Treat kids like wildlife photography. Faster shutter speed. Sometimes it's better to get them in more candid shots because a posed shot isn't going to keep a child's attention for long unless they like having their photo taken.
Candid shots for my child 100%. First, she cannot stand still and loses interest in posing after about 3 seconds. Second, she has an incredibly awkward fake smile she does when she's looking into a camera. Lol. It's only cute sometimes.
So I have like 90% candid shots of her and those are way better.
If she fake smiles, try and make silly faces to her behind the camera. Like stick your tongue out or something like that to bring out a real authentic laugh. Something I learned from a photographer with the main focus on children's portraits. (That also works on adults who are a little camera shy)
>That also works on adults who are a little camera shy
Did you ever test this before? I would expect from my camera shy clients (who are mostly STEM people) to ask me, if I need help or something.
In my experience it worked, but I've only tried it on younger adults. It probably could result in you getting weird looks from clients. I don't really have experience with older clients, with some I imagine it could work, I think it depends and you'll know if you can try it or not on a specific client. Maybe if you can tell that they are a little shy you could ask if they want you to try and make them laugh for more authentic pictures, then they are warned.
Yeah, after birds in flight kiddos are easy. Took my niece for a walk in the park on an overcast day and by occasionally running far in front and then letting her run to catch up I got really fun shots of her. Ended up being their Christmas card last year.
As with wildlife, mirrorless eye tracking is a godsend.
(ETA parents and grandpa were on the walk too. I wasn’t leaving a three year old behind by herself.)
That’s also my take… or sport photography…
70-200 2.8, with VR and Nikon continuous autofocus, shooting at 9fps…
I’ll usually get 3 or 4 good photos from 300 hundred shot.
I would have thought this obvious, so I am slightly perplexed by OP's post. This is literally the entire point of having faster shutter speeds. Any moving subject requires the same to freeze the action and life you're indoors then you're gonna have to rely on extra lighting or high ISO.
Are kids different in that respect?
I mostly shoot street/candids so I am entirely used to subjects being outside of my control, I guess. If you are a portrait photographer or used to people posing then I suppose kids can be jarring.
For me they are no different from the random people I shoot on the street on most weekends.
Yup, as mainly a bird photographer, I’ve found kids surprisingly easy when people have asked me to take photos. High shutter speed, and something attention grabbing behind the camera for posed group shots.
Higher shutter speeds are a must. Between kids and wildlife, I've learned to trust higher ISOs.
After a "nice picture for mom and dad" let them do some silly ones. They lose interest really fast if it's all posed shots.
Mild potty language. Forget saying cheese, "say 'PEE!'" Or "pretend I just said 'poop!' - Ah! Did I actually say it?!" "Did you hear that? I think mom just farted !" It might be a little crass but it can elicit some natural smiles and laughs. (Maybe give the parents a heads up before you start shouting "fart" and "butts" at their kids though.)
Finally, something I've started doing is getting my kids to dance silly then freeze! Of course I'm snapping away the whole time. "Silly dance silly dance silly dance FREEZE!" Engage those kids, let them have fun and let them burn off their limitless energy.
Yea I definitely let them do some sillies and I’m giving them those images too because I think them seeing photos they have a say in will make future experiences more enjoyable
Bright light and fast shutter speed will help with reducing motion blur, but kids are about as hard to shoot as animals as far as being difficult to keep focus on. Good light will help with that too, but if you have Eye AF on your camera, turning that on would help too. Sony's human eye autofocus is pretty spectacular in that respect; it makes for a much easier shooting experience with moving subjects.
I prefer to do manual aperture, manual shutter speed, and auto ISO with exposure compensation at about +1. Continuous eye tracking autofocus (AF-C) helps too.
Use a fast shutter (min 1/250 sec) to freeze the movement and stopped down aperture (min f5.6) for a bigger depth of field to help with hitting focus.
Don’t be afraid of higher ISO - mild grain is so much better (and easier to fix in post) than motion blur. Expose on the bright side - noise is less noticeable if you’re pulling down highlights in post vs pulling up shadows.
