing older children can be a bit more challenging than photographing infants, but it can be incredibly rewarding as well. It starts with getting your child comfortable with the camera. Unlike still lifes or food, portraits offer a new challenge in that your subject can—and when it comes to a child, does—move. The most important tool in composing your portraits is your patience. Often kids are fatigued by parents asking them to look at the camera and smile. They begin to see your photographing them as a necessary evil—one that often earns parents tight, forced smiles, and even eye rolls. Especially if they have not grown up around photographers and are not used to being photographed regularly, children don’t know exactly what you’re asking of them, even if you have a clear vision in your own mind.
It can be helpful to acclimate your children to your new hobby by simply photographing them in a very casual way on a regular basis. Do not ask them to look at you, do not ask them to smile. Capture the moment as they are living it, not as your mind is willing you to see it. If they turn to you and force a smile, tell them to continue to play and to pretend you’re not there. If they turn to the camera and make a funny face, laugh with them, shoot a few frames, show them the photograph on the display screen, and share a giggle. Reprimanding is a sure way to elicit their resistance when you pull out your camera. Though my girls are very comfortable in front of the camera, my middle daughter went through a “face-phase”—she could not resist pulling a funny face whenever I turned the lens on her. Though children can find this endlessly entertaining, as a parent, you may say “all right already!” What the experience taught me was compromise. I did not want to tell her she couldn’t make faces anymore, but I needed her to follow simple directions in terms of what I wanted to shoot as well. So we found that taking five to ten funny face shots and letting her giggle over them would allow her to get the silliness out of her system—at least for a little while!
One of the advantages of shooting digital over film is that you do not have to worry about processing costs and time. You can take the photograph, view it immediately, and decide whether it’s a keeper or destined for the virtual trash bin. There is an adage in digital photography that defines a way of shooting: “spray and pray.” It means that you shoot, shoot, and shoot (spray) and hope (pray) that you were able to capture something passable. With toddlers especially, this can be a tempting way to work. But I highly discourage you to rely on this method. What makes a photographer great, what makes his or her work unique, is the gift of anticipation. And this, like so many things about parenting, requires patience. I know, it can be difficult. As a mother of three girls, it is a recurring lesson for me on a daily basis. But the rewards are endless, not only in the image you are likely to capture, but in your evolving relationship with your children as well.
Place your eye to the viewfinder and let your index finger hover over the shutter button. Take a deep breath. When you see an expression that makes your heart skip a beat, shoot. If your child is not paying you much attention (although this can also create beautifully authentic imagery in its own way when they are lost in their own world), you can engage him. Tell a joke, ask him to tell you a joke, talk about your day, ask him about his—all the while anticipating that shot. If you see something you want to shoot, but maybe her face is too dark, there is nothing wrong with gently coaching your child, “Look at the window, what do you see out there today, love?” Older children can follow more specific directions, such as, “I love where you are looking right now, can you just move your eyes toward me?”
» Ask your child to sing their favorite song.
» Give your child a favorite toy to cuddle or play with (even better, a toy they haven’t seen in a while, it will be like it’s brand new!)
» The sheer delight children find in ice cream cones and popsicles will never die.
» Kids often really turn it on when friends are around. It can get crazy, but it’s fun to capture this energy.
» Encourage them to play dress-up. They will love seeing these photographs later.
» Watch their expressions when they learn something new. It’s something you never want to forget.
» Find wide open fields for them to explore; discover the blooming schedule for wildflowers in your area to photograph your child walking through.
» Remember the firsts: the first sledding day of the snow season, the first tooth lost, the first time using the potty—these are big moments.
Reality Check It’s wonderful to think about all those opportunities and moments ahead just waiting to be photographed. But do remember not to be hard on yourself in terms of shooting too much, or too little. Life with children is the greatest of joys, but it’s also hard. Do not give in to outside pressures to keep a camera in your hand 24/7—even on holidays and birthdays. I learned a valuable lesson a few years ago regarding this misplaced guilt. When my oldest daughter turned six, we threw her a Country Fete birthday party; we rented out a beautiful old barn that twinkled with fairy lights, and the picnic tables were covered in country linens topped with wildflowers in galvanized tins. We created a photo booth with a pinned up floral sheet backdrop, and the kids sat on an old saddle atop a leather trunk. Another trunk overflowed with scarves, chaps, and cowboy hats for the children to use as props. Peggy Lee and Johnny Cash crooned in the background. It was amazing. And the only photographs I have to show for that day are the photo booth shots. Later, when I realized it was all over and I had not photographed ANYTHING, I was mortified. I was reminded by Adie’s embrace and enthusiasm for the day that I had a wonderful time, and I’m not sure that I would have if I had been concerned with taking a lot of photographs.
The more you take and share photographs with your friends and family, the more these people will expect you to become the family photographer. And it’s okay to gently decline this request on occasion. You have to remember that living these moments is so much more important than photographing them. If you are throwing a party for your child, take a few minutes before it starts to walk around and capture the details or your child in their birthday best. Then, if you are so inclined, keep the camera with you, but do not pressure yourself to photograph everything. Or you can do what I do, which drives my mother nuts, and put the camera away. It was one of the hardest, but most rewarding lessons of my life.
By Sarah Wert
