TIPS FOR PHOTOGRAPHING YOUR TODDLER

Taking photos of active toddlers, is not easy. But photographing your toddler does not have to be painful!

I know when you have a toddler, or a kid under the age of 6, getting them to sit still for a good portrait like photograph can be the hardest thing EVER!

Well, today I’m going to offer a few tips for Photographing your toddler.

Learned from life experience of course…

If I want to take a photo of Pookah these days, I tend to ask, set a time limit and then, be prepared.

If I want to take a photo of Pookah these days, I tend to ask, set a time limit and then, be prepared.

So BEFORE I even asked him to take the photo, I did 3 things:

1. I decided what lens I needed. In this case, I chose my Canon 50mm 1.4 lens. Because 1: it’s a fast lens. He’s 4. He moves a lot.  2. It’s also a portrait lens and 3. It not too wide, so I could eliminate a lot of background and narrow my focus on Pookah.
2. Picked the spot I was going to photograph him in. That way, I knew where the best light was and I was able to set my white balance ahead of time using my Expodisc.
3. Check my settings.  knew I wouldn’t have time to keep fiddling with my settings and my since my main aim was to control/eliminate background  distractions in my photo and focus solely on Pookah, that meant my aperture was the most important setting. My aperture in all of these photos was 2.8.  It was wide enough to blur my background, but not so wide as to have me miss focus if the boy moved too much( which he is prone to do). Next, I made sure my shutter speed was high, because like I said, he moves.

And then I asked, bribed and made all sorts of promises.

He agreed.

I’ve found that the trick to getting your toddlers/preschoolers/kindergarten aged kids to stand still for you is:

1. Give them some place to stand or sit.  For Pookah, it was a crack in the driveway.
2. Let them bring a toy . And make sure you take photos of the toy. AND SHOW THEM!
3. Talk to them; ask questions, listen to the answers, and take photos the whole time.
4. If all else fails say something crazy. I have been known to say words that Pookah is forbidden to repeat at school to get a laugh….
5. Set a time limit. Don’t have your child out taking photos forever. Some kids are patient but most are not. When your kid says he/she is done. Be done. That way, they are more willing to take more photos for you the next time.

For all of these my settings are : f/2.8, ISO 1600 SS:1/4000