Canon EOS News November 2009 issue (You can read the online version here) hit my inbox today. The Canon Quick Tip section has a link to some great tips about how to photograph children.
The tips are offered by professional photographer Heather Lickliter based in Athens, GA. Her business, Stylized Portraiture, specialize in Maternity, Newborn, Baby, Infants, Children, Toddlers, Fairy Tale, Princess, Fairy, Boutique, Couture, Storybook, Studio, Seniors, Weddings, and Events Photography.
The three part series has only two of them published so-far. In Photographing Children, Part 1: Working with Different Age Groups, Heather started with some general advices on composition. It is not about how to pose the children using instructions. It is about how to capture the most nature moments by selecting the proper shooting angle, by anticipation, and by selectively drawing or not drawing the attention of the children. Photography is not all about skills in camera handling. It has a lot to do with how to interact with people and how being patient, positive, and creative helps with the process.
After the general advices, she went into details on the setup techniques in working with children of different age groups. There are lots of great tips! The best way to get great photos of your children, she said at the end, is to “think like a child, whatever their age. Be close to the ground, watch the world around you, and be happy. If you’re having fun, then so are your kids, and the photos will show that!”
In Photographing Children, Part 2: The Canon You Carry, Heather first offered some tips on how to choose proper camera settings such as aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, followed by advices on choosing props and wardrobes. According to the article, she had spent $7,900 on Canon gears but you really don’t have to. Most of the tips can be applied to point-and-shoot compact cameras but for the best results a DSLR is highly recommended. Of course, it doesn’t have to be a Canon.
The third part, Lighting and Post Processing Techniques, has not yet been published.
