For our Photos of Summer segment today, I thought I would share some simple tips for taking better pictures of your kids this summer.
Summer usually means lots and lots of outside play. Which makes for some really fun pictures. But there's nothing worse than snapping away with your camera all day long, only to come home and discover that you don't love any of the pictures you took. Okay, well actually there are lots of things worse than that. But messing up your pictures can be a huge disappointment.
Tip 1: Avoid taking pictures when the sun is directly over head. Doing this can lead to pictures like this:
Really harsh shadows. I can hardly even see's the Spam's face.
To help avoid those shadows during that time of day you can:
1) Move to the shade.
2) Move around the subject so that at least the sun is more behind them and they aren't squinting.
In this picture below, the sun was above and behind, so that there was one even shadow over his entire face. I remember I made him keep turning until it wasn't harsh anymore. Which is why he looks so happy :)
Tip 2. Right before dusk is prime time for taking pictures. The sun is not so harsh and has a nice golden effect.
See how in this picture, the sun is shining right on my Little Miss, but the light is softer and it doesn't look so glaring. I live for taking pictures during these golden hours of summer.
Tip 3. Have the sun peeking in from behind trees or bushes, or from outside of the frame. These pictures of Cam Spam and Mack Attack have quickly become my favorites so far this summer.
In the one above the sun is peeking in from behind the trees, and in the one below the sun is shining just outside the frame. Oh my gosh. Look at those two. The cutest little trouble makers ever.
Tip 4. Raise your shutter speed, or check to see if your camera has settings for action or sports. Summer is a time when we like to get pictures of our kids swimming, jumping, running, and just playing. So the shutter speed on your DSLR needs to be HIGH.
For a DSLR, the easiest way to be sure of this (if you're not already familiar with manual settings or maybe don't know what you're doing with all those settings) is to put the camera on Tv mode (if you have a Canon, not sure what it is on Nikon) and have the shutter speed be no lower than 250. If it's a nice bright sunny day, you can raise it a lot higher than that and be fine.
If you don't have a DSLR, chances are your camera might have a built in action or sports setting. Try using that setting when you're taking action shots of your kids.
See the difference in these two pictures below? The first one had a shutter speed of 160. The boys are blurry. The second one had a shutter speed of 250, which had a lot more sharpness to the boys' faces.
Tip 5. Get up close and personal. Move yourself! If you have a zoom lens, don't be afraid to use it. But unless you have a really fancy zoom lens, the truth is that the picture quality goes down a little when you zoom. So move yourself as well. Get close to your subject and fill the frame up with what you want to capture.
Two pictures of kids playing in jeeps. One that I love.
Get up close and personal! Photo credit to Emily on this picture, and also this up close and personal picture she took of these boys.
Tip 6. Change your perspective, and get down on their level. Get on your knees, lay on your belly, take pictures at different angles. Make it fun and unique.
(photo credit Emily)
Tip 7. Play with your pictures in an editing program. Don't abandon pictures you think are messed up too quickly. For example, this picture is pretty dark.
You can try lightening it up by adjusting the exposure, but then it looks pretty grainy. So why not try turning into into a black and white silhouette? It makes it look pretty cool!
(photo credit Emily)
Also be sure to check out these tips for editing black and white photos.
Tip 8. Use your smartphone. If you're like me, you might have a phone in a protective case. Because of that, I'm not afraid to get my phone closer to the water. So I use it for fun pool pictures, and it does a great job. The quality of course isn't as great, but I love playing around with different filters. Plus, a lot of the same tips apply for your camera phone. Good lighting makes all the difference! Here are some pictures I took with my iPhone that I love.
Sometimes I think hmmm maybe I over edit these phone pics. . . but then I like them so I don't really care :)
So there you go! Hopefully you can think about some of these tips when you're capturing your summer memories this year! Do you have any tips for summer picture taking? Let us know if you do!