Turn off your flash
Especially when making portraits, natural lighting trumps anything your camera's flash can do. Heather Barr is blunt with her advice: "Don't use your onboard camera flash," she says. "You'll just get red-eye or blown-out faces, where everything is too white." Instead, try to situate your child in the brightest room in the house or go outside during the early morning or evening hours when the light is soft and even.
Don't expect all eyes on youHeather
Forbes is often called upon to photograph siblings. "I usually tell the client not to expect that perfect shot, with both children smiling and looking straight at the camera," she says. "I would much rather have one kissing the cheek of the other or have them playing ring-around-the-rosy or have one look at the other while that child is looking at the camera. I want it to be very natural, very organic, and a little bit of a slice of life."
Get down on your child's level
For great eye contact and a natural sense of engagement, Connie Groah says you've just got to put yourself at your child's eye level. Whether that means holding the camera just an inch or two above the floor to photograph your infant hard at work during "tummy time" or sitting cross-legged on the sidewalk to capture your preschooler's expression as she rides past on her tricycle, getting low is the way to go.
Shift the emphasis
When you focus on the things your child really enjoys doing, you're bound to get more of the relaxed, happy smiles you're looking for. "My favorite shots of my kids are at play," says Laura Brophy. "Whether it's making a parade of stuffed animals or a teddy bear picnic, if I'm playing and grabbing an occasional snapshot, I'm going to see the real kid."
Allow for freedom of movement
Sometimes it's nearly impossible to get a child to sit still for a photo. So if you can't beat 'em, join 'em: For natural exuberance, encourage your child to run, jump, climb, and crawl to her heart's content. Natasha Cuevas says she absolutely treasures a photograph she made of her daughter Dakotah jumping on the bed at home. "I like the reaction on her face," she says. "Every time I see it, I'm like, 'Oh, I love her face!' I just love her personality there.'"
Skip the retouching
So what if your child has a scratch on her cheek or baby acne? If you Photoshop all the imperfections from your child's pictures, you aren't really seeing her in her natural state. "Why would I modify a child's face to look different than the day I took the photo?" Forbes asks. "I love all the imperfections of children — if there's mud on his shirt or dirt under his fingernails or a lipstick print on his cheek from his grandma who just kissed him."
Look at the background
It may seem like a no-brainer, but pay attention to what's right behind your child when you're photographing him. You want to avoid making it look like a telephone poll or a tree is sprouting out of his head. But that doesn't mean you have to eliminate everything from the background. It's a matter of personal taste — some people don't ever want to see messy countertops or unmade beds in their photos — but in the spirit of photojournalism, such elements can add a sense of context to your photo of your child.
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