168mm 1/320sec f/6.3 ISO 100, Sony a6000
We can all agree that Candid shots on any subject make the best pictures, like the one above of my Niece. Okay? Okay. But what about posed photos? That’s the focus of this article.
Any Photographer may struggle with this one, no matter how experienced. I certainly did. Then I learned why they aren’t easy, it made so much more sense, and I strive to no longer make that mistake.
So, Why is it so hard to take pictures of Children?
My basic and simple answer is: “because you aren’t fun.” There’s more to it than that, so let me explain.
Before I became a Freelance Photographer, I worked for the Morning News and Lifestyle Show at ABC in Salt Lake City. We had a Child Psychologist come on one day; I don’t remember their name unfortunately, but what they had to say opened my eyes to why adults make the choices they do in life. Such as why they don’t eat vegetables like Broccoli, don’t like or want to drive, or generally try new things.
You may have noticed I said “adults.” You’ll see why in a moment.
He provided several examples of things these adults don’t do, among them were the ones I just listed, simply because of a Negative Experience they had in their youth.
Take something from your life for example. For me, I don’t eat anything with poppy seed in it. Poppy seed muffin, poppy seed sprout salads, just to name a few. Why? Because I tried it for the first time, a poppy seed sprout salad, within a few minutes puked out what I everything had eaten prior. I emptied my guts of my lunch, mid day snack, and what I had eaten of my Supper prior to this trial. (I apologize if you’re eating something).
Now that I am looking back, it could have been an allergic reaction, as I was sensitive to a lot of things back then. But the experience, and even the visual of re-enacting it just now gives me the same sour taste in my mouth of that putrid flavor. Lest be said, I’m still not over it.
Now lets break it down a little, I don’t eat anything poppy seed now, simply because I had a bad experience to eating it, as a kid.
162mm 1/250sec f/6.3 ISO 100, Sony a6000
The Doctor of Psychology during his segment also touched on why some adolescent youth struggle with their image in their teen years, which then evolves into a depression going into their adult lives. The scenario he used to illustrate his argument was “School Picture Day.”
This, Ladies and Gentlemen, is the secret.
Dr. Psychologist explained that at some point in their youth, they or someone else, such as a parent or peer, made a single picture day a bad experience for them. That may sound mundane and stupid to some level, but it’s seriously more profound than you think.
The example Dr. Psychologist used was people with glasses. (If you have glasses, I’m sure you know where this is going.)
On Picture day, if a child was wearing glasses and they got glass glare, it ruins the picture. No matter how great the smile itself was, it ruins the picture. The scenario then plays out similar to something like this: The proof gets sent home, or given to the child at school and they see it, their friends see it, their parents see it, and all collectively produce a variety of negative reactions to this photo.
The peer laughs and says something like “lightning eyes”, the parent is enraged at the company taking the photo even printed this picture and lashes out, and the child sees what the issue really is – their glasses.
Suddenly, the child thinks “Why do I wear these? Does it really make me look ugly with lightning eyes?” or things of that variety of thinking until it eventually damages the self image of the child. Its nearly irreparable now, and no one is the wiser. Then it grows, the child has now associated Picture Day with being ugly or unsatisfactory, viewing it as a negative experience going forward.
Dr. Psychologist then went on to propose treatments for the rest of the segment.
Here’s what we can learn from this. Adults base their lives on the things that happened in their youth.
55mm 1/400sec f/4.5 ISO 100
So for us Photographers, how do we take good pictures of kids understanding what we know now?
There are only really 2 important things that make kids happy, Fun and Food. We photographers can provide both of those things, sure, but only one we can do one without potentially producing negative results. (Don’t give the kid a poppy seed muffin)
Fun. This is a concept defined by the dictionary as “enjoyment, fulfillment, or pleasurable satisfaction.”
Here is how I try to emulate fun for a good picture:
Lets take this photo of my niece sitting with a tongue poking out of her smile. I’m kind of cheating for this example, but bare with me, it will make sense in a moment. I sat her on a wooden bench that sits on a dock overlooking the lake it observes. At the time of this photo, she is just over 2 years old, and is as happy as can she can be.
I sat her on this bench to possibly catch her looking at the turtles poking out for some air. Clearly that isn’t what I got. Instead I got a candid smile from her because she thought the way I said “Turtle” was funny to her. I said “look at the Tootles” because I sometimes slur my speech when I concentrate.
Naturally she thought it was hilarious so I said it again, she laughed, and I snapped the picture.
My goal for taking posed pictures of children is to make them as close to candid as possible, without sacrificing the composure of the image. To do this, especially for children older than 2, I instead target what can makes them happy.
I do this most at my current job as a School photographer, aside from my freelancing. For the most part every kid now plays a video game of some variety, but the most popular ones right now are Fortnite and Minecraft.
Kids LOVE Fortnite and Minecraft. So naturally they will associate that with a happy experience. (As a side note, that whole psychology thing from earlier works for positives too.)
So when I pose them up for their photo I ask if they play games, and 95% of the time they do and then proceed to tell me about it, smiling and just hyping up on their positive energy. I expectedly get something like a Fortnite play, and then proceed to say, “get ready for your photo.”
They get ready, and expect to be told “Say Cheese!” To which I give them a curveball, “Say Fortnite!” IMMEDIATELY they are taken aback then remember that they like Fortnite, a positive experience, and smile accordingly. SNAP! Perfect picture! With as close to a Candid smile as you can get!
“What about the kids with glasses?”
I’m glad you asked. If there’s a glare, DON’T START WITH “Oh, lets do that again.” Because that immediately shuts down the positive energy, you NEED that. Instead, reinforce their feelings and tell them they did great, “but we have to do it again because of something I did.” That way, you also reinforce that they aren’t the cause of the undesirable photo. So you adjust the lights, and repeat. I do this for every one of my glasses sporting subjects, I show them their happiness because I believe they need that reinforcement. In the instance I can’t solve the glass glare, I remove the glasses, while still reinforcing that positivity.
You can do the same for any posed shots, not just picture day like in my example.
Here’s the quick notes method I’ve adopted after composing the shot:
Step 1: Identify what makes the child happy. Step 2: Create a positive reaction by mentioning it or sharing something similar. Step 3: Take the photo.
If you can master the above, kids portraits will become so much easier! And you get the added bonus of being tied to a positive photo experience, should they see you again.
If you want to see more examples, visit Amber’s Portfolio page here!
https://nonegatives.pro/project/amber/