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Image by Felicia Chang

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6 Ways to capture a child’s personality

by Tamryn Jones

I remember when first starting out with my photography how all I wanted for an
image was correct exposure and great eye contact.

Moving beyond the ‘cheese’ smile is an accomplishment in itself,

but how do we go about getting that connection?

How do we capture personality and honesty?

Here are some tips I have picked up along the way.

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requires movement, determination or

concentration will aid in presenting their
true character.

Sometimes I will make a few suggestions:

that they go and play over there (where
the light is more pleasing) or create
challenges for them that will result in a
variety of expressions. I usually opt for my
longer lens when I’m outdoors so that I
can shoot from a distance but you don’t
necessarily have to be far away.

3. Beyond the pretty face

Whilst so much emotion is caught up in the
face, don’t forget the body language, too.

How your subject uses their body is a big

1. The laughter recovery part of their personality and we can tell so much about
This is a quick fix trick when I’m just not getting the a person by their body positioning: the cute way they
shot I want. My kids are so used to being in front of stand, the softness or harshness of their movements,
the camera yet there are still times when I call them for exhilarating boldness or shy self-consciousness and so
a photograph and they give me that cheesy grin that on. Younger children especially have a very genuine body
makes the jaw tight and the neck stiff. language and they don’t hold back in expressing how they
are feeling.
My 9-year-old tends to give me vacant eyes where
he’s looking at the camera but his mind is thinking of
something else. My 5-year-old will stand ready for his
photo and stick out his chin thinking he’s pleasing me
by posing sweetly. No amount of saying “act natural” is
going to get me my shot, so I make them laugh.

A big outburst of laughter. This only really requires

a reference to their underwear, a rude noise or
something silly to get them to laugh out loud. These big
laughter shots are great for keepsakes but the image I
really want is in the moments just after the hilarity. The
few seconds where they are recovering and recomposing
is a wonderful moment to snap away because they are
relaxed and genuinely themselves. Try it.
4. Angles
2. Action and attention
To bring out more of their little quirks and charisma try
Take their attention off the camera and get them photographing at different angles. This will not only
focused on doing. Tickling contests, water fights, make your images so much more interesting but I also
bug hunting, sports you name it – anything that find that my kids tend to light up and be more willing

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to join in and have fun when they see me standing on a
chair or laying flat on my back beneath them.
You could even experiment with lens distortion – I love
using my 35mm for close-ups on my younger kids even
though it is not really a close-up portrait lens.
hair, mismatched shoes, clothing that is back-to-front
and inside-out, and at any given time at least one of
them will be displeased about something. This is life
and these are moments I want to remember. These
little ‘flaws’ make up so much of who they are.
Don’t get too wet-wipe happy when the camera comes
out and go easy on the healing brush when you edit.

5. Light and emotion

It is often difficult to fully plan and achieve a certain
emotion when capturing young children because their
moods can change so quickly and the last thing I want
my kids to do is ‘perform’ for the camera. A lot of the
time it will be spontaneous but we can still visualise the
shot before we click the shutter and the light plays a
pretty important role.

Think about how light is helping you convey the

emotion you want to capture. A general rule of thumb
is to use a brighter more even light to convey moments
of joy and happiness and a moodier more dramatic light
to capture a serious, more intense feel.
Tamryn Jones
6. Welcome imperfection Tamryn is an avid hobbyist photographer. She is drawn to
expressive black & white photography with depth and intrigue.
Ideally, we all envision the end result of our images as
By nature Tamryn is a deep thinker, a searcher, an artist and
being immaculate but is striving for perfection a true
voyager and her enthusiasm for photography acts perfectly as
portrayal of your subject’s personality? I know in my
both a creative outlet and therapeutic source. Tamryn grew up
case it definitely isn’t.
in South Africa and currently lives in Shropshire UK with her
My kids are never clean and orderly. When I see a husband and 4 children. She shoots mostly natural light with
photo opportunity, 9 times out of 10 there will be prime lenses and a Canon 5d mark III.
crumbs or yogurt on their faces, grubby hands, unruly Visit Tamryn Jones online.

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14 Secrets to taking amazing photos

of your kids sleeping
by April Nienhuis

For the first two years of his life, my son refused to sleep.

When his little sister came along he was two and a half and once I got past the groggy
newborn stage, I had a newfound appreciation for nap-time.

I can still remember the first time all three kids napped at the same time – ahhhh! From
that point on, whenever any of my kids would fall asleep, I photographed it. I think I had
a fear that they would never nap again so I had to document it while I could.

Five years after my youngest was born, I’ve picked up a few tricks and methods
that I follow when photographing my children sleeping and I’m going to share them
all with you.

