Child Infant NewBorn Baby Photography

April 18th, 2019
Children- we all were at some point in Time.
Many of us have one of our own now.
Let us share the best techniques , gears (lens), settings , poses , props & backgrounds to capture The Eyecatching Photo of a Child, which can stop a heartbeat.
Feel free to ask questions and answer. Let it be a Brain storming Session. Please post photos to illustrate and enlighten the Community.
April 18th, 2019
Best advice I know is to get down and play!
April 19th, 2019

My grandson and his dad...all window light! Less posed more candid. Took the darks down around them to keep the focus on them and of course love a b&w!
April 19th, 2019
I prefer candid shots, so for a fast moving toddler i now use the sport burst mode! with auto iso and i agree to get down at their level, though as a result i often get fingerprints on my lenses!
April 19th, 2019
April 19th, 2019
Most of the children I photograph are my grandchildren so I have a special connection with them. But I'd have to agree with everything above- play and go down to a lower pov- unless you want to capture that "the world is so big and I am so small" feeling that childhood sometimes evokes.
April 26th, 2019
While I agree with the statements above that candid shots are the best when it comes to children, I would say this depends on the age of the child and how much patience you have. The infant won't be much fun to let loose, so to speak. And the two-year-old might just drive you nuts keeping them in front of the lens. I keep my photoshoots short and make sure I have everything needed. Unlike adults who need time to warm up, I find children just become bored and bothered with long photoshoots.

A second pair of hands is essential as well as ideas about what you want to achieve. I use Pinterest to collect these ideas. I guess what I am saying make sure you are prepared.

I stop if I start to get frustrated. I believe that this affects my images, I don't know if this is true or not but if I am not having fun, why bother.

I use strobes but pretty much any light source, other than something mounted on your camera will work. I keep this simple and don't bother with any fancy Rembrandt, Short, Wide, etc. lighting. The key is to get them to provide some kind of emotion - even crying can be a great shot.

The focal length is a challenge as you need to be close and typically the go-to-lens like a 70-200 isn't a great lens for this. I like to shoot with my 24-105 and try to keep this around the 50-105. I shoot a full frame so adjust if needed.

I use to have lots of props and now I like simple. I like shooting on White. If this is a baby I use baby blankets. Sometimes I use the knitted hats that have become popular. I sometimes shoot for friends and they will sometimes bring things with them and I will include them. My children are all older now and one thing I really like, looking back, are items that meant something to them. For example, my youngest daughter wore this plastic necklace for months and I have pictures of her wearing it and I absolutely love it.

I have a friend who has a 18-month-old and I have used his son for two of my pictures this year. http://bit.ly/2IVpRaA The EXIF details were removed (not sure why) but these were 100mm f4.5 and since I was using strobes there was a sync speed of 1/200. I had lots of throwaway images. He is a busy little kid.

One thing can be a problem, sometimes, parents! Everyone wants their kid to smile but I don't always find this to be the best image - it can seem forced. They also can get distracted by looking at "Mom" or "Dad". It's important to help the parents understand when to get the childs attention. If you are on the floor, which I recommend, they can stand just above you. This will still look like the child is looking at you.
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