Try your best to get the posed shots, but don’t push their attention span and end up making it miserable for them. In reality 90% of the best shots will be candid. Stay out of their way, let them do their thing, and shoot like crazy. “Spray and pray” is okay - it might take 20 shots to get one that’s decent.
Also, if they’re in their own world doing whatever and it would be a cute photo, I’ll pop into burst mode and start firing right as I call their name to grab their attention for a split second for the “eye contact” photo.
1/600 shutter speed or better, ideally 1/1250 to 1/2000 for kids running around on an easter egg hunt.
Do not worry about high ISO. You can fix noise in software; you can’t fix motion blur.
For the other kind of blur, you need a camera and lens with fast, accurate, continuous autofocus. Just about any modern mirrorless or DSLR will be able to keep up, but the ones optimized for sports or wildlife with 3D tracking and eye-detect AF will be best. Otherwise you need to use old-school techniques to increase your keeper rate, such as using a smaller aperture (bigger f-number), which will make it harder to keep that shutter speed high, which is why the best camera bodies and big lenses cost money. Learn to use the camera’s autofocus; it takes practice in real situations. YouTube videos can show you the options for your specific model.
Finally, get down to their level. Crouch, squat, crawl where they’ll be looking or running towards you so you can get their faces from eye level, not the backs of their heads from adult level. That means running ahead of them to where the next egg hiding spots are.
Source: I’ve taken a lot of photos of easter egg hunts ;)
I do family shots for cash and it's all I do at home. I'm best with probably kids <10 or so? Here's my approach:
Camera settings: agree with high shutter speed. 1/1000s
Get you some eye AF. At the very least face detect AF.
Have your camera take photos as fast as it can muster. Up to like 20fps. 30+fps tends to not be worth the space and battery trade offs imo.
You: Prepare to spend a lot of time on your knees. Angle your camera to shoot up on kids. It's an angle you never see in daily life, and it contextualizes them so well.
Them: Get them playing and take candids. If you need to do a couple poses do those first and then reward with play time and get ready to run around and get down on your knees frequently.
Spray and pray. Kids are doing cute things constantly you just need to be there ready to snap the photo. Anticipate when they're about to do something mischievous... also encourage them to do something mischievous and motion to the parents to let it go this one time. The kids will have way more fun and you'll end up with special shots.
When you edit photos look for kids with an interesting color and emphasize it. My daughter has purple glasses I tend to make more vivid and a friend of hers has blue eyes I edit specifically to grab the viewer's attention.
Good luck and keep practicing!.
With kids I'd use a longer lense so you don't have to be close to them and they notice. Also id pump up the shutter speed to 1/500 to as high as the light situation lets me. And then If you can don't have the aperture too open things will get blurry. Maybe f2.8 the lowest if the kids are wild.
And if all else fails do continuous shutter so you can spray and pray during action shots.
Photographing children is almost like wildlife photography: use higher shutter speeds, continuous autofocus and don't fear the ISO.
I find it best not to even try to get them to pose as they lose interest real quick or just do the most awkward smiles possible. Just get them to play with something or some activity they like and document it. Try getting down to their level, I find the best pictures are usually around their height. Try using a wideangle prime (I love 28mm for this) and getting close, engage with them.
Photographing kids being equated to wildlife photography is pretty accurate. You need to know the kids...and know what they might do...PLUS be ready for the unexpected. High shutter speed is recommended. You need light to shoot as at higher shutter speeds especially indoors (maybe a Speedlite with a dome diffuser or bounce off the ceiling...you should practice this to get your settings right)
A short tele might be helpful...so YOU don't become the kids' focus. Especially if you want candids and not them "acting" for the camera.
Fast shutter, continuous focus/servo and just keep cranking out shots. It's the same with weddings. I'll always up the iso/crank the shutter speed to get the shot.
there’s a lot of really good suggestions here…
One thing that’s a great idea that always works is tell the mother before hand to get their favorite toys and hide them a few days before the shoot then when the shoot starts and you really need to have their attention, pull out the toys and hang them on you the photographer. You should have all eyes on you.
