Six ways to shoot… Youngsters

Photographing such an unpredictable subject requires a more patient approach

Take your time 1

Approach a session shooting with children as if you were shooting a documentary. Spend as much time as you possibly can with your subject or subjects so that they relax more and you’ll have more chance of capturing lots of unguarded, everyday moments.

2 Don’t be bossy

Don’t try to direct them – you are wasting your breath. Just let them play as much as they want, make sure they are having fun, and be ready to capture the results.

3 Be bold

While adults have hang-ups about how they look, kids have no such issues. So crazy wide-angle portraits will work well – you just have to dare to shoot them.

4 Don’t force it

Don’t ask kids to smile – they’ll do the ‘cheesy’ grin you want to avoid. If you know a few daft jokes that will make them giggle, you’ll get more natural photos.

5 Try to keep up

Keep that shutter speed up! Kids are always on the move, and the last thing you want is to see your photos ruined by motion blur because your shutter speed was too slow. Depending on the lens being used, anything from 1/250 sec upwards will help.

It’s in the eyes 6

Just like any portrait, most of the time it is the eyes that you need to make sure are the sharpest. A single or small group of active AF points will help you with precise focusing.