Stoop to Their Level
/One of my main motivators to improve my photography was to get better pictures of my kids. I would follow them around snapping picture after picture and I was disappointed when so many of them came out just mediocre. In my next couple blog posts, I'd like to share a couple simple tips that have helped me shoot a higher percentage of "keepers," hopefully you'll find something you can use!
One of the easiest things you can do to improve photography of your kids is to get down to their level. Being taller than your kids means that you are constantly shooting down at them. This can look great if you mean to shoot from this perspective. It makes your kids look smaller and it shows your kids as you see them. In the right circumstances, shooting down can make some really good looking shots. It can also mean that you have a lot of pictures of your kids with nothing but flooring as the backdrop.
Here are a couple examples from some casual shots that I took this weekend. We were at downtown Brea by some cool looking fountains. This first shot would be a typical picture you may take of your kid. I shot it standing up a few feet in front of my son as he was about to start to play. It's not too bad of a shot, but you have no sense of where we are and it's mostly just the top of his head.
In this shot, I knelt down to be level with him. Being down at his level is not only a more flattering perspective, but also allows for the setting to be more accurately represented.
I try to get down to about eye level of my subjects every time I shoot, and I tend to get much better results than standing straight up. Here's one of my daughter as well taken from the same perspective. Give it a try, and I hope you get some great shots!
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