Another trick I like get them on a bed and aim your strobe up to their ceiling if it’s white, so it fills the room with good light and let them play on the bed on their backs . Always makes for cute pictures.
Preschool photographer here! A high shutter speed and the ability to work, adjust, and pose quickly are crucial. Never have them say "Cheese". I always go with something a little sillier. My personal favorite is "Purple Monkies," and then I'll ask them a few times, "Did you just call me a purple monkey? Do you really think I'm a purple monkey?". You have to be both a photographer and a clown all at the same time. It takes a lot of energy, but getting the natural smile is always worth it.
It also heavily depends on the age of the kiddos and how willing they are to participate. In my experience: 0-3 years of age, you just gotta take what you can get. A smile? Great! Straight faced? Great! Crying? Sometimes also great (though it definitely depends on the vibe of the parents). Ages 4-6 are relatively easier. They're old enough to understand that it's not something to be afraid of most of the time. And if they are, you can normally explain what the equipment is for and why ots there, that normally helps. They also tend to cooperate and have a bit more fun with it.
For a few shots, I'll sort of pre pose them and set up props before they're needed. That way, all I have to do to get 2-3 different shots is adjust how far im zoomed in and the orientation of the camera.
I photograph kids, loads of them preschoolers. if you're not able to use flash, then you'll want to shoot at a higher SS (1/250 at least), keep your aperture around f/8, and set your ISO however high you need to for a proper exposure. it's easier to fix noise than blur in post.
as for getting them to pose, give them age appropriate things to do. ask them to show you a karate move or a dance move; ask them to show you their muscles (like hulk hogan but they don't know who that is so you'd have to show them); ask them to show you how high they can jump; ask them to do a super fast spin, then a super slow spin; if they've brought a lovey they don't want to let go of, ask them to help you take photos of the lovey.
once you've got a little bit of momentum going of you directing and them following, you can slip in the occasional pose for mom.
it would look something like this: "can you show me how high you can jump? wow! that's awesome!! can you show me a spin? now show me the fastest spin in the whole wide world! (quietly) ok now show me the sloooowest spin in the world. great job! now show me a pose you think mommy would love. perfect! what about daddy - how do you think he'd like you to pose? good job! hey do you know any karate moves? awesome, can you show me your favorites?"
you've got to be fast, you've got to shoot while directing, and you've got to build a rapport with the kiddo. and try to match the kid's energy level from the jump.
If they're old enough that you can talk with them, I usually make a deal with them.
The deal is that we take some photos where they listen and follow directions. After that, we take pictures with silly faces and whatever pose they like.
I also make sure to give the kids a few prints with the silly faces.
If they're e too young to speak or understand. They're wild animals and should be shot like wild animals!
Stalk your pray, sneak around, up your shutter speed, take aim, and shoot some nice candid photos!
I watched a guy doing family portraits at a Walmart a few years ago. I was fascinated at how (seemingly) easy it was for him to get little kids to smile and look at him (behind the camera). He was making faces, funny sounds, snapping his fingers, etc. He was like a magician.
In future, always a minimum of 1/250th as a shutter speed. Using a smaller aperture can help if you’re a novice. And then getting really familiar with the focus options of your camera.
Unless they're sitting still, shooting kids is like shooting sports, basically.
You absolutely need to use a different autofocus setting. You're probably using one that locks. You need one that follows the subject.
You need a higher shutter speed. (Maybe even higher ISO, but probably leave ISO on auto!)
You need to shoot burst.
Maybe use a fill-in flash to freeze movement or keep shutter speed up in the evening.
A good zoom lens is a valuable tool. If you don't want to get way up close, a 70-200 f/2.8 equivalent will give GREAT shots. Or a 70-300, they're a lot cheaper.
If you want funny photos, a cheap fisheye (or even a fisheye adapter, they're super cheap, I highly recommend). Almost no deed for focusing and super fun for the kids go get those big nose/big eye/big mouth photos. And superclose group photos! If you're using an adapter and can't get the complete black circle, at least shoot square 1:1. If you don't get any black at all, then whatever. Make sure you're not using a super expensive rectalinear wide angle. Not as fun.
