Children’s photography is a fine art indeed! Not only do you have to capture the moment, you also have to be able to let the children express themselves naturally. Often when children are in front of the stranger they seize up, or pull faces that are not really expressive of what they really feel.

When I used to work for youth community services in Northampton it was part of my job to take photos of community events. I was talking to a children’s photographer in Northampton about how my photos always came out looking artificial and unnatural, in terms of the expressions on the children’s faces.

He informed me that the best way to photograph children is to actually get them to forget about the fact that they are being photographed. He told me that the best thing to do is to get them to play some kind of game either with each other, all with somebody they know. Too much of a formal setting can actually upset the whole process.

Sometimes it’s best to set up several cameras on tripods to capture different angles when the children aren’t looking directly at the lens. You will be surprised at what shots you get with just leaving the camera on a timer. I photographer friend told me that he normally sets his time as to once every 10 seconds and let nature take its course!