When you are the official photographer of the family you realize that you never appear in the photos. I feel much more comfortable behind the camera. Always. And on most occasions I usually avoid getting in front. However, there is something that saddens me and that is realizing the few photos I have with my daughter. Removing the “selfies” of her with my baby, I can count on the fingers of her hand the photos I have with her in which we are both focused. And it is that her father has many virtues but the one in the photograph is not one of them (he is as good at picking up a tennis racket as I am).
If the same thing happens to you, you have no choice but to take action on the matter and solve it now. Me, this year I have proposed to take at least one selfie a week (or at most every fortnight). And whoever talks about selfies in a photography blog, is not talking about those that one makes by stretching out one’s arm with the mobile phone, no, we are talking about a decent self-portrait, with your real camera. With the one you love so much.
Today I will give you a few tips to achieve the best selfies with your children beyond a mobile phone shot. You stay, right? And if you want more information about baby photography, in this mega guide you will find a lot of tips and tricks.
- Planning
- Location
- Settings
- Approach
- Close the diaphragm!
- Tripod
- Remote trigger (or timer)
- interval timer
- Ready, Set, Go!
- Spontaneity
- Naturalness
- Let your child push the button
- change perspective
- watch out for the team
- Ideas
- Have fun
- Issues
1. Planning
This is not something really important, a spontaneous photograph can be just as wonderful. What happens is that if you take care of some details you have the possibility of achieving better results. Obviously you are not going to lose a photo full of emotion because you have not planned the background or the wardrobe, but if you are thinking of a session in a few days, try to choose the right place in terms of light (if you can photograph with natural light better better), decorated or even a significant place depending on what you want to tell.
Prepare the clothes, make sure they are colors that do not clash with the background or with each other. Soft colors are more suitable for babies, as they convey more tenderness. Which doesn’t mean you can’t use bright colors, but make sure they don’t kill each other! 😉 And even less that they steal prominence from you.
2. Location
Choose the place where you want to take the photo. Either because of the decoration, because of the light, because it means something special or because it is the background that best suits the image. Remove any object that bothers the eye. Concentrate well, because what at first glance may go unnoticed, in the image it will not, that cable sticking out, the broomstick, the shoe box or the coat that peeks out from behind the door will ruin your photo.
If it is indoors, try to place yourself near a good source of natural light.
3. Settings
Once you have chosen the setting, make the appropriate adjustments depending on the conditions: aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, etc. As babies and children are somewhat moved, try to use fast speeds, better if it is above 100, so that this photo does not happen to you and your hand comes out moving, hiding the remote and some of your little one’s limbs as well.
Making all the adjustments beforehand and planning the stage before placing your child in the scene will prevent him from getting desperate before his time.
4. Focus
This is the key. For now you can put the focus in automatic mode. If your little one is able to stand without moving, you can focus on him, if he is too small (or active) for it, it is better to place a doll, a stuffed animal or similar in the place where you are going to stand and focus manually or automatically half-pressing the fire button. Now that you have the point exactly in focus, switch the focus to manual and there will be no unwanted refocusing.
5. Close the diaphragm!
No matter how fond you are of wide apertures and their corresponding bokeh and blurs, on this occasion I must recommend that you use somewhat smaller apertures if you do not want to find yourself with a sad blur on your faces. Use openings (“f” number) of 5.6 or more. You can save the loss of blur by using smoother backgrounds or leaving a greater distance between it and you. In this way you make sure that, although it is not too out of focus, at least it does not take away too much prominence.
6. Tripod
Put the camera on the tripod. It is not that a tripod is essential but it is a great help. You can also use another family member to hold the camera at the height and distance you want, but I know few people with as much patience and good hands as a tripod 😉
7. Remote trigger (or timer)
I only recommend the timer if you don’t have any option to get a remote trigger. It’s not for nothing, but if it’s already a pain to take a self-portrait with the timer where you have to be running from one place to another and many times you go “on the move”, if you add to that having to be aware of a baby or a child, really that the task is complicated. I’m sure you’ll end up giving up.
The best thing is a remote trigger and use the delay option, because those couple of seconds you have of margin are used to release or hide the remote even if it is by closing your fist. The first time you may get regular, but then you get the hang of it.