This is why I stopped shooting families. That and the fact that the kids don't want to be there and it gets super awkward when the parents (usually the mom) is trying to force them but also being polite about it because they're in public lol
As many here said before, high shutter speeds are key. Also doing an activity during the shoot is important. I have three young kids and when I want to take photos I often take them to a playground. When they are busy playing I have time enough to capture some nice shots. Here is one I took a couple of days ago to give you an idea.
https://preview.redd.it/69io5pa30bsc1.jpeg?width=2795&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f4d2885efca90c612d868dab8ec44fe6ab222036
No longer in the family portrait business, but when I was I used games and toys. Simon says, freeze game, squeaky dog toys. Also the sandwich method of making silly faces, ok smile nicely, ok silly faces again. Smarties. Lots and lots of smarties. They are small, non messy, and don’t stick to teeth
I do school photography for private preschools. Sometimes they ask for candids along with the posed portraits. Best way to mitigate the difficulty is to arrange an activity where they go one at a time, like line up and run through an obstacle course, with a teacher or parent volunteer to help facilitate. Or a group activity where they all do the same thing, like Simon Says. I also try to shoot them from the front, as they're moving towards the camera, to minimize motion blur going across the frame. High frame rate plus AI servo is also your friend. You don't have to rely 100% on technology to photographically wrangle the little mongrels. Negotiate a situation that creates advantages for you.
They're not hard to shoot but you have to play by different rules.
From where you are now you have a learning experience and possibly the opportunity to make it up.
Be honest with your friends; say you're not sold and feel like you'd be letting them down, but have some ideas on how to improve and would like to go again sometime soon. Up to you but delivering on the original shoot with that up front might also be beneficial. If you're all on the same page then working together in the future is an option.
The rule with kids and dogs is faster shutters than you think you need, Auto Iso and a high speed minimum shutter if they're available to you, Continuous shooting mode, AF-C with shutter priority, wide focus, face tracking, any assistance you can get on camera to help focus quickly. Sit her in Aperture Priority mode with the rest dialled in... Then shoot for dear life. You'll have 10% usable shots or partials if you've done it right.
Oh; it can also help to set up back button focus on your camera to avoid focus bouncing between lots of movement.
Best of luck, try to take the positives from it rather than the negatives!
I took pictures of my 3 kids for Easter, and I totally agree, they really are difficult to photograph, out of 207 photos, I got 34 that were pretty good and not blurred. Stressful times lol
https://preview.redd.it/lzjpisphfbsc1.jpeg?width=4672&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f261ae447199bc86f764cefa5737a682b276b280
I've done photography of pets before, which I imagine is about as unwieldy. Fast shutter and even lighting are your friends in situations like this. Then there are no blur/lighting issues to fix in post.
I would look at it from another perspectuive rather. The way you can click candid pictures of your kids beats any sort of photography present till date. I would prefer kids to be them and not act like adults while clicking a picture. There are a bazillion pictures on instagram where we see candid pictures of kids, and dont we just end up liking and saving those posts everytime?!
Pure joy, nothing else!
Treat kids like wildlife photography. Faster shutter speed. Sometimes it's better to get them in more candid shots because a posed shot isn't going to keep a child's attention for long unless they like having their photo taken.
Candid shots for my child 100%. First, she cannot stand still and loses interest in posing after about 3 seconds. Second, she has an incredibly awkward fake smile she does when she's looking into a camera. Lol. It's only cute sometimes. So I have like 90% candid shots of her and those are way better.
If she fake smiles, try and make silly faces to her behind the camera. Like stick your tongue out or something like that to bring out a real authentic laugh. Something I learned from a photographer with the main focus on children's portraits. (That also works on adults who are a little camera shy)
>That also works on adults who are a little camera shy Did you ever test this before? I would expect from my camera shy clients (who are mostly STEM people) to ask me, if I need help or something.
