Shooting Kids

for Robinson's Dept. Store: one of the easiest kids I've photographed

for Robinson's Dept. Store: Hensel Tria 2400 in 13' x 22' lightbank

for Robinson's Dept. Store: shooting toddlers will test your patience to the limit

for Nido: this boy was easy to direct because of his experience

for Nido: available light with fillflash and california sunbounce reflector

still standing after a whole day of shooting kids

There are not many professional photographers who would want to photograph kids. Are kids really that difficult to shoot?

You can’t really predict if your shoot will be easy or not. Great if your models are professional and experienced, but many times you work with first-timers.

Even though I have photographed Nido (always with kids) and Robinson’s Dep’t. Store (for their kids’ fashion) for many years, I still get different situations, each one different from the last. What I have learned though, is that I will be the one to adjust to my kid-models.

When shooting kids, you have to be a psychologist, primarily, then a photographer, secondarily. You have to understand the kids’ moods and what they are feeling at that moment. There’s nothing much you can do if your toddler-model is sleepy, therefore, cranky. You will have to let the baby take a nap.

A couple of tips when shooting kids:

for Nido: celebrity Suzie Entrata and her children

for Nido: 50-50 mixed lighting (almost full power strobes mixed with strong available backlight)

for Nido: non-professional models

for Nido: I took advantage of the boy's interest in gadgets

1. Gain the kids’ trust. Make them familiar with the equipment. I usually call the circular reflector a giant frizbee.

2. Make the kids as comfortable as possible.

3. Make the shoot fun, more like playing than working.

4. Keep your lighting simple.

5. If all else fails, get youself a child-wrangler.