Candid Portraits of Children

Hi Guys-

I have been getting my feet wet doing portraits and have been working with mostly families and high school aged kids. I was just asked to take portraits of a family who has a little girl that is 4 or 5 years old. They have asked me to take "candid" portraits of her in addition to the stuff that I take of the family. I have been looking around online for some tips and inspiring pictures. I was wondering if any of you have any recommendations- it seems that it is recommended that they have props to play off of and I even read that it might be nice to have music. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!!

Pat

My daughters are three and a half and two years old. Of course they know me well and don't get excited when they see a camera, but my advice is to let the children feel comfortable. They will relax when they notice that you are relaxing. If you get nervous with your gear they most probably will try to avoid your radius. And if you feel inspired shooting them they will go with the flow. But beware: they are very quick, so choose a set which will give you the chance to react fast.

Getting closer with wide angle lenses is great, if you are shooting with manual focus taking pictures the with hyper focal will help you. I like 35mm (see below), 85, 50, 20 and 24mm (in that order) for instance. If a costumer prefers the "Contax645 Zeiss 100/2 with the lens wide open and Fujifilm 400H overexposed" look, it's a little harder than with, say, a Nikon with AF.

I like to shoot my daughters with a Pentax ME super, Nikon F4 and a 500 C/M (because I like to practice). With the 500 C/M, I like to come closer with the 80 Planar and the 50 Distagon. On the F4, a DW-20 waist level finder is nice - and the waist level finder of the Hasselblad is nice as well, because you don't get too much attention when looking down.

With a DSLR, everything should be fine, but avoid noisy programs like loud sequences of 6pics/sec and such.

And if you see their backs too often, try to reduce your attempts to get their attention to a minimum. Say their names nice, soft and friendly, they will turn around for a second.

Maybe you have a reward after the shooting? If you have a pola-back: go for it.

Saturday: Les sœurs by Dead Link Removed, on Flickr

Thank you for your response! Great tips and a great example! How should I explain to the girl what I am trying to do- or what should I tell her to do in order to have her not simply pose for the camera?

You're right: If you want to explain to her that you want candid photos she wouldn't understand of course, but if you accompany her while shooting some sequences, she will soon forget you're there. If you want her to smile: Be nice, show them something interesting, smile or do something funny (but that will not work five times in a row). If you want them to look calm: let them play for their own. I would not offer too much conversation. Let them do their thing.

Maybe you can talk with her parents beforehand - about the way she moves, the way she likes to talk, parents have the experience with her. Some children get bored and will try to chat with the photographer. Maybe it's a good idea not to look for a studio surrounding with extra lights etc. but to move somewhere outside - into the garden, with her bike. Does she have a pet? If there is something she likes to play with that might give her confidence. If she can move around it's more comfortable for her. Sitting still is a matter of seconds. And fashion mattes for most girls. Maybe a hat or a special dress? Shoes?

This is an example where I wanted to have some fun with a 20mm AiS on a Nikon F4 while looking for supplies. I like their serious and busy attitude.

Add to cart by Dead Link Removed, on Flickr

Getting at her level will help, too. The best shots I have of my son (now 4 ½) are ones where I was sitting on the floor. I've done portraits of him on his birthday every year and sometimes have had to use props to keep his attention on something other than running around. Autofocus (which I rarely use otherwise) is my best pal with him. Or a small aperture outside with lots of light.

I did a bunch of shots for a friend of a friend several years ago when her kids were about 1 and 3. It was a semi-overcast day and we went to a local beach (this was in Rhode Island). So the kids were occupied with the waves and their toys and the background was not cluttered or obtrusive. I got some really good shots that day and I think two are still up on her living room wall.

I like using a waist level finder to keep the lens at the child's level and fast bellows focusing. I set up my Bronica S2A like this when my son was a toddler and just left it out all the time for when the moment was right, and then realized that this is how my 5x7" Press Graflex worked naturally, so oddly, this became my go-to camera for toddler chasing.

Thanks for the more tips! I was considering shooting the candid part with the wast level finder on my Mamiya 645, and the prism for the rest, so that may work out nicely, although the WLF is a bit small to easily look through. Winger, interestingly enough, I'll be at the beach, but in Mass.- close by!

Ektagraphic said:

Hi Guys-

I have been getting my feet wet doing portraits and have been working with mostly families and high school aged kids. I was just asked to take portraits of a family who has a little girl that is 4 or 5 years old. They have asked me to take "candid" portraits of her in addition to the stuff that I take of the family. I have been looking around online for some tips and inspiring pictures. I was wondering if any of you have any recommendations- it seems that it is recommended that they have props to play off of and I even read that it might be nice to have music. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!!

Pat

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Portraits are hard workbecause, the sitter has to like him or herself being portrait. childrens portraits are even harderbecause,Mom has to like themand she usually hhas a warped expectation of her little angles.Ask her about them first and that may help you to understand what typeof picture she is hoping for,otherwise,just stick to what 'candid' stands for.