Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/11/09
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]on 11/9/00 10:42 AM, Alan Hull at hull@telia.com wrote: > From Mike Johnston >> P.S. I used to specialize in this kind of picture...kid candids. > ----------------------------- > > > Any help would be appreciated. > > Alan > I always thought that shooting candids of kids had a lot in common with combat and sports photography: you have to anticipate where the action is going and BE READY. But, with kids, YOU can control the action...sort of. One way is to wait for - - or create - situations where they're not quite so active: think dinner time, bath time, bed time, story time. (I always like to photograph my kids while they're eating.) You can also keeping them relatively still by giving them something new to play with, depending on the age. When I photograph kids I don't know, I often bring along an assortment of cheap toys: bubbles, silly putty, etc., which can keep them somewhat still, yet allow them to do kid things. Be prepared to fail a lot. If you're getting one good shot out of ten frames, you're doing very well indeed. Tell your wife that a National Geo photog shoots 900 to 1,000 rolls to get the 6 to 12 shots that illustrate a typical story. Always have your camera set up for the prevailing lighting conditions and, if you think you'll lack time to fiddle with focus, maximize your depth of field. With my 35mm, I set it at f8 (light permitting) and 3 meters on the lens scale, puts everything from about 5 feet to infinity in focus. Remember that blur and out of focus shots can sometimes be effective with very active kids, since these "mistakes" might communicate the intense energy of children. Don't try overhard for those poignant perfect moments, since they're often cliches. I often urge parents to let me photograph their kids as they really are: a little grubby. The most memorable shots of my kids aren't the special occasions,they're just the little everyday things. Kids are tough, but at least they're not neurotic about having their pictures taken. I've never had a kid complain that a certain picture "makes my butt look big."