Children's Portraiture

One of the most common questions I get from photographers is how do you talk to a child? What do you say?  Like any thing else it gets easier with practice.  The most important thing is to remember the Golden Rule. Treat them like you would want to be treated.  Treat them like real people. (They are.) Treat them with respect, but have fun.  Don’t be rude.  Humor does not have to be rude.

With practice you will develop a routine Continue reading “Talking to a Child”

The most important part of photographing any person is keeping the subject’s attention and getting the subject to relax.  Babies can be easy or difficult.  Sheila is an example of an easy subject.  The few things that could have caused problems did not. The pictures accompanying this post are of a six week old child.  Sheila is about three or four months old.

You can view the video of Sheila at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oXk3-d03eU.

I covered the mechanics of the two poses done in my first post in March Continue reading “Baby Portrait Posing”

You can access the video “Walter 2 Year Old” on my YouTube channel with this link   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpIxKGtI4cc or the channel itself at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuTaSun1drjo5JBsh989TYg

The child illustrating this post is an older boy, not Walter.  I used this series of images Continue reading “Multiple Pose Preschool Sitting”

Smile and Look at the Camera

This is something most experienced portrait photographers avoid telling their subjects.  Even if it is not one of the first things they learn in their training, they quickly figure it out.  A sitting I did earlier this Continue reading “Smile for the Camera”

In a future post I will go over this sitting step by step.  I could spend a lot of time going over this (or any other) video but for now I want to use it to show  how I work.  These are the main points.

• I pose the children on a table, not the floor.
• I use a tripod.
• I use a remote release for the camera.
• I do not use an assistant to pose or get expressions.
• I avoid having other people behind the camera.

I can and have been known to change any or all of these points but Continue reading “Walter, the Video”

I have started a YouTube channel, Children’s Portraiture.   This should be a big aid in understanding the descriptions of what I do that I give in this blog.  Also, the blog will allow me to describe in greater detail what you are seeing in the video.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuTaSun1drjo5JBsh989TYg

This link will take you directly to the channel.

The welcome video has a compilation of short clips from three Continue reading “We Have Video”

I have often said that I do my best work in preschools and child care centers.  The main reason is that if it is a school that I have photographed a few times, the staff is familiar with what I do and they let me do it. The other reason is that I have a number of children waiting and if a child is reluctant they can just wait until they think it is their turn.

Last week I was doing a child care center that was familiar with my work  and things were going smoothly and quickly.  Then three parents (specifically two mothers and a grandmother) Continue reading “Children’s Photography”

The sequence of poses can affect both the speed with which you work and the quality of the expressions you get.

Many years ago I did the poses in a sequence that would require less adjustment of the equipment.  If I finished one sitting with a double exposure I would start the next sitting with a double exposure.  I thought it would require less moving of the equipment and thus would be more efficient.  I no longer think that is true.  Now I do all posing in the sequence that I think will be the most comfortable for the subject.  It gives me better results in less time.  Psychology is more important than physics.     Continue reading “Posing Sequence for Speed and Subject Comfort”

A younger boy standing with his hands in his pockets is one of the most popular poses I do.  It can be one of the easiest or a source of great frustration for the parents and the photographer.  I can’t remember when I first started doing it, but it has evolved over the years into one of my staples.

It can also a great example of what not to do.

I don’t do it as one of the first poses.  I do it as the last pose after I have done several simpler poses.  What could be simpler than a child just standing there?  Continue reading “Hands in Pockets Pose”

A child’s first portrait sitting is an opportunity to establish a parent’s expectation for future sittings.

If you have watched me work with children or have even followed my blog for a while, you may have learned that I would rather the parents not help with posing or getting expressions.  I do my best work when a parent understands and accepts this or in preschools and child care centers where the staff trust that in this situation, I can work with the children better than they can.

Children usually come accompanied with an adult, adults who have a relationship with the child.  If that adult Continue reading “It All Starts with Babies”