I have always loved to take photographs,
but having my own child to
photograph has truly inspired me.
When my daughter was born
4 years ago, I found my new favourite subject!
Let's just say she has an exceptionally
well-documented childhood. I still find
myself constantly wanting to
photograph her and attempt to capture
some of the precious moments of her
childhood. It has given me a wonderful
opportunity to practice on her in
the comfort of my own home and learn
different techniques for working with
children.
Photographing my daughter has taught me patience.
As any mother knows, children have a mind
of their own. They simply cannot (and will not!)
be forced into doing anything they don't want
to do. As a result, I have learned to
improvise a lot! If you want to capture
special moments, you have to be able to
use your imagination and work with
them, not against them. I like to search
out locations ahead of time that would work well for
photographs and then when the
time is right, put her in those locations and
just watch and wait for the action to begin.
Then again, there have been
many times when I've just put the camera
away when the time (or the mood!)
is not right.
What doesn't work is when you really
want your child to do something
specific. Whether it is sitting in a certain spot,
or smelling a particular
flower. Even little ones who are young
and can't talk yet seem to have an
innate sense for knowing when we want
to do something and will do everything
else but that thing. For that reason, I have
learned to be very flexible
and sometimes try a little reverse psychology.
What mother hasn't tried
that? Every time I say "okay, no smiling!" or,
"whatever you do, don't look
over here!", I get the exact opposite
of what I'm asking - but usually
exactly what I want. :) Humour is pretty
much the only thing that does work
with children and I tend to use it with
my daughter all the time. And not
just for taking photographs, either!
Basically, we just have to let them
do what they want to do. And be
prepared for the special moments
that might occur by having our camera
loaded and ready to shoot. Try a roll
of the new black and white C-41 film
(Kodak T400 CN, for example) which
can be processed like regular colour film
and practice with it. I like to take my
daughter somewhere where I know she
likes to go (the park, the beach or the farm)
and just follow her around and
watch her explore. As a result, the moments
are more natural and less
contrived. Or I like to sit with her
during her favourite time of day
doing some of her favourite things.
Of course, it's usually in a spot where
the light just happens to be great for taking photographs. :)
Choose a good time of day, hang out
with your child and have your camera
handy! It's great practice, you never
know what you're gonna get and
chances are your children are going to love the attention.
Have fun and happy shooting!