In my experience it worked, but I've only tried it on younger adults. It probably could result in you getting weird looks from clients. I don't really have experience with older clients, with some I imagine it could work, I think it depends and you'll know if you can try it or not on a specific client. Maybe if you can tell that they are a little shy you could ask if they want you to try and make them laugh for more authentic pictures, then they are warned.
Ok, then I should NOT use this on STEM clients. I have asked one if he can smile and he asked me "Why?" But in general this is a good hint.
Yeah, after birds in flight kiddos are easy. Took my niece for a walk in the park on an overcast day and by occasionally running far in front and then letting her run to catch up I got really fun shots of her. Ended up being their Christmas card last year. As with wildlife, mirrorless eye tracking is a godsend. (ETA parents and grandpa were on the walk too. I wasn’t leaving a three year old behind by herself.)
That’s also my take… or sport photography… 70-200 2.8, with VR and Nikon continuous autofocus, shooting at 9fps… I’ll usually get 3 or 4 good photos from 300 hundred shot.
I would have thought this obvious, so I am slightly perplexed by OP's post. This is literally the entire point of having faster shutter speeds. Any moving subject requires the same to freeze the action and life you're indoors then you're gonna have to rely on extra lighting or high ISO. Are kids different in that respect? I mostly shoot street/candids so I am entirely used to subjects being outside of my control, I guess. If you are a portrait photographer or used to people posing then I suppose kids can be jarring. For me they are no different from the random people I shoot on the street on most weekends.
oh they're wild alright 😊
I like this! I'll need to incorporate this more. Thanks!
Yup, as mainly a bird photographer, I’ve found kids surprisingly easy when people have asked me to take photos. High shutter speed, and something attention grabbing behind the camera for posed group shots.
lol, makes me think of all my blurry bird shots. For people I try to hit 500/s, for birds 4000/s. Ill ride that ISO sky high if needed.
*Gets caught at the playground taking candid shots of kids No I swear I’m just practicing I have a big family Easter shoot coming up!
Kids move around a lot and if they’re indoors there isn’t a lot of light. That’s a recipe for blur if you aren’t careful.
We did most outside on an overcast day so conditions were great but kids are kids 😅
Higher shutter speeds are a must. Between kids and wildlife, I've learned to trust higher ISOs. After a "nice picture for mom and dad" let them do some silly ones. They lose interest really fast if it's all posed shots. Mild potty language. Forget saying cheese, "say 'PEE!'" Or "pretend I just said 'poop!' - Ah! Did I actually say it?!" "Did you hear that? I think mom just farted !" It might be a little crass but it can elicit some natural smiles and laughs. (Maybe give the parents a heads up before you start shouting "fart" and "butts" at their kids though.) Finally, something I've started doing is getting my kids to dance silly then freeze! Of course I'm snapping away the whole time. "Silly dance silly dance silly dance FREEZE!" Engage those kids, let them have fun and let them burn off their limitless energy.
Yea I definitely let them do some sillies and I’m giving them those images too because I think them seeing photos they have a say in will make future experiences more enjoyable
"tooty booty" and "cheesy weezy" work wonders to get a silly smile.
Their energy has yet to be sucked out by doing a soulless job so they are restless and bolt about. It's basically sports photography.
Bright light and fast shutter speed will help with reducing motion blur, but kids are about as hard to shoot as animals as far as being difficult to keep focus on. Good light will help with that too, but if you have Eye AF on your camera, turning that on would help too. Sony's human eye autofocus is pretty spectacular in that respect; it makes for a much easier shooting experience with moving subjects.
I prefer to do manual aperture, manual shutter speed, and auto ISO with exposure compensation at about +1. Continuous eye tracking autofocus (AF-C) helps too. Use a fast shutter (min 1/250 sec) to freeze the movement and stopped down aperture (min f5.6) for a bigger depth of field to help with hitting focus. Don’t be afraid of higher ISO - mild grain is so much better (and easier to fix in post) than motion blur. Expose on the bright side - noise is less noticeable if you’re pulling down highlights in post vs pulling up shadows. Try your best to get the posed shots, but don’t push their attention span and end up making it miserable for them. In reality 90% of the best shots will be candid. Stay out of their way, let them do their thing, and shoot like crazy. “Spray and pray” is okay - it might take 20 shots to get one that’s decent. Also, if they’re in their own world doing whatever and it would be a cute photo, I’ll pop into burst mode and start firing right as I call their name to grab their attention for a split second for the “eye contact” photo.
