The best way to get authentic, natural portraits of children is to give them something to do other than pose for your camera.
One of the biggest challenges we face when photographing children is their short attention spans – it’s especially a problem with younger kids. Sitting them down near your favorite light source and asking them to adopt different poses is rarely likely to give you a natural, relaxed result. A different approach is needed.
Organize a trip to somewhere that’s a more interesting place to be – the beach or a park is a great choice. Presented with miles of sands to run around and rugged coastline to explore, kids will always be more interested in enjoying themselves than in your camera, and you can get some natural pictures of them being themselves.
© Adrian Murray
As with all outdoor portraiture, overcast conditions are better than bright overhead sunshine – except at the end of the day, when the golden light in the hours leading up to sunset can be superb. On the beach, you’ll also notice that the sand can act as a reflector, bouncing light back up on to your subjects’ faces.
The lens of choice for this type of photography is a telephoto zoom. The FUJINON XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR is ideal, with its fast F2.8 aperture that really helps you emphasize pin-sharp subjects on a smooth, out-of-focus background. It’s a fast focuser, too.
These lenses let you be an observer – standing back from the kids so you don’t influence what they are doing. This really helps you get completely natural results. If you like, you can periodically call their names to try and get them to look up at you. When they do, make a burst of pictures to capture their expressions.
© Seth K Hughes
Select your highest speed Continuous Shooting mode to do this, as you’ll be amazed at how much an expression can change in the briefest of moments. You’ll also want to use continuous autofocus to keep your subjects sharp, even when they are running around at top speed.
You can give yourself an extra advantage here by exploring your camera’s AF-C Custom Settings, too. We found preset 5 (ERRATICALLY MOVING & ACCEL. / DECEL. SUBJECT) to be particularly effective.
Here are more tips to help you frame some natural pictures:
- Don’t get too fixated on having the kids look up at you for every picture. It’s a more natural look to photograph them at play, and if you keep shouting their name, you’re in danger of spoiling any natural spontaneity.
- Use a fast memory card. It’ll help you avoid that awful situation where you can’t make images because your camera is still writing pictures.
- Weather-resistant lenses and cameras are useful on the beach, to protect from sand and water. You might even feel confident enough to paddle out among the (shallow) waves.
- If you’re photographing younger kids, stoop or squat down. You’ll be able to see more of their faces and capture more of the background behind them.
© Braden Gunem
Finally, a word about safety and common sense: we live in an age where people are more concerned about child safety than ever before. If you’re approached by someone who asks what you are doing, just show them some of the pictures and explain you’re photographing your kids (or your friend’s kids with permission). Often, the parents of other children may simply want reassurance that you’re not making pictures of their kids, too.
Your Next Steps
- CHALLENGE Take your kids out for the day (or borrow some from a friend) with the express purpose of photographing them and getting a set of pictures for the family album. Post your five best pictures to social media with the hashtag #MyFujifilmLegacy and #family. You can also submit your work here for a chance to be featured on our social media channels.
- LEARN – Download our booklet Adrian Murray’s Guide to Photographing Children
Header image © Daniel R Westergren