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1. Play music 2. Wait until the end of the nap

The most common question I get when asked about
sleeping photos is “how do you keep your kids from
waking up?” Let’s face it, in a silent room, the sound of
the shutter being released is loud and can jar your child
awake.
However, playing music can nicely disguise the shutter
sound and help prevent it from disturbing their slumber.
What I do is turn the volume all the way down and then
turn the music on. I then slowly turn it up until it’s loud
enough to muffle my actions but quiet enough to not
wake up the child.
No matter the tricks you pull out, some kids just won’t
sleep through the noise. If your child is like that, I
suggest waiting until the end of nap time to try and take
their photo. By doing so, you’ve ensured they got their
full rest but you might still just swipe a great new photo
– it’s a win-win.
You do have to consider that the very first photo you
take will wake them up so be extra mindful before you
press the shutter that your exposure and framing are
exactly what you want, it might be your only shot.

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3. Seek out unique perspectives 5. Move them

So you’ve gone in and taken a few shots and realize that
your child is deep in sleep. What to do now? Go crazy!
Circle your sweet little one, zoom in and out, and get as
many different perspectives as you can. Capture them
from above, right on, and all sorts of angles. Don’t forget
to also shoot both vertical and horizontal for variation.
You think I’m crazy right now don’t you? I’m not
suggesting you pick them up and move them but if
your child is good and asleep, don’t be afraid to make
slight adjustments.
I don’t do this much but in the picture below for
example, her face was originally turned the other way
and hidden in the shadows. She was sound asleep so I
used both hands to gently roll her face into the light.

4. Get up high
One of my favorite ways to capture my kids sleeping is
to get as high above them as possible and then shoot
looking directly down at them. I love how this angle can
make them look so tiny.

For the light sleepers, you may need to get a chair or

something to stand on for this but if your child is a deep
sleeper, feel free to stand on the bed (just make sure
your feet are out of the frame). For safety purposes,
make sure you are wearing your camera’s neck strap
just in case the camera slips from your fingers.

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6. Use fun lenses

When your kids are sleeping, it’s the perfect time to play
with creative lenses that might take more patience to
use. Many of the creative lenses out there like tilt-shifts
and Lensbabies are manual focus so they can be difficult
to use on a rambunctious kid but when they’re sleeping,
they’re still and you can take your time.

The photo above was taken with the Canon 45 tilt-shift,

one of my favorite lenses to use for sleeping pictures.
When shooting with my tilt-shift, I use liveview, frame
up the scene, and then zoom in on the face to ensure
that my focus is spot on.

7. Fake it
With the two photos at right, you’d guess my youngest
is sleeping wouldn’t you? In the first one I caught her
taking a break on Thanksgiving and the second was a
blinker from when I was playing with some new lights.

Even though it’s not a true sleeping photo, it doesn’t

show what she looks like when snoozing. They’re not
ones I’ll include in my sleeping series but if you’re
unable to get many sleeping shots, these types will
help you remember those restful times.

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8. Don’t forget the details

Detail photos are my favorite and they’re
an option even when your littles are
napping.

Photograph them snuggling their tattered

blankie, grasping their favorite baby, or
even capture that wispy curl or those
sweet little toes peeking outside the
blanket. Some of my personal favorites
include their belongings or quirky
behavior like the way my youngest tucks
her arm under the pillow.

9. Embrace the hilarity

Okay, now this might not be an option for
everyone but my youngest has a gift for
falling asleep in the oddest of places. I mean,
who falls asleep on top of a pink guitar?!

I wasn’t in the room when it happened so I

can’t explain it but the first thing I did when
I saw her was grab the camera. And this was
one of those moments that I did NOT try to
adjust her into the best light – I wasn’t risking
it, lol.

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10. Shoot even when they’re

sick
I know, I know… when they are sick all you
want to do is snuggle them and call in an
order for pizza delivery. But, they’re usually
sleeping pretty soundly when they’re under
the weather (and during the day when
the light is better!) so take advantage of
that moment and sneak in 5 minutes to
photograph them.

In addition to getting them sleeping, don’t

forget to reframe and include things that
indicate being sick like a pile of drinks or
some medication on the nightstand.

11. Consider the time of day

If you’re lucky enough to have a kid who will sleep
in conditions that don’t include blackout curtains,
include any lighting situations or adjust your
exposure to reflect the time of day.

If the sun is starting to dip and they’re close to a

window, try to get some pretty backlight or haze
in the frame. If it’s late at night and really dark,
work with a high ISO to bring in camera noise
or even consider underexposing which will help
symbolize night.

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12. Bring in artificial light

Regardless of how dark it is in the room, you do need
some light in order to take a photo. If you find that you
want more than what’s available, don’t be afraid to add
your own light.

In the examples above and at right, I bounced my Canon

Speedlite 580EX II off a wall for the color photos and held
up an Ice Light with my left hand for the black and white
one. If you don’t have any lighting equipment, turn up the
brightness on your iPhone and use that to shine in a little
light, I’ve done that as well.

