5 Tips How to Photograph a Toddler on Camera
December 24, 2016We can all agree that a beautifully captured photograph of a Toddler during the holidays can make anyones heart melt and lets face it make ones social feed pop. It’s simple, these lil ones are unaware of the 'Blue Steel', 'Le Tigre’, ‘Ferrari’ or ‘Magnum’ that Derek Zoolander made famous. Toddlers tend to give an most honest, pure and genuine expression to the camera lens. The real difficulty is to capture it, because boy oh boy they are restless, quick and generally extremely hard to catch sitting in one place.
Wholesome Linen brings to you easy camera and photography tips to help you get that perfect photo of your adorable Toddler:
1. Make sure your camera settings are correct for the specific time of day
If you are using a DSLR camera and you are planning to photograph your toddler during the day, make sure your Shutter Speed is 1/125 c or faster. If they or anything in the frame is moving you are going to want to be in between 1/250 to 1/500. Choose a well lit spot, by the window. If you taking photos in the evening or you are planing to shoot in low light, change your ISO setting to MAX and lower your Aperture to Minimum. By doing this you can get magical shots by lit Christmas tree for example with great depth and holiday feeling. Best light is in early morning until 9am find a nice sun spot, you may have to remove your cat, or during magic hour when Sun sets down during the Winter from 4 pm to 5 pm depending on where you live.
2. Get down on Toddler level
When you are photographing toddlers it is better to kneel down or sit on your bum to get to the same eye level. This way they will feel more comfortable and you will have a better angle to capture close ups of your little munchkin.
3. Get help with Toddler from your spouse or any family member
Ask your spouse or any family member who has a good connection with your little one to help you get your toddler's attention and eyes on camera. Make sure your helper will be standing behind you and camera, entertaining toddler dangling toys above the lens to get them to look just above the camera. If they start getting bored try reciting their favorite story or nursery rhyme and generally acting life a goofy kid to get that elusive perfect smile. In these moments, burst shots from your camera is your friend.
4. Don't force your Toddler
Remember that kids get tired of shooting much faster than adults and in case your toddler refuses to photograph when he or she sees the camera put the camera down and take a break and start again when they are in the mood. Another option is to try a long or telescope lens 85 mm or longer. This way you can take a great close up photographs from other side of the room being natural without your toddler getting shy and running away from the camera. The more patient you are, the more likely you will get that perfect photo.
5. Engage your Toddler into play or some kind of activity
The easiest way to make your toddler sit still is to engage them with play or any kind of activity which allows them to and to stay in one place. Instead of running around with your camera sit them down on a rocking horse or chair. If that does not work let them flip through their favorite book or sit them down on their favorite blanket their very own pillow to make them feel more comfortable. The best advice we can give during Holiday season is to hand your toddler a safe wooden ornament from the tree they have been eyeing up, it will make the picture perfectly festive.
We used some of these tips in the video above to capture Kingsley in all his adorable toddler glory :)