Photographing children is a fast moving and energetic experience. In the space of just a few seconds a child's face can completely change; it's as if you are looking at a completely new person.
Take a look at young Brooks below. All these shots were taken in a space of under two minutes. As you can see, within that very short space of time his face exhibited a vast range of emotion and character.
Of course many of these expressions will be all too familiar to his parents, but only one or possibly two will be the look that makes the mother's eyes glaze over as she say's "you've really captured the essence of my son".
The mass market high street studios and chain stores will produce a stock photograph of a child, obligingly smiling and probably as cute as hell, but have they really captured the true nature of the child? Many parents have moved away from the stunningly beautiful but often trite and stereotypical formal studio shot and are looking for something that is more "real". They want to see the child that they know and love come leaping out of the image.
Identifying and capturing that look is a challenge for the photographer. I will guarantee that no matter how hard you look at the faces of Brooks in the image below you will not be able to identify the look that excited his mother. So how do you ensure that the parent is completely blown away by the final image(s) you present?
I can't guarantee that every parent will be ecstatic and easy to deal with, nor can I guarantee that every young Brooks you photograph will oblige with the right look but I can give you my five tips for successfully shooting the "real" child.
1. If at all possible avoid the studio.
Children are notoriously fickle and fidgety and will not entertain a lengthy session. in a studio. Hence, if you are bound to the indoor studio you have to compensate by moving like the proverbial grease lightning and shoot in rapid fire mode. You also have a very tough task of coaxing the real person out of the slightly trepidatious and stiff child who is probably wondering what the hell is going on.
2. Shoot the child in a familiar environment
To get to the "real" child it's much better to have them be comfortable in a familiar location where candid shots are the order of the day. It's here that the child will relax and be his natural self. By doing it this way you have bought yourself some additional time and taken away the burden of having to entertain and coax him.
3. Keep parents and relatives at a distance
Don't forget that your objective is to capture that elusive and fleeting essence of the child. The child needs to be totally relaxed and almost oblivious to the fact that this is a photo shoot. Having mother shouting at the kid to smile is no help at all. It just makes the kid nervous. Insist on silence and non-interference except where you request it.
4. Build a relationship with the child
Before a child will truly relax in your presence he will need to be comfortable with you. Spend a few minutes conversing and joining in with whatever the child is doing (ten or even fifteen minutes is not unusual) . Introduce the camera slowly into the situation, and slowly withdraw to a shooting distance as the child become relaxed. You may need to stop shooting occasionally and re-connect with what the child is doing. Always make it light-hearted and fun. As a last resort I will often break out a small bottle of bubble mixture or a few balloons. Children respond well to gifts.
5. Seize the moment and move fast
Be constantly aware of the energy and look for the moment when the child is relaxed and engrossed in something and start shooting like hell. Of course you will have pre-set the camera ahead of time. This is no time to be formatting flash cards and twiddling the dials. The camera should be ready to go preferably with a fast lens, a fairly fast ISO and if the light requires it, a flash gun mounted. These moments come and go very quickly and with time you will learn to recognize when they are about to begin and when they have ended. These optimum moments are where you will find gold.
6. Don't over process the proofs
OK I lied - I just couldn't bring myself to stop at five and deprive you of this final piece of wisdom.
If, as I suggested, you shot rapidly and often, you will have amassed a large collection of images. Of course you will want to process these and select the best shots for presentation to the parents; but hold on a second, you must remember that you are a photographer and you will see the images with a photographer's eye. You will not be seeing the images with a parent's eye, which, remarkable as it may seem, is totally at odds with that of a photographer's. Don't spend hours post-processing the images you assume they will like or you will fall into the trap of the high street/chain store studio and likely present them with stereotypical images. My advice is to present a wide range of images that are presentable but not finished so as to establish the look that the excites the parent and only then go away to post -process like crazy those images that are winners in the eyes of the parents. Of course you will be heart-broken that the parents have totally ignored the one classic image, with perfect lighting and just the right toning and depth of field, the one that you are justifiably proud of, but remember that when parents look they are seeing only their little darling and not your magnificent rendering of the perfect print. Think of as them Philistines if you must, but if they are satisfied they will come back time and time again and you can train them to appreciate your talent, even if it takes years! And as for that magnificent work of photgraphic art which in their eyes looked nothing like their little angel, you can always add it to your portfolio!
Which one would you choose?
Have fun!
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