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Post by cropduster on Oct 10, 2014 23:04:10 GMT
My niece asked me if I would take Christmas pictures of her two boys (ages 5 and 7) and her two nieces (ages 1 and 3). I feel a little overwhelmed. Any ideas for photos and advice? TIA!
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Deleted
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Nov 22, 2024 0:27:01 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2014 12:06:02 GMT
Hi, I'm new here, but I've lurked a long time at 2Peas! So I hope you don't mind me chiming in.
Kids are difficult, especially the younger ones because they are so squirmy. Make sure the mom/aunt have them take naps before the shoot. Especially the younger ones. That way they won't be so cranky. Sometimes people think if the kids are tired, they will sit still. Not true. They'll be cranky and less likely to pay attention.
Don't try to pose them. Tell them you want to take their picture in their wonderful outfits and just let them do what kids do! Gush over them, and snap away. You'll want a high shutter speed. Make suggestions, like "why don't you pretty ladies sit on the floor, and the handsome boys can kneel down behind them" and let them figure out how they want to do this. Then have them all look at you and snap snap snap! Props like presents can ruin the picture because they might be more interested in the prop than looking at you and the camera. So don't use props at first. After you think you have a few good pics, then bring out props and see what you get with them.
Ask if they can have candy, and when you are trying for a "posed" group photo, hold up some lollipops near the lens and they will have all eyes on you! But do that towards the end, because you'll have to then give them the candy, and it's all downhill from there! The trick with kids is use a high shutter speed and use the burst or continuous shooting drive mode.
Good luck! Kids are fun, but very challenging!
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Post by cropduster on Oct 11, 2014 12:31:26 GMT
Thank you so much Jigglypuff! I'm thinking that we will probably have the photo session right after Halloween. I'm hoping the weather will cooperate enough that we can go to a local Christmas Tree farm and get some outdoor shots. We will see. Now to get some ideas for pictures/poses.  |
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Deleted
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Nov 22, 2024 0:27:01 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2014 12:46:03 GMT
Oooh! That's a great idea! I bet they will be cute! Hope you share some of them!
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Post by crazy4scraps on Oct 13, 2014 16:11:56 GMT
We have an amazing photographer for DD that we have used pretty much since birth, and I've picked up a few tricks just from watching how he interacts with her. He gets awesome shots of her every time, me--not so much!
When she was really little, he would do a few things to get her attention. He had one of those long feather dusters on a long stick. He would have me tickle her nose or toes with it, get it out of the way and he'd snap the shot of her laughing. He would ring a small bell to get her attention, then snap the shot. He would also let her play with the bell and take pictures of her engrossed in it. A puppet with a squeaky nose was another favorite to get her to look up at the camera.
Once she got a little older, an Elmo puppet worked wonders, as did Smarties candies. Unlike a lollipop which will make a mess when you give it to the kid, you can hand the kid a couple of Smarties from the roll and they are quickly chewed up and gone with no sticky fingers or blue teeth and tongues! The props you choose can either detract from the photos or become an integral part of them. We got some amazing fall photos of DD sitting in a wagon full of colored maple leaves when she was about 18 months old! Again, she was totally engrossed in looking at the leaves. Not every picture of the kid has to be of them looking straight into the camera. I wouldn't hesitate to use them at all. I even bring some of my own if I think they will add to the portraits. We've done Christmas cookies (at the end due to the mess factor), a Santa Claus tea set, a wrapped present with a Minnie Mouse doll inside that we surprised DD with (used a decorated box with an easy to open lift off lid), Christmas light strings, jingle bells, a giant paper flower, even a live duckling and lamb once!
Once she was big enough to really follow a little direction and understand humor he employed new tricks to get her to laugh. He would say silly things that were obviously wrong even to a 3-4 year old, and she would just totally crack up! Stuff like, "What sound does a cow make? I'm sure a cows goes Quack, quack!" and she would laugh and say, "NOOOO, that's not right! A cow goes moo, silly!" Or he would get her where he wanted her posed and nod his head way down pretending to fall asleep standing up, then right when she would bust out laughing at him, he'd get the shot. Last Christmas he got her to pose where he wanted her by putting pennies on the floor, and telling her to "Hide the pennies from your mom! She wants to steal my pennies!" LOL, I couldn't believe that one worked, but it did.
I think what helps the most is when it's not your own kid that you have to photograph. They will usually cooperate so much more when it's someone other than mom or dad telling them to smile or whatever. Definitely make sure the younger kids have had a nap and that they have all been fed, etc. for older kids, you can also have them do some goofy poses first to get their sillies out, and then have them do more natural, relaxed photos. Making them naturally laugh will really bring out their real smiles and expressions, and that's where you see their true personality sparkle through!
Good luck! I only have one kid but I can imagine trying to get good pics of multiple kids would be kind of like herding cats, LOL!
