shooting your own kids

[wyogirl]

Hi there. I have a three year old boy. He's ALL BOY and has a lot of energy. When I photograph other people's children, it seems way easier than shooting my own. My son is always distracted by one thing or another, and he can't sit still for more than 3 seconds. He loves having his picture taken but he always gives me the "super cheese" smile.

Any tips for getting good portraits (background and lighting type shots, not candid shots) of your own children? Am I the only photog who finds it difficult to shoot her own family? Help a mama out!

 

[The_Traveler]

I never bother trying to fight upstream.
My grandchildren never saw me without a camera so they got used to me and eventually they would get ready and sit.

It's my opinion that good candies are infinitely more enjoyable than posed shots.

 

[pixmedic]

the nice thing about photographing your own kids is that you can smack the $#!* out of them when they don't listen.
apparently this method is frowned upon when photographing other peoples children....

 

[ronlane]

the nice thing about photographing your own kids is that you can smack the $#!* out of them when they don't listen.
apparently this method is frowned upon when photographing other people children....

This made me laugh. I don't try to pose my 5 year old much. He's just like Amanda said and can't sit still. So my Daughter gets called upon to pose for me. She gets tired of it but at least sit still some.

 

[Derrel]

Where are they learning that they need a cheesy smile? From their grandparents? From their father? Does somebody frequently tell them, "Say cheese!", or "Smile,honey!"?

I NEVER DID that, nor did my wife. We did not want to raise a son that had the serious social disability of a perfect, fake smile. I know a few grown men who put on the SAME, exact fake smile in virtually every photo they are a part of. And I also know one woman who has the same,exact, forced smile in basically all of her pictures. I look at habitual faked smiling in this day and age as a serious social weakness. ANyway... shooting your kid...in Wyoming, I think you need both a license AND a tag to do that... ;-)

I dunno...keep after the little tyke...keep shooting....maybe shoot some video with a small, easy-to-use camcorder or your cellphone. I shot thousands of frames of my son when he was three to eight years old...I found it not that difficult compared to photographing other peoples' kids....lots of squatting down, loads of watching the background, loads of making sure the kid's face was clean, nose not boogery or crusty...and so on and so on. "Kid photography" is actually pretty demanding--they MOVE a lot, and they are low to the ground, and they are unpredictable...so you really must watch the backgrounds and the framing allllllll the time. I think it's more challenging to get a good kid portrait than it is an adult portrait, due to the nature of the subjects.

 

[Designer]

Same thing with teachers, den mothers, daycare workers, etc. Your own kid thinks he can goof off when it's "just mom". Try making it special in some way. Make it a date. Give him some time to get used to the idea. Dress him up. Bribe him with a treat if he cooperates.

 

[manicmike]

I've learned to work on my candid photos this way. I can never get them to sit still. I can honestly say my candids are the one area where I think I stand out above the other local photographers.

So no, no advice.

 

[The_Traveler]

None of this works with 3 year olds; they will just do what they want because this is an opportunity to control you or they will sit rigid and the picture will look like a desk mask unless you are really really lucky.

 

[jaomul]

Sorry off topic, the title of this thread is amusing

 

[The_Traveler]

Sorry off topic, the title of this thread is amusing

Well, shooting them with a gun is illegal in most of the US.

 

[robbins.photo]

the nice thing about photographing your own kids is that you can smack the $#!* out of them when they don't listen.
apparently this method is frowned upon when photographing other peoples children....

Aha - that might explain the odd looks I got at that last family photo shoot. Seriously folks can we start sending these memo's out in advance?

It would save me a ton of time and bail money - lol

Sent from my LG-LG730 using Tapatalk

 

[jaomul]

Sorry off topic, the title of this thread is amusing

Well, shooting them with a gun is illegal in most of the US.

I would hope so

 

[astroNikon]

Sorry off topic, the title of this thread is amusing

I've always been curious how many people would get arrested on a Gun Forum if they used "shoot" alot.

my 14 and 12 year olds are impossible to get a portrait with flashed umbrella setup. I just have to get them doing stuff.
My 10 and 7 year olds are much better at posing, if I can only remember all the posing stuff when I do it.

 

[wyogirl]

. ANyway... shooting your kid...in Wyoming, I think you need both a license AND a tag to do that... ;-)

I literally just laughed out loud!

Thanks for the input everyone. I feel better knowing that all 3 year olds are hyperactive.
@Derrel-- I have no idea where the cheese comes from. We live 1500 miles away from family so that can't be it and I NEVER do the cheese thing. Maybe he learned it at pre-school.

@Traveler, I agree that candids may be my best option. I just have to clean my house better...lol.
@Designer, I may have to bribe and or threaten him.
@pixmedic, I kinda wanna slap him silly but then he'd have a nice hand print on his cheek.... stupid sensitive skin... (joke..kinda..lol)

 

[robbins.photo]

@pixmedic, I kinda wanna slap him silly but then he'd have a nice hand print on his cheek.... stupid sensitive skin... (joke..kinda..lol)

Ok, so would I be considered out of line for pointing out that's a big reason why waterboarding was invented? Lol