13. Include Mom or Dad

It might not happen often but
how can you resist NOT taking a
photo when you little one(s) takes
a mid-afternoon nap with mom or
dad?! It’s just too precious to resist.
When this rare moment comes
around, grab it forever while
you can.

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Photo by Esther of Story of this Life

14. Grab your iPhone

Sometimes your mobile phone is all you have
nearby so don’t discount it when wanting to take an
awesome photo.

The biggest tip I can offer you is to make sure you’ve April Nienhuis
got good light and it’s falling nicely on your kiddo, it’ll
Lover of thunderstorms and despiser of socks, April lives in
make a world of difference. If your big camera is too
rural Oklahoma with her firefighter/EMT husband and their
far away, you won’t regret using your iPhone that’s
3 homeschooled kids. She is the Editor, Clickin Moms Blog
within arm’s reach.
for Click & Company and teaches the Exploring Creative
And if you’re the only picture taker in the house like Photography workshop, showing others about her love for
I am, sometimes a quick iPhone photo from a family unique perspectives, exposures, and compositions and
member will be the only picture you have of yourself not tying yourself down to one style.
napping with one of your littles… Visit April Nienhuis online.

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Photographing your kids:

The good, the bad, and the everyday
by Felicia Chang

It wasn’t that long ago that I started my photography journey in earnest by joining the
Clickin Moms forum.

I read any tutorial I could get my hands on and poured over blogs for inspiration.

That’s when I first found out about the 365 project. One picture a day, for the year. No
easier way to practice and improve your photography.

So I shot my family every single day. I anticipated and sometimes scheduled for at least
one interesting thing to happen a day.

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of their personality. Then, without

even really recognizing it, my images
started becoming about them. Their
togetherness, no matter its form. It
could be sweetness, joy, sadness,
frustration, or solace.

In fact, it was during a workshop at the

start of the year that was pivotal in that
recognition. In the instructor’s words,
my work does not dis-include things
that aren’t perfect, I just show them in
a really honest and “okay with it” way.
This introspection has really helped
me capture my children and their
relationship with more heart and intent,
and preserve their lives just as it is, at
It wasn’t too long into my 2013 project that I started
that moment.
feeling burnt out. I was fast running out of ideas for
shooting material. I started to bark at my kids when they
weren’t sitting still for the nice light, or making the right
expressions, or if they even resisted the notion of being
photographed.

I persisted at staging them, creating what I thought

would be memorable moments in clean frames, to
achieve the look I was envisioning, as I practiced and
forged ahead on my project. Until one day, my 4-year-
old told me, “I don’t like that you’re always clicking this,
clicking that. I don’t like your pictures, they’re terrible.”

Her words were the wake-up call I needed.

I had gone about it all wrong. Herein begins the photo-documentation of my sassy,
determined, headstrong girls and their love, “hate”,
I was shooting at them, just to shoot for a daily image,
and everything in between. It is moment-driven, light-
with no intent. I was creating images that have little
supported, reactive photography. My images capture
meaning and authenticity.
them but they also serve as an indication of how I see
I knew I needed to change my approach, because there AND feel about them.
was no way I was throwing in the towel on a project
With these tips below, I am here to say photographing
I started. So I allowed myself to pick up my camera
your children in any environment, without having to
re-actively. When I saw an opportunity to capture a
direct them (too much) can be done!
moment, I would grab it quickly.

I started shooting each child individually, focusing

on the details of their day and the different facets

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1. Have your camera nearby (or somewhere easily

accessible) for the moments.

2. Listen to your children’s interactions; they are usually

a good clue for something that may have significance
to you to photograph. If you need to encourage
interaction, then engage them in something that will
perk their interest. You know your children best!

3. Adjust your settings for the environment by studying

the light where they are interacting.

4. Seek out different shooting perspectives for varying

composition. For any given moment, you can almost
always photograph it in several different ways. From
afar, fill the frame, or get the details. Be a hovering
parent.

5. Finally, anticipate the moments while you’re

continually engaging. Children are unpredictable but
they are also likely to do something a few times if
they know you enjoy it!

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I have one last suggestion, and this one I’ve learned from experience: once you get the shot(s), do not disengage.

The images on your memory card will not disappear. If you shoot and run, your children will recognize that, and will
be less willing to engage with you the next time you walk into their space with a camera.

Felicia Chang
Felicia is a mother, geologist and photographer who calls beautiful North Vancouver, Canada, home.
She’s crazy about her two girls, her schnauzer-poodle, and loves her husband even more for letting
her cuddle their sweet pup to sleep at night. As a documentary photographer, nothing fills her cup or
challenges her more than capturing the beauty, hilarity, and chaos of families at all stages of life.
Visit Felicia Chang online.

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