Discussion
Quinny said:
At the moment my cunning plan, is to take him down to the Mother in law's farm, this should be an exiting place for a 2 year old.
But not having kids of my own, what do I do with him when I get there.
I don't want him running around like a maniac, and I don't want him to be too overwhelmed with the place.
Running around like a maniac away from the animals always produces good shots. One of my kids is 2 1/2 and he is now willing to show off for the camera (jump, smile, kiss your brother, etc), if he won't do straight off - bribe him (go out on the tractor)?But not having kids of my own, what do I do with him when I get there.
I don't want him running around like a maniac, and I don't want him to be too overwhelmed with the place.
From my previous experience i would have to inform you to ensure that the child actually looks at you, at the camera or in that general direction. Having the child's face looking away is not very Hmm how can i put it, well i don't know it just doesn't work for parents.
My favourite shot of a child is this one
As you can see it follows my law of the child facing in the general direction of the camera but not actually at it, either is fine and i am worried i am starting to sound hypocritical.
Another tip would be to take a hell of a lot of memory cards, a couple of spare batteries and a lint free cloth to wipe your lens.
My final tip would be to let the child familiarise itself with the camera, also do not take too many picture of the child asleep it will be ok for a couple but live and kicking is the real way forward.
I hope you deliver on this project and i'm sure you will do fine, just enjoy it
My favourite shot of a child is this one
As you can see it follows my law of the child facing in the general direction of the camera but not actually at it, either is fine and i am worried i am starting to sound hypocritical.
Another tip would be to take a hell of a lot of memory cards, a couple of spare batteries and a lint free cloth to wipe your lens.
My final tip would be to let the child familiarise itself with the camera, also do not take too many picture of the child asleep it will be ok for a couple but live and kicking is the real way forward.
I hope you deliver on this project and i'm sure you will do fine, just enjoy it
I'm no expert... yet.. just awaiting the arrival of my subject.. 
having bought a D80 I joined the Flickr D80 user group and one of the regular posters on there 'Ajasta Ajaton' (just changed her name from maiasuvi) produces some lovely photo's of kids..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maiasuvi/
Have a look I think mostly for inspiration but some great advise on the forum from her and others..
having bought a D80 I joined the Flickr D80 user group and one of the regular posters on there 'Ajasta Ajaton' (just changed her name from maiasuvi) produces some lovely photo's of kids.. http://www.flickr.com/photos/maiasuvi/
Have a look I think mostly for inspiration but some great advise on the forum from her and others..
I've always taken loads of my nephews and nieces and like, find they don't hang around much. I recommend you have a look round www.photosig.com and check out the portrait section for some ideas.
I've been slowly making a list of things to try and props to involve, and pinched some shots I like the style of to try and mimick.
I've heard a whoopie cushion and a bubble blower can be good things to get kids interested. Some odd clothes maybe (did you see the pic I posted recently of my daughter in a big hat?) does Dad have some massive shoes/wellies or something? I've done some nice shots of kids by having them sitting down (say on a lawn or something) and me above them looking down - nice way of eliminating distracting backgrounds, and a shallow DoF draws you to their eyes (can email you an example if you like?). I think the best advice is to not try to boss them around, they'll just switch off. Better to let them do their own thing and be there ready (with a long lens and wide aperture) to grab the shot. I've found the most reliable way is to get the kids interacting with the parents/toys etc, you can't beat genuine fun. Or, you need to do the interaction and make it fun.
Next things on my list to try are getting up high, on a ladder and shoot down, and the opposite, to get down real low, like lying on the lawn and having a bit of blurred lawn in the shot.
My nephews love their bikes, so I tried to get some nice panning shots of them riding down the garden. Look for favourite toys etc, and encourage the kid to just do their thing, let them show off their toys/talents etc, and try and catch a moment. as others have said, take loads of shots! I got a lovely shot of my nephew by playing a game of hide and seek, I knew he was behind a tree and waited patiently (looking through the viewfinder all the time) for him to peer out from behind the tree. I'd suggest also trying to capture some movement, not just static shots. I once fired off about 40 shots as I was running backwards with the camera at waist height with my niece chasing me round the garden. Not one of them is pinsharp on the eyes, but she found the whole thing hilarious, and her mum and dad love the shots just because you can see she is having so much fun, even though I didn't think that much of them because they weren't that sharp.
Oh, and lastly, make sure the kids face is clean before you start - gets pretty tedious cloning food, snot and dribble off faces!
Anyway, I'm waffling
HTH
I've been slowly making a list of things to try and props to involve, and pinched some shots I like the style of to try and mimick.
I've heard a whoopie cushion and a bubble blower can be good things to get kids interested. Some odd clothes maybe (did you see the pic I posted recently of my daughter in a big hat?) does Dad have some massive shoes/wellies or something? I've done some nice shots of kids by having them sitting down (say on a lawn or something) and me above them looking down - nice way of eliminating distracting backgrounds, and a shallow DoF draws you to their eyes (can email you an example if you like?). I think the best advice is to not try to boss them around, they'll just switch off. Better to let them do their own thing and be there ready (with a long lens and wide aperture) to grab the shot. I've found the most reliable way is to get the kids interacting with the parents/toys etc, you can't beat genuine fun. Or, you need to do the interaction and make it fun.
Next things on my list to try are getting up high, on a ladder and shoot down, and the opposite, to get down real low, like lying on the lawn and having a bit of blurred lawn in the shot.
My nephews love their bikes, so I tried to get some nice panning shots of them riding down the garden. Look for favourite toys etc, and encourage the kid to just do their thing, let them show off their toys/talents etc, and try and catch a moment. as others have said, take loads of shots! I got a lovely shot of my nephew by playing a game of hide and seek, I knew he was behind a tree and waited patiently (looking through the viewfinder all the time) for him to peer out from behind the tree. I'd suggest also trying to capture some movement, not just static shots. I once fired off about 40 shots as I was running backwards with the camera at waist height with my niece chasing me round the garden. Not one of them is pinsharp on the eyes, but she found the whole thing hilarious, and her mum and dad love the shots just because you can see she is having so much fun, even though I didn't think that much of them because they weren't that sharp.
Oh, and lastly, make sure the kids face is clean before you start - gets pretty tedious cloning food, snot and dribble off faces!
Anyway, I'm waffling
HTH
My nephew loved the water park, but for obvious reasons i dont like taking pics at these places.
Shame what the world has turned in to.
This is a picture of my god son on the same weekend, you would think butter wouldn't melt.
I would say a good tip for taking pics of kids is to leave them to it and spy on them you will soon find them up to some osrt of mischief.
Shame what the world has turned in to.
This is a picture of my god son on the same weekend, you would think butter wouldn't melt.
I would say a good tip for taking pics of kids is to leave them to it and spy on them you will soon find them up to some osrt of mischief.
Edited by Reidy10_0 on Thursday 2nd August 22:31
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