Tips for Capturing Fun Individual Portraits of Your Kids

I say this often but kids are simple. So when you are trying to capture photos of them, it’s important to keep things that way. Simplicity allows for their individual beauty to shine. Here are some easy tips to capture authentic portraits of your kids!

Warm up with some movement.

Kids can get a little nervous or stiff once you bring out the camera. So allow them to loosen up a big. Get them moving! Ask them to show you their favourite dance move or jump as high as they can. This gives them something else to focus on other than the camera. It also lets them know this is going to fun!

Include funny faces.

Continue on with the fun and ask them to show you their best funny face! Kids love being goofy - this is such a simple way for them to express themselves. It also often leads to genuine laughter. These are some of my favourite photos!

Tell them to look for something in your camera.

If you want to capture those more serious and curious expressions, ask your child to look for the rainbow in your camera lens. It’s that simple. As they focus on finding it, they will look directly into the camera and relax their face - creating a beautiful portrait. If the rainbow doesn’t work, I sometimes try getting them to look for their favourite Disney character (Elsa and Moana are two popular ones) or anything like that!

Be quick!

Kids lose interest quickly so you need to be fast. It only took me 5 minutes or less to capture each child featured in this blog. Keep your shutter speed high and go through all the tips above. Don’t stop shooting. You’ll be surprised how many amazing photos you can capture in a matter of minutes!