8. Interval timer
Some cameras have the option to shoot in time intervals, this is used a lot for Time-Lapse photography. You can program it so that it fires for example every ten seconds. There are also remote releases with interval meters. If you have any of these options, use it, this way you can relax, play with your little one and achieve much more spontaneous images.
9. Ready, set, go!
Once you have all the adjustments made, the camera well placed on the tripod, the focus, and more or less thought about what type of photo you want, it is time to involve your child. Never before!
10. Spontaneity
Although I have told you about planning the photo and preparing some details, that is something that should not be noticed in the photo. Try to make the situation seem spontaneous, that there is another person shooting and that you don’t even know it. Your photo is sure to be much more interesting than if you appear looking at the camera.
11. Naturalness
When she’s older, your baby won’t expect to find you in a photo wearing makeup, elegantly dressed, or fresh from or out of the hairdresser’s. What your child will want is to have a photo (or many) with you, of the moments you spent together, of the shared laughs, of the stories read or the jumps in the garden. It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing a haute couture suit or jeans, if your hair is disheveled or you’re freshly shaved, the most important thing is the smile, the gestures of affection, the closeness. That is what it will be worth in 3o years (or more), that is what it will want to remember about you.
12. Let your child push the button
If your little one is over three years old, or old enough to press the button (and you have the confidence to leave the trigger), let him “play” a little. In this case, it might be convenient for you to deactivate the burst shot because as long as your finger is stuck, you will load the memory of the card in the blink of an eye 😉 It will be fun for him, you will be able to relax, and he will also feel that he is helping you, participating and who knows… maybe in the future you end up sharing a hobby 😉
13. Change perspective
Let creativity take over you and your photo will thank you. With children there are no rules, that’s why there should be no rules with the photos in which they appear. Lower the tripod to its height even if you cut your body in everyday situations. Drop to the ground and shoot at it. Shoot from behind. From near and far. Capture your day to day from all angles, without a script, only with the heart.
You can also shoot from your own point of view, for this you do not need a tripod, but you do need a wide angle that covers your hands or feet while you lift your baby or help him take his first steps (see this example).
14. Watch out for the team
Unless we are talking about a baby that does not move, be careful with the equipment. The fall of your camera from the height of the tripod can be a good task (I still suffer the consequences of one of these falls with the focus. And if that were not enough, when trying to create some photos for this post, it has suffered another fall …). I repeat, be careful!
15. Ideas
You can propose a family documentation exercise. Dedicate a day that you plan to be at home to immortalize your routines. Take the tripod wherever you go (from the kitchen to the bathroom, to the living room or to the bedroom) and shoot, capturing each of the activities of your daily life. It will be a report that your older children will love. It will also help you to discover the most photogenic places in your home 😉
Another idea is to leave everything prepared at night so you can capture the moment of waking up. You may not have the best face, but those moments are so special and wonderful that in a few years you will be grateful for having done so.
You can take a self-portrait in the places that are special to you: your little one’s favorite park, where he took his first steps, the first excursion, his favorite corner of the house…
Buy the same suit, identical pajamas or the same shirt. It’s also a fun photo.
Do you have any other ideas on this Pinterest board?.
16. Have fun
This session is not to win a Pullitzer, it is to have a nice memory and have a good time with your child. If you don’t get what you expected, don’t get overwhelmed, another day it will come out. Don’t get obsessed with technical details, enjoy the moment and feel it, it will be what is most reflected in your image.
17. Problems
What problems can arise? Well look, I’ll tell you everything that happened to me today in an attempt to capture something nice for this post. The day has dawned sooo cloudy that it seemed like it was getting dark and it stayed that way until nightfall. It has not led to giving my little one the timer because he caught it the first time and there was no way to let go. No matter how careful I’ve been, between being a bit clumsy and having an earthquake at home, the entire kit has fallen to the ground (camera, tripod and flash). As you can see, it was not the day.
Solutions? If you don’t have enough natural light you can try doing your shoot another day or use a handheld flash (please avoid the built-in flash at all costs).
If your little one moves as much as mine, you have no choice but to use wide frames (long live wide angles), small apertures (high “f” number) and…