Fine tuning your basic photography skills will help you with taking better pictures of children, but there are a few tips and tricks specific to photographing kids that will do wonders in getting some beautiful photos truly worth framing.
Usually the best pictures of children tend to be candid photos, but if you are taking a formal portrait, always practice with your camera first so you're ready.
When taking candid pictures of children outside, use an optical zoom or a telephoto lens for best results. This allows you to fade a bit into the background.
The more noticeable you are taking pictures, the more likely the children will be silly or clam up making it hard to get a natural expression. And you will need to be patient. Let them get used to you being there with your camera. Eventually they will relax.
Focus on the subject. Avoid trying to get everything into the shot and instead just focus on the subject.
When photographing children outdoors, you'll usually get the best pictures in Sports mode or by selecting a high shutter speed, such as 1/500 and a large aperture. The larger aperture will blur the background when photographing from about 10 feet away from the child. You can also do this with portrait mode, but the great part of using manual settings is you can blur the background and freeze the action.
If you have burst mode on your camera, you can also use this with children on the move. It will take several pictures in rapid succession, and then after uploading to your computer, you can choose the best.
If you're photographing indoors and have good natural light, try using your camera without the flash since flash can be very distracting to kids.
Be especially carefully when using a flash when you're photographing babies. Before you use a flash, always check your camera's manual to ensure you're using it from a safe distance. With many cameras it will be at least three feet.
The best way to pose a baby is in her/his parent's arms. Always think "safety first" when posing children. When taking pictures of a child and parent, it's often nice to have them look at each to emphasize their relationship. If you want a baby to look in a specific direction, simply use a baby rattle, bean bag or other quiet noise maker.
When photographing toddlers, be ready to work fast. Take lots of pictures, so you'll be sure to get some really good ones.
One of the very best ways to photograph a child of any age is to wait for when the child is engrossed in something that is really interesting to him or her and then shoot away.
Always focus on getting pictures of the baby "firsts" like the first step, first birthday, bike ride and all of the other important moments.
Finally, before taking a picture of someone else's child, unless the child is in public in a group, like marching in a parade, ask the parent for permission. Although it is legal to take pictures of people (including children) without permission in public places, it is considerate to ask. Most parents would prefer being asked.
Preschool age children can be quite cute when interacting with other kids their age. Look for those buddy photo ops like when two little ones are holding hands or helping each other with a task.
As you can see taking better pictures of children isn't really complicated but it does require some time and forethought.
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