Some of my favorite people visited the office Friday. Amy introduced her new son Noah to the staff, and while all the women in the room drooled over her little munchkin, I was taking pictures of her ever-so-bubbly four-year old daughter Sam.
Kids are generally cute, full of energy and terrific for photos. So, please, never, EVER, have them say 'cheese'. They don't even have to look at the camera. Let them play with a favorite toy. They can stand on their heads, do somersaults, jump around, stick their tongue out, pout or laugh. Let them be themselves. Isn't that, after all, what we're trying to catch? Look at your favorite photos, and it's a good bet they aren't the ones of him/her sitting stiffly, staring glassy-eyed at the camera.
I simply showed Sam the chair and we spent the next 10 minutes shooting. It was that easy. Then we started taking pictures of all three for proud papa. But that's a totally different story...
Does this work while taking pictures of your kids?
I'm a little biased here, but that's one cute kid. =)
Hey - I really like your comments about photographing kids! I like this blog thing of yours, you write very well for a photographer... maybe you should do a story on kids across the country...mmmmhhh??