As time goes by, the photos of babies and children in life become more precious.  Only photography can permanently preserve the growing process and various activities of young children.  We look forward to seeing your innocent self again when you are older!  

When taking pictures of your children, take great care to make sure that each one is the best portrayal of your childhood.  According to this requirement, you should not only understand the psychology of children but also master photography skills;  Combine the two to achieve the goal.  

1. Capture natural expressions  

The key to successful photography is to capture a child’s natural expression.  Almost all baby photos have this quality of innocence.  Babies take pictures in their everyday surroundings, unaware of the camera’s presence.  But by the age of four or five, when the camera is focused on them, they are extremely sensitive, and their natural curiosity is often replaced by artificial gestures and expressions.  Such affectation can be found everywhere in children’s photographs.  Only when the shutter is pressed and the camera is taken away does a child return to his true innocence.  

Children do not pose as they are told.  Assigning a child a certain pose always turns out to be boring.  Older kids who are eager to take pictures often overdo it trying to please you.  Others may have trouble posing and just want to get it over with.  If you try to correct these reactions, the results are often worse.  So, unless you’re photographing a model, don’t try to tell your child how to pose.  

But if your child likes a movement he or she has chosen, you can capture the naivete without any instruction in posture.  Allow your child’s activities to flow naturally and there will be plenty of photo opportunities, far more than a scene that might have been contrived staged.  It’s the unplanned and unexpected situations that make it possible to take extraordinary photos.  Instead of trying to manipulate your child, capture fleeting expressions and fleeting moments.  

2. Look for photo opportunities  

Everything a child does is a new adventure in a long line of childhood experiences.  Look for colorful scenes in your child’s daily life that might be suitable for a photo series.  Such scenes must be revealed at once, for accidental discoveries are often difficult to recall afterward.  

Children will repeat the activities they enjoy, and that’s when it’s time to take pictures.  However, you don’t have to limit your photo opportunities only to recurring scenes.  You can use gifts to interest your child and stimulate their active nature, which in turn creates new opportunities.  

3. Close-up of a child’s inner world  

Close-up scenes are the best scenes to depict a character’s inner world.  In close-up shooting, large aperture and long focal length lens are often used, and facial close-up is the most common in close-up shooting.  

4. The diagonal composition elevates the lively side  

Diagonal composition is the icing on the cake for the loveliness and liveliness of the child. If the child is placed between the two diagonal angles of the picture, our visual center will be focused on the diagonal position, and the invisible inclined line will enhance the dynamic and vitality of the picture.  

When photographing babies before the age of 1, since they are unable to stand alone and strike various poses, a diagonal composition can enliven the picture and enable a baby who cannot walk to move.  

5. Put your child in a more vivid off-center position  

Generally, parents are used to placing their children in the center of the picture. In fact, when the child is placed off-center, the picture will appear unique and increase the sense of liveliness of the child.  

Off-center shots use a larger aperture to blur elements around their subject.  It is the use of a wide aperture that highlights the importance of focus selection.  When the clearest focus of a picture appears, it is usually the position that attracts our first vision, so the composition that deviates from the center of the picture can also attract our vision.  

6. Choose appropriate children’s photography costumes  

Choosing suitable children’s photography clothing is an important part of children’s photography.  Boy or girl.  What style of children’s photos to take.  Is parent-child photo series or family photo series, what kind of style.  What to wear with it.  Let clothing become the highlight of children’s photography.  Let the clothes bring out the highlights of the photography.  If you don’t pay attention to the collocation of children’s clothing.  It makes the picture look unnatural and ugly in every way.  That would be more than worth it.  

7. Ask the assistant to cooperate  

Having a happy and active child is the first requirement for good child photographs.  However, if you don’t pay attention to some incongruous details, you can ruin the perfect photo.  

Having assistants go a long way in preventing and correcting many of these problems, allowing the photographer to concentrate on capturing the best possible picture or seizing the fleeting moment.  The mother is often able to help by smoothing out a stray lock of hair, smoothing out the folds of clothes, and if the baby is being photographed, doing much of what is necessary.  You’ll be more productive if you have a permanent assistant who knows your way of working.  

An assistant should stand next to you during your formal shoot, preferably a little closer.  If two people are far apart and both are on the move, it becomes a distraction for both.  When the child is bored or uncomfortable, you can ask the assistant to make gestures behind you, such as imitating the movements of a clown, picking up something, and pretending to hit you on the head.  This sometimes elicits a happy expression.  However, excessive antics should be used with caution;  Use it only when your child is completely unresponsive and you feel desperate.  

You are no longer a novice photographer after mastering these 7 must-learn child photography tips.  It’s gonna make a lot of difference in children’s photos.