How to Take Great, Cheap Pictures of Your Kids

Whether you have one or multiple children, getting professional photos taken of your kids can cost a fortune. We recently did our own photography shoot at home, and the results were great! Here are some tips: 1. Pick the right camera. Your simple point-and-shoot digital camera may not cut it. Find someone who has a digital SLR camera, which is what the pros use. These allow you to take great photos that won't turn out grainy. They allow you to adjust the aperture and other settings to create the ideal shots. If you don't know someone who has one, consider investing in one. If you plan to take nice portraits of your family once or several times a year, the money you'll save from not having to go to professional studios will quickly add up and repay your investment. (Expect to pay $500 to $1,500 for a good SLR camera.) 2. Choose a good setting. We have a slightly elevated landing near our front door that was perfect for dressing up for the photo shoot. It's out of the way from the major activity of the house, away from the kids' toys which would otherwise cause distractions, and close enough to the bathroom to allow for quick potty runs. 3. Select a non-busy background. We've tried this a few ways. On our landing mentioned above, we hung a simple white sheet on the wall and spread a matching blanket on the floor for the kids to sit on. For another photo shoot, we positioned the kids in front of the fireplace and lit a fire for a nice glowing background. But if you're using part of your house as the background, make sure the items behind the kids will contrast nicely with the children's clothes so they stand out. 4. Don't fight bad moods... Reschedule. The beauty of doing a photo shoot inside your home is that if the kids aren't eager to cooperate, you can call off the picture session and do it another time. If you've booked studio time with a professional photographer, you'd be out of luck and may end up with pictures of frowning kids. 5. Have helpers on hand. If you're manning the camera, you'll need at least one other person nearby to fetch toys to get their attention, make faces behind the camera to get them to smile, etc. And if the kids are positioned perfectly for a shot and all of a sudden demand a glass of water, your helper can play server while you preserve your shot and your sanity. 6. It's all about the lighting. Most amateur photography ends up looking grainy or fuzzy because of insufficient lighting. Not only do you need light aimed in front of your children, but also behind them to avoid casting ugly shadows across the background. This is one of the secrets of the pros, and the sooner you figure out where to place front and background lights for perfect lighting conditions, the sooner you'll arrive at crisp, clean, great-looking photos. 7. Don't just get them to say "Cheese!" Many of the best-looking shots you see of children capture them looking more naturally. Sometimes a pensive look off in the distance, or looking down at their feet, can create a more adorable photo than the full-teeth "cheese" grin. Since you're calling the shots and have no limit on budget or studio time, try as many different ideas as possible. 8. Choose appropriate props. Usually the classic teddy bear or rocking chair is a better way to go than pop-culture toys like Elmo or Spider-man action figures. Sorry, Spidey, but a teddy bear will make grandma "ooh and aah" more than you will. 9. Shop around for the best photo printing deals. We use Costco, and ended up printing more 8 x 10s, 5 x 7s and 4 x 6s than we and our extended family could possibly ever need for less than $30. Also try services like Snapfish.com. Whichever you choose, you'll likely be able to post your entire photo session online (our latest was around 140 pictures) so family and friends may go online and place their own orders. 10. Practice, and schedule shoots regularly. Once you have the above tips down, there's no reason why you shouldn't schedule a shoot every few months to preserve your kids' childhood for the future. As you get the hang of it, the process gets more and more fun, and you'll find yourself brainstorming creative new ideas at the strangest times. But most of all, MAKE IT FUN!