children and poses

Many of you who filled out my short survey asked about posing your children so that they look good in a picture. You had said you get “stuck” and always do the same things, the same poses over and over. Well here are a few ideas of the way I work with kids. You have to have them “do something” most of the time. I want my images to look natural and real. I don’t really want them to have the posed JCPenney’s cheese factor. Here are a few ideas from images that I’ve taken recently and how I’ve achieved these looks.

Posing for this picture below:
Put a little one who can’t quite walk yet on a chair or something up above the ground level. This will keep them from crawling away from you for a little bit. You’ll still have to move fast though to get them while they’re content just sitting there. They don’t last long.
My manual settings:
ISO 100, 1/200 second, F 3.5, 85mm 1.2 lens

Posing for this picture below:
Have a little boy put his hands in his pockets or cross his feet as he leans against a wall. This may distract him just for a bit, long enough to get a cute picture while he stands there trying to figure out how to get his fingers all the way in those tight little pockets. Again, move quickly though. They don’t last long.
My manual settings:
ISO 400, 1/200 second, F 4, 50mm 1.2 lens

Posing for this picture below:
In order to get real genuine smiles from a real little one (6-8 months old-ish) you can have someone lift them up in the air and raise them up and down playfully until a real smile appears. I know this one is tricky if you’re taking pictures of your kids by yourself but hey, if Daddy’s around it’ll work.
My manual settings:
ISO 400, 1/160 second, F 4.5, 50mm 1.2 lens

Posing for this picture below:
Once little ones start walking it becomes more difficult to photograph them. Why? Because they can now choose to walk away from you. So another fun idea is to put them on top of something that they feel like they can play and explore and be wiggly on. I put this little two year old on top of some of my boxes and I love the natural pictures I was able to get of him. Real life.
My manual settings:
ISO 100, 1/800 second, F 2.8, 85mm 1.2 lens

Have fun trying new things with little ones. They’re wiggly and tricky to photograph but oh it’s so very rewarding once you get those pictures. They’re just so stinkin’ cute and they grow up so quickly. :)