And yes, I'm corny and show off my kids on the front cover, as any proud mom would do. But I promise this post is not just about the cuteness that is my kids, but a learning experience to share. I do not take my kids to "Sears" or any other place of the like for their annual picture, not because I have anything against those establishments, it's just with all my cameras lying around, I can't justify the cost. Plus, the comfort of your own home can sometimes yield better results. And maybe I'm a little lazy and cheap. Take your pick.
Here's some lessons I've learned over the years of taking pictures of my two sons. When I only had my older son it was much easier to get that "money" shot, and now with 2, it gets more difficult to get both of them to smile. I still don't have much advice on that as 2 kids smiling seems so accidental, but I can at least share what I know to achieve professional results inside your own home.
THE SET UP:
Choose the best time of day to take the picture. Most kids (including us adults!) are much more agreeable after a full night's sleep, so if possible, especially for the wee little ones, take the picture after breakfast and before the afternoon nap.
Make sure to have all clothes already ironed if necessary and ready to go before your shoot. Sometimes an unexpected moment can lead to an opportunistic time to take advantage of for the prized shot. If you didn't already get that vacation shot over the summer, I would start looking for the opportunities from the beginning of November on. But if you're a procrastinator like me, you may need to "force" the opportunistic time on say, a Friday night, when you're between the day job, and the weekend string of events in early December. But I digress.
THE MEDIUM
Digital or film? Well, it depends on whether you're hoping to capture a shot that will be worth enlarging and framing for that perfect spot on the living room wall, or just need one to place into your pre-fabricated card design. For me, I always go with film in case I get a really great shot that I want to have professionally enlarged and printed. I also, though, take some "back-up" shots with the digital, in case the lab, say, "loses" my roll that I just sweated bullets over.
THE CLOTHES
When you pick the clothes, remember your backdrop. If you are shooting the kids--ok, bad expression--er, taking the picture of the kids, against a busy Christmas scene like the tree, avoid busy clothes. Their faces will surely get lost. A while ago, I purchased a cheap, black queen sheet set at JCPenney to use as a seamless backdrop. I use it for portraits to avoid too many patterns overlapping in the picture. It looks cleaner and puts the attention on the faces, rather than competing with other objects within the frame.
THE LIGHTING
For my film camera, I use a flash head affixed with a bounce flash to soften the shadows. Harsh flash light can wash out faces, so the bounce flash is a cheap and easy way to avoid that. Edges are less contrasty and it gives faces a more flattering look. B&H Photo is a great resource for all sorts of camera equipment.
THE POSES
Poses can take on all sorts of challenges with small kids, trying to force them to stay in your pre-defined "zone" in front of the backdrop and close enough to the camera already mounted. For older kids, this is much easier. For the little ones, use some masking tape to tape down a large "X" on the floor with a square around it, and ask them to stay within the "box". Having them help you with the tape also gets them involved in the shot. Kids appreciate and understand more easily simple boundaries like the tape. It works easier than "sit right here". In their heads they don't see the invisible space that you do.
THE CAMERA SETTING
Refer to your flash head settings for how to synchronize it with the camera, and compensate by about 1 to 2 stops if you are using a bounce flash. For example, if my kids are seated about 6-7 feet away from the camera, the camera is set at 5.6/125. Usually it would be 8/125. I would also suggest, if you are using a camera that has the option, setting the focus ring to "automatic" rather than "manual." It's hard enough getting them to smile, no need to worry about whether or not they are in focus, too.
"FIX IT IN POST"
As film directors will say after a take, during which a boom mic may enter the shot at a very inopportune time, there goes the saying in the industry to "fix it in post", meaning "post-production", meaning in the editing room, where the boom mic will magically be removed through the art of visual effects software. And so can be said about still photography---do you think those thighs on Jennifer Aniston on the cover of GQ are really that smooth in reality?---we can fix things. To use my picture for my card, I scanned my final print, and noticed there was some extra "fuzz" on the black backdrop. In photoshop, I erased those white flecks with the cloning stamp. I also created the border by scanning artwork, making it red, and giving the black and white picture a sepia-toned effect. The sepia compliments the red well, and makes the overall appearance warmer. Leaving the picture black and white, I felt the cover as a whole was too cold with the red and black competing against one another. Then for the final touch, a couple of self-adhesive rhinestones for a little sparkle on either side of the picture.
THE REWARDS
As any parent worth their salt knows, parenting can be a long trail of bribes and threats. I would suggest a reward for their good behavior. For mine, lollipops always work. But in the case of my older son, for him the reward is being the photographer himself. So the sacrifice of a $5 roll of color film in an old camera so he can take shots throughout the house was worth it for this:
Of course, it came after a series of these:
Forced smiles, goofy smiles, no smiles... sometimes no amount of threats or bribes will work. But, odds are good that if you get at least one good shot out of a roll of 24, you're doing well. Happy holidays and happy shooting!
