Since we are all ordered to stay indoors during this time I thought I would share my top 5 tips for taking photos of your kids at home.
Whether you have a DSLR or you are using your smart phone these top 5 tips will help you improve the quality of your photos. In this unprecedented time where the country is in lockdown, many of you will be unable to attend your photography sessions but by taking photos of your kids at home you needn't miss out on capturing those important milestones.
Taking photos of your kids at home
1. Keep it simple
My first tip is probably the most important one. You don’t have to have a professional studio to take great photos. When taking photos of your kids at home, find an area that is decluttered with nothing distracting in the background. I love using plain white bedding and dressing babies in a simple white vest or even just a plain white nappy.
If you don’t have good light in your bedroom then you can ‘fake it’ by putting the bedding on the floor in a room that has the best light. Maybe you have a big window or patio doors in your living room for example.
2. Lighting
As I mentioned above good lighting is what makes a great photo. The best light is soft light so its best to avoid harsh sunlight around midday. If the weather is overcast this is actually the best type of light as the clouds act like a big diffuser. If the light is too strong and creating harsh shadows you can soften it by hanging some sheer curtains over the window.
3. Capture the details
Don’t forget to record all the little details like their chubby little hands and feet or holding their favourite toy. These are often the things we forget to photograph as our kids grow up.
4. Backlighting
Backlighting is when your light source (your window) is directly behind your subject. You can use this achieve interesting results like silhouettes or bright white backgrounds.This can be more difficult when using a smart phone camera as they tend to underexpose so try to increase your exposure before you take the shot.
5. Editing
The best thing about soft lighting is that you shouldn’t have to do too much editing. I use photoshop for my professional images but there are some great photo editing apps available for iPhone and android.
Here are two of my favourites -
Snapseed, there are some preset edits to choose from when you load your photo or there are many great tolls to fine tune your image including brightening and sharpening or adding a pop of colour.
Afterlight, similar to snapseed but they have some cool colour presets and effects to play with.
More tips on taking photos of your kids at home
If you have younger babies check out my top 5 tips on how to soothe babies during a photography session
I hope you enjoyed my tips on taking photos of your kids at home and they help to improve the quality of your family photos.
