Letting Your Kids Call the Shots: Tips on Getting Great Photos of Your Kids! | Do Try This at Home: Letting Your Kids Call the Shots: Tips on Getting Great Photos of Your Kids!

Sunday, August 03, 2014

Letting Your Kids Call the Shots: Tips on Getting Great Photos of Your Kids!

In which Meg Kelly Anderson, World-Premier-Mom-With-Camera gives us advice that even BETTER than telling your kid that if he doesn't come out and let you practice taking some photos of him, his cat will probably get eaten by a coyote!!  (Sorry for the tiny pictures on that one.  I didn't know any different back then.)




Meg is not only a great photographer, she is one of the nicest, funniest people on the planet.  So stick with her and improve your own awesomeness!  

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I'm a busy mother of three, trying to balance all different aspects of life.  Photography is my passion.  Jill has graciously allowed me to share my favorite tips on her blog.  In a perfect world I would have a professional photographer capturing my fabulous children in various poses and outfits on a daily basis.  Sometimes the photographer would do some lifestyle work from a discreet distance.  The kiddos wouldn't even know they were there.  The catch lights and skin tones would be amazing. 




My budget brings me back to reality.  Therefore, I try to snag some nice shots on my own.  And we ALL know that our children behave better for other people than they do for their parents, so this can be challenging.  I have done the begging, threats and bribing.  It's a hit or miss, often resulting in stilted smiles and eyes that aren't looking at the camera.  Loving my children as I do, I still can't erase these C+ images from my files.  They are all keepers.  But that's a discussion for another day.

One thing that has really helped me to achieve better cooperation from my kids is to get them on my team.  We are partners in crime.  I ask them for input on their clothes, shoes (or lack thereof) and background location.  It often helps to allow them to pick a special toy to join them in the photo.  Within reason they also choose the hair style and pose.  This has resulted in some fairly funny stuff.  It has also brought about some of my very favorite pictures.

The other day my five-year old came into the room wearing a cowgirl outfit and asking if she could model for me.  Music to my ears!  She told me she wanted to have her hair in two braids, although this was rather like trying to tie a bow with a two-inch ribbon.  Her hair is a big short and fine for braids, but we made it work.  She asked if cowgirls rode cows, and I broke the news to her that they rode horses.  She found her favorite stuffed horse, I grabbed my big reflector and out to the back yard we went. 

Here were Hannah's perfectly imperfect ideas for posing:





This was my contribution.  I know because I always tend to get in too close:


If I ever hit it big, I still plan on having our own personal paparazzi running around the house, along with a maid or two, of course.  Until that happens, I'm so grateful that I have figured out a way to capture these fleeting moments in time.   I can happily report that I now have a photo of Hannah taken just moments after she learned that cowgirls do not actually ride cows.


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Thank you so much Meg!  I love the post and it was SO GREAT to see you and your gorgeous models yesterday!

More Posts in the "Tips for Improving Your Photography" Series:

Five Tips for Better Images (without buying stuff)! by Megan Love


*All pictures by Meg Kelly Anderson except the random little boy with the camera at the top, which I got from Dollar Photo Club because there was room to put all the Pinterest-y information!*

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15 comments:

Meg said...

Thanks for featuring me on your blog! I am officially a rock star! ;)

Jill said...

Meg - A WORLD PREMIER MWAC rockstar!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Marcie said...

Great tips, Meg! Your kids are so cute.

Nancy said...

I'm at the TOP of Meg's fan club!! She's brilliant, funny, sweet, and....a great mother that captures fabulous shits if her darling kids!

Jill said...

Thank you on Meg's behalf Marcie!!!!!

Nancy!!!! This is a FAMILY blog!!!!! JUST KIDDING, I've definitely posted worse...but I don't think this is what you meant... "a great mother that captures fabulous shits" :-) :-) :-)

Nancy said...

Oh my gosh!!!! I'm dying here of embarrassment!! I swear, (lol, I guess I do!!), I think I check my stupid spelling before I post, and lo and behold, I do something so horrible as this.....oh Meg, will she ever forgive me?????? I am so, so sorry every one!!!! But, I must admit, after I saw your message to read what I typed, and after I wrote it, I did laugh at myself for a while.....what can I say, I need to hire a 'typist' for me....lol, that's just one too many goofs!!!

Nancy said...

Y'all know I meant SHOTS....right?

Meg said...

Bwuahahahaha! I am rolling on the floor, possibly dying of laughter! :)

MarkD60 said...

I love the photos. The freckle girl is so cute!

Skye @ Planet Jinxatron said...

The cowgirl story is priceless. And the photo tips are good too! :)

Vintage Paint and more... said...

These pictures are adorable and I like the idea of giving them so choices for their photos. Thank you for all the great tips.

Jazmine Lopez said...

These were such great tips Meg. I wonder if this could work on my boyfriend since he refuses to take pictures with me. aha. You're kids are adorable.

Jill said...

Thank you Mark!!!! She's just as sweet as she looks too!

Thank you Skye - I thought it was pretty cute!

Thank you and you're welcome (on Meg's behalf) Cathy!

You never know 'til you try Jazmine!

Unknown said...

So cute! I wish I had know what I know now back when my kids were little!

Anonymous said...

good tips! I love candid shots! I don't have the best camera, but I'm trying to improve my photography skills, so I love this series. :-)
Thanks for sharing this with us in the Bloggers Brags Pinterest party! I'm pinning this to our group and personal boards.

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