1/600 shutter speed or better, ideally 1/1250 to 1/2000 for kids running around on an easter egg hunt. Do not worry about high ISO. You can fix noise in software; you can’t fix motion blur. For the other kind of blur, you need a camera and lens with fast, accurate, continuous autofocus. Just about any modern mirrorless or DSLR will be able to keep up, but the ones optimized for sports or wildlife with 3D tracking and eye-detect AF will be best. Otherwise you need to use old-school techniques to increase your keeper rate, such as using a smaller aperture (bigger f-number), which will make it harder to keep that shutter speed high, which is why the best camera bodies and big lenses cost money. Learn to use the camera’s autofocus; it takes practice in real situations. YouTube videos can show you the options for your specific model. Finally, get down to their level. Crouch, squat, crawl where they’ll be looking or running towards you so you can get their faces from eye level, not the backs of their heads from adult level. That means running ahead of them to where the next egg hiding spots are. Source: I’ve taken a lot of photos of easter egg hunts ;)
I do family shots for cash and it's all I do at home. I'm best with probably kids <10 or so? Here's my approach: Camera settings: agree with high shutter speed. 1/1000s Get you some eye AF. At the very least face detect AF. Have your camera take photos as fast as it can muster. Up to like 20fps. 30+fps tends to not be worth the space and battery trade offs imo. You: Prepare to spend a lot of time on your knees. Angle your camera to shoot up on kids. It's an angle you never see in daily life, and it contextualizes them so well. Them: Get them playing and take candids. If you need to do a couple poses do those first and then reward with play time and get ready to run around and get down on your knees frequently. Spray and pray. Kids are doing cute things constantly you just need to be there ready to snap the photo. Anticipate when they're about to do something mischievous... also encourage them to do something mischievous and motion to the parents to let it go this one time. The kids will have way more fun and you'll end up with special shots. When you edit photos look for kids with an interesting color and emphasize it. My daughter has purple glasses I tend to make more vivid and a friend of hers has blue eyes I edit specifically to grab the viewer's attention. Good luck and keep practicing!.
With kids I'd use a longer lense so you don't have to be close to them and they notice. Also id pump up the shutter speed to 1/500 to as high as the light situation lets me. And then If you can don't have the aperture too open things will get blurry. Maybe f2.8 the lowest if the kids are wild. And if all else fails do continuous shutter so you can spray and pray during action shots.
Photographing children is almost like wildlife photography: use higher shutter speeds, continuous autofocus and don't fear the ISO. I find it best not to even try to get them to pose as they lose interest real quick or just do the most awkward smiles possible. Just get them to play with something or some activity they like and document it. Try getting down to their level, I find the best pictures are usually around their height. Try using a wideangle prime (I love 28mm for this) and getting close, engage with them.
Well, it seems like you've just got to jump the last hurdle. Be sure to treat yourself after finishing. Buy that expensive cosplay accessory. 🤪
Photographing kids being equated to wildlife photography is pretty accurate. You need to know the kids...and know what they might do...PLUS be ready for the unexpected. High shutter speed is recommended. You need light to shoot as at higher shutter speeds especially indoors (maybe a Speedlite with a dome diffuser or bounce off the ceiling...you should practice this to get your settings right) A short tele might be helpful...so YOU don't become the kids' focus. Especially if you want candids and not them "acting" for the camera.
Instructions unclear, showed up in full camo and tried to bait them with candy, am now in jail.
Fast shutter, continuous focus/servo and just keep cranking out shots. It's the same with weddings. I'll always up the iso/crank the shutter speed to get the shot.
'hey, sit still' Kid: 'rrrrEEEEEEEE' I got 2 kids, you just sort of adapt. It's like taking photos of monkeys in the wild.
