I’m not a fan of posed photos. I try to avoid them as much as possible! What I want to capture is real life, as it happens. When Kieran is engrossed in doing something, I don’t want him to stop to give me a cheesy grin, I want to capture the real smile or other expression on his face. Here’s how I do that.
Catch him in action
This requires preparedness. Make sure you have your camera handy, and set to sports mode or a fast shutter speed. Now wait until your child is engaged in a fast moving or fun activity. You will need to take several photos, but I guarantee you will end up with some pricelss shots.
Like this one:
or this one:
Start a conversation
On the rare occasions that I take a posed photo, this is what I get.
Look familiar? That is the fakest smile ever!
To avoid the “this is my cheesy camera smile” phenomenon, I start engaging him in conversation. It could be about the activity we’re currently doing, or just any topic I know he will enjoy. As we chat, I keep snapping. Invariably I end up with a perfect natural smile.
This was the scenario when I took Back-to-School photos last week.
First some monkeying around:
Then as we chatted about the fist day of school and other things he relaxed and I got this prize
Play a game
If all else fails, there’s always peekaboo! At five Kieran will still laugh uproriously at this game, as evidenced by this little photo session next to a tree.
Just say no to posed photos! Help your friends do the same by pinning the image below.
Do you have any tips for getting gorgeous candid photos of your kids?
P.S. I love photography in all its forms, and my favourite way to share photos is on Instagram. Let’s connect over there!
