one of the reasons i wanted to get better at photography was so that i could do a better job of catching those fleeting moments when my kids would actually let me take a photo before ducking and running for cover...
however, i am finding it a big challenge to catch photos of them that really show who they are and i've been wondering if there are any tips for photographing older boys (my guys are 8, 8 and 12)... it occurred to me that there are lots of photos of very young kids here, but not so many school-age pics... i happened to notice a couple today... one from @paulavdmerwe and another from @mummarazzii ... which made me think of this again...
here are a couple of my more successful attempts... i'd be curious to see yours, as well as any suggestions you might have for what works and what doesn't when trying to immortalize their essence in a photo :)
I posted this one just the other day. He's my best friend's boy. He's at that age that smiling for pictures often produces that smile-that-doesn't-touch-the-eyes. So I'll pout or tell him to stop smiling. That he'd better not dare smile while I take the picture - that will usually make him smile naturally. Or, he does this. But this is him and I love it!
I think the best way might to be to always have the camera out and keep getting shots of them even if they're not those perfect shots you're looking for or they 'ham it up' for the camera a bit. Eventually the 'wildlife' learns to ignore the camera and just go about their business.
Here are a couple- my kids are 8 (boy) and 10 1/2 (girl). I agree with @mgirard - you just keep shooting them all the time and they learn to ignore you. That's usually when I get the best ones- though sometimes they know I'm there but they don't 'ham it up' too much most of the time.
@cheribug tx Cheryl... i find i am getting fewer and fewer opportunities to get shots... and i am getting pickier about what shots i am willing to show family and friends... i realized over the last month that i've got oodles more excellent photos of my niece (she's almost 4) than of my boys!
@mgirard "wildlife" indeed! unfortunately, they seem able to hear me coming with the camera from a mile away ;p but yes, you are right... best thing to do is just to always have the camera ready! tx!!
I've found the best photos are candids. Kids that age are just starting to get self-conscious, and that is a photo killer. You have to catch them off guard and snap, snap, snap. I caught this photo with a 50 mm lens as my granddaughter was running towards me on the boardwalk coming off the beach. It's one of my favorite portraits because it captures her so perfectly.
Here's another photo taken of my granddaughter while she watched TV. She doesn't get much TV time, so she was totally absorbed and ignoring me. I think it helps if they aren't posing.
They can be very hard to pin down and get a good photo!!
My 15 (neaarly 16) yr old said to me yesterday 'why do you have to be a photographer, I would much prefer you to be a baker!' Boys and their stomachs lol
A couple from yesterday
I'm glad that my parents and grandparents took so many photos of us. I love these two photos, I think they seem to be posed candid :) the photographer did the best to show our toddler personalities ;-)
So what I want to say.. Keep on shooting! Your kids will love to look at these pictures in the future (own experience ;-))
I have a 16yr old boy that is very uncomfortable being photographed, I found a few things helped, one was to get him to do something he loved, which was playing the guitar, the other was, in group photos, making sure I didnt put him in the front, even if compositionally it would have been better to have him there. But they are a challenge!! and so worth the effort when you get one that captures them! Good luck.
I understand totally and I have the same challenge. One of my aims is to get better at photographing them, but it's one thing I don't think I've achieved at all this year. My boys are 13, 11 and 9 and I find it so difficult just to find opportunities. They hate the camera pointing at them when we're on an outing somewhere, and although they seem OK with me taking a shot at home, the backgrounds are always terrible. So I guess I just take whatever opportunities come.
Here's 2 of the goofy shots:
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My 15 (neaarly 16) yr old said to me yesterday 'why do you have to be a photographer, I would much prefer you to be a baker!' Boys and their stomachs lol
A couple from yesterday
So what I want to say.. Keep on shooting! Your kids will love to look at these pictures in the future (own experience ;-))
Energetic Boys
Not a Boy
Quite often we'll find an interesting setting and they do the rest
Here's 2 of the goofy shots:
Most of my shots of him, if not all were taken when he's busy playing his violin
Another one while he was so absorbed looking at something (a macro shot, me trying to be creative). :-)
I could go on, but Im sure you are bored by now...