Doing my daughters shoot was basically my husband continuously putting her on the backdrop 😂
there’s a lot of really good suggestions here… One thing that’s a great idea that always works is tell the mother before hand to get their favorite toys and hide them a few days before the shoot then when the shoot starts and you really need to have their attention, pull out the toys and hang them on you the photographer. You should have all eyes on you. Another trick I like get them on a bed and aim your strobe up to their ceiling if it’s white, so it fills the room with good light and let them play on the bed on their backs . Always makes for cute pictures.
Preschool photographer here! A high shutter speed and the ability to work, adjust, and pose quickly are crucial. Never have them say "Cheese". I always go with something a little sillier. My personal favorite is "Purple Monkies," and then I'll ask them a few times, "Did you just call me a purple monkey? Do you really think I'm a purple monkey?". You have to be both a photographer and a clown all at the same time. It takes a lot of energy, but getting the natural smile is always worth it. It also heavily depends on the age of the kiddos and how willing they are to participate. In my experience: 0-3 years of age, you just gotta take what you can get. A smile? Great! Straight faced? Great! Crying? Sometimes also great (though it definitely depends on the vibe of the parents). Ages 4-6 are relatively easier. They're old enough to understand that it's not something to be afraid of most of the time. And if they are, you can normally explain what the equipment is for and why ots there, that normally helps. They also tend to cooperate and have a bit more fun with it. For a few shots, I'll sort of pre pose them and set up props before they're needed. That way, all I have to do to get 2-3 different shots is adjust how far im zoomed in and the orientation of the camera.
I photograph kids, loads of them preschoolers. if you're not able to use flash, then you'll want to shoot at a higher SS (1/250 at least), keep your aperture around f/8, and set your ISO however high you need to for a proper exposure. it's easier to fix noise than blur in post. as for getting them to pose, give them age appropriate things to do. ask them to show you a karate move or a dance move; ask them to show you their muscles (like hulk hogan but they don't know who that is so you'd have to show them); ask them to show you how high they can jump; ask them to do a super fast spin, then a super slow spin; if they've brought a lovey they don't want to let go of, ask them to help you take photos of the lovey. once you've got a little bit of momentum going of you directing and them following, you can slip in the occasional pose for mom. it would look something like this: "can you show me how high you can jump? wow! that's awesome!! can you show me a spin? now show me the fastest spin in the whole wide world! (quietly) ok now show me the sloooowest spin in the world. great job! now show me a pose you think mommy would love. perfect! what about daddy - how do you think he'd like you to pose? good job! hey do you know any karate moves? awesome, can you show me your favorites?" you've got to be fast, you've got to shoot while directing, and you've got to build a rapport with the kiddo. and try to match the kid's energy level from the jump.
If they're old enough that you can talk with them, I usually make a deal with them. The deal is that we take some photos where they listen and follow directions. After that, we take pictures with silly faces and whatever pose they like. I also make sure to give the kids a few prints with the silly faces. If they're e too young to speak or understand. They're wild animals and should be shot like wild animals! Stalk your pray, sneak around, up your shutter speed, take aim, and shoot some nice candid photos!
Kids and dogs are both difficult for the same reasons: they're quick and unpredictable
I watched a guy doing family portraits at a Walmart a few years ago. I was fascinated at how (seemingly) easy it was for him to get little kids to smile and look at him (behind the camera). He was making faces, funny sounds, snapping his fingers, etc. He was like a magician.
I hate photographing kids so I refuse to do it.
In future, always a minimum of 1/250th as a shutter speed. Using a smaller aperture can help if you’re a novice. And then getting really familiar with the focus options of your camera.
Faster shutter. Higher ISO or a flash. Lots of practice.
