How to photograph children and family naturally
Stop saying cheese. How to take family photos that look like your family actually feels, with no studio and no stiff smiles.
By the Studio6 min read
Most family photos are taken the same way: everyone lines up, someone says smile, and the camera captures a row of slightly tired faces. They are useful records. They are rarely the photos you treasure. The pictures that make people stop when they turn a page are the ones that catch real life: a child concentrating, grandparents laughing at something off camera, small hands holding bigger ones.
How do I get natural photos of children?
Give them something to do. Children are wonderful subjects when they are absorbed: drawing, building, feeding ducks, helping in the kitchen, running ahead on a path. Let them play and stay out of the way. Talk to them instead of directing them. The moment they forget about the camera is the moment the good photos begin.
Get down to their level
Photographs of children taken from adult standing height show the tops of heads and make the world look ordinary. Kneel, sit or crouch so the camera is at their eye level. Their world suddenly becomes the subject, and faces fill the frame properly.
Use soft, natural light
Window light is the best portrait light most homes have. Place someone a little to the side of a window, not directly in front of it, and turn off overhead lights that mix in different colours. Outdoors, open shade under a tree or by a building is gentler than direct sun.
Photograph the in between moments
Keep the camera out before and after the posed photo. The laugh after the group shot, the hug when someone arrives, the child asleep in the car on the way home. These moments carry the feeling of the day, and they make the strongest pages in a family book.
Include yourself
The person taking the photos is almost always missing from them. Hand the phone to someone else now and then, or use a timer. Years from now, your children will want to see you in the story too.
How many photos of children should I take?
More than you think, but sort them quickly. Children move fast, and the best frame often comes from a short burst. At the end of each day or week, favourite the few that matter and delete obvious duplicates. Your future self, sitting down to make a yearly family book, will be grateful.
Turning family photos into a book
Simple chronological books work beautifully for families: one spread per month, or one chapter per season. Mix portraits with details and places, and add short captions in your own words. The aim is not perfection. It is a book that feels like home.
