Technical Tuesday | Get Low for Babies & Children!

I was debating whether I should review my new tripod like I spoke about last Tuesday, but I figured no bride really wants to read that stuff that is geared more towards photographers. So instead, here is a quick tip that is not just good for brides nor “just” for photographers, anyone with a camera and I think that must be 99.9% of the population if you consider that almost every phone has a camera built in these days (helloooo iPhonography!). So what’s the tip? It’s in the title of course, GET LOW! Just writing that I think of the Lil’ Jon song, maybe it’s because we’re here in Atlanta in the South, but anyway it’s a great tip for any kind of photography and specifically for children and babies!

Ok we may be a bit biased that these are the cutest pictures ever, since they are of our son Miles, but besides that fact I love the angle! I’m shooting from literally the ground, my camera is almost resting on the ground and pointing upward at Miles using a wide angle lens. What do you think the photograph would look like from our “normal” shooting level of about 5 feet? Straight down on Miles and not showing his cute expression as he lifts his head up. What makes these photos work are the unique angle and perspective on a baby.

Not every photo is going to come out when you can barely see what the camera is seeing, and with children this is doubly true. I think with a young subject you need to multiply the number of photos that need to be taken by at least a factor of two because it’s rare that they will actually pause and pose for very long. So that’s my other tip of the day for photographing babies and children: don’t be afraid to shoot lots of photos! Digital “film” is cheap, and yes it will take a little bit longer to delete all of those bad photos before uploading them to Facebook or Flickr, but getting that one amazing photo that captures the fleeting moment is well worth the cost. That’s what wedding photojournalism is all about and that should also be your goal when taking any portrait, even of a child. Take as many pictures as you need to capture the expression and reveal the truth of the moment.

So that’s it for a short Technical Tuesday post this week, just a quick tip to get low and change you angle when photographing children. By changing your perspective and bringing your camera to their level you will bring a whole new dimension to the photos you are taking of your children or your friend’s children =)

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Equipment Used in This Shoot (B&H Affiliate Links)

Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L

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Zachary Long is an Atlanta wedding photographer and proud father to Miles Winston Long, who is rolling over every chance he gets but can’t quite get the coordination to start crawling… YET! Contact us on our recently revamped website at http://www.FengLongPhoto.com/ or by sending an email to FengLongPhoto@gmail.com