Guide to Children’s Photographers Techniques

Have you ever wondered how childrens photographers make their portraits look so professional?  It doesn’t matter whether there is one child or four or more, or even if a whole family is in the portrait, they always look, “right.”  Well, they use some basic rules, or guides, to create these attractive images. This article is going to explain these rules along with diagrams to help you achieve your own portraits that are composed just as well as the professional children’s photographers do.  The basic triangle is the key to a stable image.  Place the subject (child) in the frame (viewfinder of your camera) so that that you can draw an imaginary triangle around them within the frame.  (See the example below.)

Fill the frame.  A good image has the subject taking up most of the frame.  The example below shows a good and a bad example of this.

Another key is to pose the children well.  Below is an example of good posing and bad posing.  Note in the sketch for bad posing the subjects have their heads and limbs cut off.

Frame set-up can make the difference between a professional looking childrens photographs and an amateur’s attempt.

Where the heads of the children are within the picture frame is really important.  You want them to be close, and the eyes of the kids need to be level with the camera.  What I mean by this is it shouldn’t appear like either we (the viewer) are looking down at the kids, nor should it look like the kids are up high and looking down at us.

Finally, below is an example of a well framed and composed picture and an example of a poorly composed and framed image (no triangle, and bad composition.)

I hope these little sketches and these tips help you to become a better photographer and to be able to compose your pictures like the childrens photographers do.