Learning to "Smile for the Camera"

Learning to Smile for the camera. He doesn't quite have it yet, does

he? :-) Any comments or ratings are appreciated!

Another for Howard's challenge. It's not too complimentary of my nephew ... but it's so funny to observe the stages of his reactions to the camera as he grows older. More pictures of he and his twin brothers will be taken next weekend!! :-)

As Wilson says in his response to Howards Challenge the next stage is running away shrieking at the sight of the camera being got out. I find getting kids to relax for the camera is an art which I do not have. I found the best way to get decent shots of my older two was when they were going gooey over the baby!

First off, I like the shot...and yes you need to go digital.

 

Here's a tip to getting better pictures of your kids. Treat them like you would an adult model. Involve them in the process. Ask for their help, get their opinions. It's amazing what happens. Make it a fun experience and make them comfortable and you'll get amazing results.

 

 

Cute child.... Well I don't know about the smile but looks as if he is saying...Cheeeeesssseeee.

 

Nice capture. He will love this one when he looks at it after few years..... lol.

 

Cheeeeesssseeee

Would agree with Howard's suggestions. I can't imagine having to deal with film again. I'm just now trying to do portraits and am finding it challenging but fun. BTW, I like your new portrait. Nice to see a closeup of you.

I find the easiest way to get kid shots is to get them playing and ignoring the camera. Then at a given moment, you say something funny, like "Look at the lizard on my camera". Oh wait...that really happened! :)

Hi Lou Ann,

 

Nice natural photo with a very catching exression. Tones are good and the lighting seems spot on as well. A nice shot that one would get a lot of joy from in years to come. Darrin

He is a cutie!

Both Howard and Kim are wonderful with kids pix, but his and her approach are just about opposite! I also find it very difficult to do portraits, especially children. I guess it has a lot to do with how you come across?

 

BTW Lou Ann, did your just asked him to say, "Cheese"?! ^_^

The problem with this kid and cameras is that his mother (and his Aunt Lou Ann) take SOOOooo many pictures of him, that as soon as a camera is in the hands of a near-by adult, he gets this plasto smile on his face. It's there until the camera is put down. He's really been made ultra conscious of being the victim of photography. :-) So asking him to say "cheese" or trying to play "look - there's a lizard on my camera" games with him don't work ... he's waaaayyy ahead of us!! :-)

I favour the Kim theory of child photography over the Howard theory though getting hold of a lizard could be a problem!

Lou Ann- here's my 2-cents for what it's worth. I find that kids under 3 do better if sitting in the laps of their parents or someone they trust. This includes my own grandchildren. My Ethan is about this age and he moves so quickly and changes his facial expressions so fast, it's hard to capture unless I take a burst of images. I find sometimes I can take images all afternoon of him and only get 2 or 3 really good shots. Digital is the way to go, then I just delete the ones that are not good. I have found as they get older, (over 4) they love to get involved, just like Howard says. In my Michaela shots, I let her run most of the show. She is 8. Jake is 7 and he likes to run the show too and it seems to work out for the best. Tyson-4 months, is much better when held, more content and not moving like crazy. However, each child is different and knowing what they are interested in helps a lot. Then you can talk about what they like and put them at ease. Ethan, 2, is the most difficult, he does not follow directions well (terrible two's) and like Kim says, you must just watch and have the camera ready to capture the extraordinary, mostly they are positional shots. I like to give them a task, or show them something they've never played with before and capture the wonder of learning something new. Jack-in-the-boxes are great, you get the anticipated suprise. I always keep lots of toys and lots of things that make noise for the Ethan. He loves being suprised. So good luck and just keep taking the images and like the one with the book reading, you'll capture an exceptional one!