3 Top Tips to Taking Better Photos of Your Children

Do you love taking photos of your family like me?

I want to help you get everyday images you love.

We're still stuck in the middle of winter here in the UK, the view from my office window is dismal but spring is not far away & I've been reminded this week that the first school holiday of the year will be upon us soon. As a mum the number of images I take of my son increases dramatically during the school holidays, probably because I have more time with him & we can go out to our favourite places.

Are you the same?

Well for whatever reason you're here reading this I want to help you be happy with your snaps, so let's get to the tips.

Tip Number 1: Look for the light

An inspiring quote from an Australian photographer comes to mind as I type this

"I am forever chasing light. Light turns

the ordinary into the magical." (Trent Parke)

It's so true, light can make an image...or it can break it!

Picture this, you're at the park for a lunchtime picnic, it's a glorious sunny day, not a cloud in the sky and for once your 2 little monkeys are sat side by side sharing a treat, perfect. You whip out your phone & grab a shot but when you look it's not as perfect as you thought, they have a serious case of 'raccoon eyes'. The midday sun is a harsh light and creates terrible shadows, especially under the eyes. Sometimes it can be so bad you can barely see the eyes at all. So what can you do about it?

The best thing you can do in this situation is set up in the shade, perhaps under a tree, still lovely scenery but no raccoons in site.

Scenario 2 sees my lovely family enjoying an afternoon ice-cream treat, still sunny, still beautiful but the sun is lower. The children have enormous ice-creams, so cute (& messy), out comes the camera again, shout ICE-CREAM. No raccoon eyes this time but 2 squinting children & your shadow in the foreground because the sun is behind you & the children are looking directly into it.

This one is a simple fix (if your camera/device can cope with it, some can't), you face into the sun so it is behind the children. By doing this the children won't be bothered by the sun, plus they will be beautifully lit from behind.

Tip Number 2: Be aware of the background

I still have to remind myself of this one during a family lifestyle session. When enjoying the moment running around with a family it's so easy to forget to check what's behind them, I've had my fair share of branches growing out of heads in the past.

So how do you fix it without hours of Photoshop work?

In this case prevention is definitely better than cure. Try to check what's in the whole scene before you press the shutter. If there is an unfortunate tree or lamppost behind your child take a step to your left or right, then the offending item will be to the side in the photo. If you can't move to get the item in a better position then just zoom in. By taking a close up & filling the photo with your gorgeous munchkin you can remove the background distractions.

Tip Number 3: Try a different angle

When we photograph anything at all it's so easy to stay in one spot, standing how you normally stand, clicking away & not really paying any attention to the images your capturing. Especially with today's technology, we can take photographs so easily & quickly, I mean the i-phone camera in burst mode can take 10 frames per second & an average camera with a 16GB memory card can hold over 10,000 images!

So, I challenge you to move. Find a different way of photographing your subject whatever or whomever that may be. Get high, get low, move under or over (I'm chanting a popular children's story in my head right now, you know the one). Sometimes the results won't work, certain angles can accentuate features on a face that can look unflattering but thanks to the age of digital, if it doesn't work it's cost you nothing & if it does work...