3 SIMPLE TECHNIQUES TO TAKE MORE INTERESTING PHOTOS OF YOUR CHILDREN AT HOME: ANGLES, STORY AND LIGHT.

We all love taking snaps of our cute kiddos, but often the results are left wanting. Wanting what though..? It’s not always easy to identify!

To help you out, here are three simple techniques to get you capturing more interesting photos while hanging out at home.

Using one of my Sydney client’s images below as an example, let me show you how I used all three techniques in one snap, and how it made for a much better portrait.

Let’s talk ANGLES, STORY and LIGHT!

1. ANGLES

   It’s text book stuff. For great, simple portraits of kids, it is so often said that you need to get down to their level - and it’s true. Take the example image: In the moments before this photo was taken, the boy was busily jumping around on his bed, excitedly telling me all about his trip to Tahiti. I asked him if he wouldn’t mind laying down on his tummy so that I could “hear his story a little better”. As he lay down and rested his chin in his hands, I noticed how sweet his natural, child-like pose was - I definitely wanted him to stay where he was. I then positioned myself on the floor, at the end of the bed and now we were at eye-level with each other. From there, I could more easily capture an image of him looking straight into the lens as he told me his story - he was really still (not easy with kids!) and I was at his level. Now imagine this photo if it was taken with me standing up. Unless I was going to use some other creative technique, it just wouldn’t capture the same feeling as looking directly into the boy’s eyes. For simply elevated photos, I highly recommend giving this a go.

2. STORY

   For me, this is often achieved by using creativity in the moment. It’s about noticing things in your environment that you could add to your photograph to give it that little bit of extra interest. As the boy lay on his bed and told me all about his trip to Tahiti, I noticed a little Bluey toy sitting on his bedside table. I asked him if I could bring Bluey in to listen to his cool story - he of course thought this was a great idea. With Bluey in the picture, it just adds a little something..a child-like element, and in the future, a nostalgic story of our time (aka The Bluey Age). Don’t get me wrong, this image would have been fine without Bluey, but Bluey adds something a little more special (how very “Bluey”;-)). Of course, you can add “story” without adding tangible things - you can add it through more advanced posing, composition or light for example - but that’s a post for another day!

3. LIGHT

   There are so many ways you can use light to make a photo interesting, but for us at home who just want to achieve something a little more captivating? Windows. To make it even easier? A window that doesn’t have direct sun beaming in (unless you have sheer curtains drawn across, in which case, sunbeams can work beautifully). The image of the boy on his bed is a perfect example of this type of light. It was a cloudy day, so direct sun wasn’t an issue on any side of the house. When the light came through, it lit up half to 2/3 of his face (ideally 2/3 of the face is best - but we’re working with kids here, so don’t ruin the moment with technicalities!). You’'ll also notice that the light isn’t too bright on his skin. If I was using a smartphone to take this image, I probably would have exposed for the middle of his face where it’s not the brightest nor darkest - but play around with this, and see how your smartphone responds. Now try to imagine how this image would have looked without the window light coming in from the side. Or imagine a light globe shining light from above and how that might have looked. Can’t imagine it? Give it a go and make a note of your results!

I hope these three little techniques help you capture some extra special memories.
Of course, sometimes us parents want to get in the shot too!
That’s where I can help. Whether you’re here in Tasmania, or in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, drop me a line, and we can get some photos of all of you, in one frame. :-)