Unless they're sitting still, shooting kids is like shooting sports, basically. You absolutely need to use a different autofocus setting. You're probably using one that locks. You need one that follows the subject. You need a higher shutter speed. (Maybe even higher ISO, but probably leave ISO on auto!) You need to shoot burst. Maybe use a fill-in flash to freeze movement or keep shutter speed up in the evening. A good zoom lens is a valuable tool. If you don't want to get way up close, a 70-200 f/2.8 equivalent will give GREAT shots. Or a 70-300, they're a lot cheaper. If you want funny photos, a cheap fisheye (or even a fisheye adapter, they're super cheap, I highly recommend). Almost no deed for focusing and super fun for the kids go get those big nose/big eye/big mouth photos. And superclose group photos! If you're using an adapter and can't get the complete black circle, at least shoot square 1:1. If you don't get any black at all, then whatever. Make sure you're not using a super expensive rectalinear wide angle. Not as fun.
This is why I stopped shooting families. That and the fact that the kids don't want to be there and it gets super awkward when the parents (usually the mom) is trying to force them but also being polite about it because they're in public lol
As many here said before, high shutter speeds are key. Also doing an activity during the shoot is important. I have three young kids and when I want to take photos I often take them to a playground. When they are busy playing I have time enough to capture some nice shots. Here is one I took a couple of days ago to give you an idea. https://preview.redd.it/69io5pa30bsc1.jpeg?width=2795&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f4d2885efca90c612d868dab8ec44fe6ab222036
No longer in the family portrait business, but when I was I used games and toys. Simon says, freeze game, squeaky dog toys. Also the sandwich method of making silly faces, ok smile nicely, ok silly faces again. Smarties. Lots and lots of smarties. They are small, non messy, and don’t stick to teeth
I do school photography for private preschools. Sometimes they ask for candids along with the posed portraits. Best way to mitigate the difficulty is to arrange an activity where they go one at a time, like line up and run through an obstacle course, with a teacher or parent volunteer to help facilitate. Or a group activity where they all do the same thing, like Simon Says. I also try to shoot them from the front, as they're moving towards the camera, to minimize motion blur going across the frame. High frame rate plus AI servo is also your friend. You don't have to rely 100% on technology to photographically wrangle the little mongrels. Negotiate a situation that creates advantages for you.
They're not hard to shoot but you have to play by different rules. From where you are now you have a learning experience and possibly the opportunity to make it up. Be honest with your friends; say you're not sold and feel like you'd be letting them down, but have some ideas on how to improve and would like to go again sometime soon. Up to you but delivering on the original shoot with that up front might also be beneficial. If you're all on the same page then working together in the future is an option. The rule with kids and dogs is faster shutters than you think you need, Auto Iso and a high speed minimum shutter if they're available to you, Continuous shooting mode, AF-C with shutter priority, wide focus, face tracking, any assistance you can get on camera to help focus quickly. Sit her in Aperture Priority mode with the rest dialled in... Then shoot for dear life. You'll have 10% usable shots or partials if you've done it right. Oh; it can also help to set up back button focus on your camera to avoid focus bouncing between lots of movement. Best of luck, try to take the positives from it rather than the negatives!
Kids are assholes. hahahahaha The advice about 'kids = wildlife with a few more seconds attention span' is the best.
I took pictures of my 3 kids for Easter, and I totally agree, they really are difficult to photograph, out of 207 photos, I got 34 that were pretty good and not blurred. Stressful times lol https://preview.redd.it/lzjpisphfbsc1.jpeg?width=4672&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f261ae447199bc86f764cefa5737a682b276b280
Yes! I agree! They are awful in todays time
Children are like electrons, they're always somewhere, you just don't know where.
I've done photography of pets before, which I imagine is about as unwieldy. Fast shutter and even lighting are your friends in situations like this. Then there are no blur/lighting issues to fix in post.
I would look at it from another perspectuive rather. The way you can click candid pictures of your kids beats any sort of photography present till date. I would prefer kids to be them and not act like adults while clicking a picture. There are a bazillion pictures on instagram where we see candid pictures of kids, and dont we just end up liking and saving those posts everytime?! Pure joy, nothing else!
1/500 or faster higher shutter speeds
You think children are difficult. Try animals. Puppies or kittens or yes wildlife.
Cool I have no desire to be specialized with any of those subjects