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Post by cropduster on Oct 14, 2014 17:40:06 GMT
We have an amazing photographer for DD that we have used pretty much since birth, and I've picked up a few tricks just from watching how he interacts with her. He gets awesome shots of her every time, me--not so much! When she was really little, he would do a few things to get her attention. He had one of those long feather dusters on a long stick. He would have me tickle her nose or toes with it, get it out of the way and he'd snap the shot of her laughing. He would ring a small bell to get her attention, then snap the shot. He would also let her play with the bell and take pictures of her engrossed in it. A puppet with a squeaky nose was another favorite to get her to look up at the camera. Once she got a little older, an Elmo puppet worked wonders, as did Smarties candies. Unlike a lollipop which will make a mess when you give it to the kid, you can hand the kid a couple of Smarties from the roll and they are quickly chewed up and gone with no sticky fingers or blue teeth and tongues! The props you choose can either detract from the photos or become an integral part of them. We got some amazing fall photos of DD sitting in a wagon full of colored maple leaves when she was about 18 months old! Again, she was totally engrossed in looking at the leaves. Not every picture of the kid has to be of them looking straight into the camera. I wouldn't hesitate to use them at all. I even bring some of my own if I think they will add to the portraits. We've done Christmas cookies (at the end due to the mess factor), a Santa Claus tea set, a wrapped present with a Minnie Mouse doll inside that we surprised DD with (used a decorated box with an easy to open lift off lid), Christmas light strings, jingle bells, a giant paper flower, even a live duckling and lamb once! Once she was big enough to really follow a little direction and understand humor he employed new tricks to get her to laugh. He would say silly things that were obviously wrong even to a 3-4 year old, and she would just totally crack up! Stuff like, "What sound does a cow make? I'm sure a cows goes Quack, quack!" and she would laugh and say, "NOOOO, that's not right! A cow goes moo, silly!" Or he would get her where he wanted her posed and nod his head way down pretending to fall asleep standing up, then right when she would bust out laughing at him, he'd get the shot. Last Christmas he got her to pose where he wanted her by putting pennies on the floor, and telling her to "Hide the pennies from your mom! She wants to steal my pennies!" LOL, I couldn't believe that one worked, but it did. I think what helps the most is when it's not your own kid that you have to photograph. They will usually cooperate so much more when it's someone other than mom or dad telling them to smile or whatever. Definitely make sure the younger kids have had a nap and that they have all been fed, etc. for older kids, you can also have them do some goofy poses first to get their sillies out, and then have them do more natural, relaxed photos. Making them naturally laugh will really bring out their real smiles and expressions, and that's where you see their true personality sparkle through! Good luck! I only have one kid but I can imagine trying to get good pics of multiple kids would be kind of like herding cats, LOL! Wow! This is all great advice and ideas! And yes, one of the reasons why I feel so overwhelmed is because I'm afraid it will be like herding cats. Lol! Thank you crazy4scraps! |
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Post by scrapcat on Oct 14, 2014 18:36:27 GMT
I do this for friends a lot, it can def be overwhelming. First I make sure they understand that I am not a complete professional and I don't have all the necessary equipment to make it perfect. Luckily, they are usually just looking for some nice snapshots. Ask the person to send you examples of what they want, pinterest is a good place to look for ideas as well. Props are a must with kids, so santa hats, little toys, bells, ornaments, lights, etc. Even if you are taking outdoor, natural light, still consider using off camera flash with kids so you reduce blurry shots. Just make sure they understand your capabilities and what they will be getting, versus expecting some professional shoot. Having an assistant helps too (to hold things, position kids, etc) Have fun with it!
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Post by julieinmd on Nov 11, 2014 21:31:21 GMT
I have a couple of tricks I like to use. I'm not a candy person because you never know what the parents will like and I don't like cleaning teeth and faces in Photoshop. That's a lot of work! Here are some things I've done - I went and got some of those folding step stools from 5 and Below (I am sure you can get them other places) in bright colors. I have the kids stand on those if necessary to bring their heads closer together. The smaller ones stand on the stool and the taller ones stand on the ground. I also have an old fashioned looking bench without a back that I have them sit on. For some reason they like that. With the older ones I come up with something silly to get their attention. This weekend I told some little ones that they could say cheese or anything they wanted but they could NOT say the word monkey. I kept teasing them that I just knew they were about to say monkey and giving them silly looks, etc. It worked. They laughed like crazy and I got some great shots. Finally for Christmas I went out and got some bags of that fake snow at the craft store that they put on those ceramic holiday village set ups. You can get a big bag of it for a pretty cheap price. I tell the kids if they are great while I take photos I am going to let them play with snow. Well, they can hardly believe that and are curious the whole time. Finally when I get to the end of the shoot (and believe me, you want to wait until you are very close to the end) I give them a handful of that fake snow and tell them they can blow it out of their hands or throw it in the air on the count of three. They love it! It takes some practice to get the timing right, but I've gotten some awesome photos by doing this. Of course it isn't real and it only fills a small spot on the photo. To make it all work I went online and found some Photoshop overlays of falling snow. I layer that on top of the photo and I believe I use screen and then add a layer mask and paint off the snow on their faces. Most of the time this turns out really, really cute and the parents LOVE those photos. That's not always true, but most of the time they do. You just have to be careful because the fake snow is plastic and you don't want it getting in the kids eyes or mouths. I wouldn't use it with very small children, but with kids age 4 and above I've not had any problem. They know better than to eat it. You've probably already taken these photos but I would like to make this photography board a great resource like it was in the past on the old 2 Peas board so I've decided to do my part. Now, if you have any suggestions for getting the attention of babies I would like to hear some tips. That is hands down, the hardest age for me!
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