Photo by Ajay Verma

While shooting portraits remains a favourite with most amateurs because of the ease of capturing a known face, the freedom of making the subject move as you like to suit the background, lighting and other details is also an added advantage.

Photo by Kumar

Swapan Mukherjee who is a famous fashion photographer maintains, “May it be a grown up or a kid it is always important to break the ice.” While the exercise of breaking the ice with the kids might not be a long one, what with all the exuberant energy in children but Swapan also points out the painful part, “It is essential that the shoot is taking place when the child is in the best of his moods. Also, when shooting with children one can’t really expect them to pose so these will be photo shoots where the photographer will have to follow the subject around. Patience is a virtue in these shoots. One has to be patient when dealing with toddlers.”

While Swapan mentions the need to follow the little subject around, Sameer Belwalkar suggests, “There are some kids who may even surprise you with their skills at posing but if you are shooting the kinds you need to follow around to get a shot then it is best to keep a high shutter speed because you are bound to get a lot of shots in motion and keeping a high shutter speed will help avoid blurred images.”

Another trick that works for Swapan when shooting kids, “I try to get down to their level and may be for a fleeting moment see life the way they do and try and understand what goes on in the little mind of theirs. One can offer chocolates or other goodies to gain confidence or even act funny.”

Photo by Partha Sarathi Bose

“Bribe them all the way, shoots can be made an easy task when shooting with the kids’ favourite toys. I, on most occasions ask parents to carry the kids’ favourite toys or may be even dress them in their favourite clothes!” Sameer adds.

While Swapan talks about breaking the ice with children Vickky Idnaani goes a step further to make sure the kid can be convinced to do what he wants. He says, “The mothers are the best judges of how the photograph has turned out. They are also the ones who know the kid very well and can make them do the cute little things that these toddlers do and can be captured to make a wonderful image. I think it is primarily important to capture the innocence and the energy of the child.”

And how does one make a choice between indoor and outdoor shoots? To which he is quick to respond, “Not that a studio shoot cannot be as successful as an outdoor one, but children are bound to get a little more conscious when in a studio. When outdoors they are in the best of their moods and energy levels remain high as well. Finally it boils down to the photographer’s interaction skills with the kid!”

Photo by Kumar

Sameer on the other hand firmly mentions a priority list on locations for shooting the young ones, “In my opinion it is best to shoot kids in their own house if possible. When in their own turf they might not even mind a stranger clicking their photographs, outdoors can also be a good option and studio should always be left as the last one.”

“Kids are bound to get frenzied and scared with the flashing lights, prompting, etc. shooting with their favourite toys or in their favourite clothes can not only work as a bribe but a little familiarity works for them and makes them comfortable as they attach security to their belongings like these!”

Hope these tips come in handy for all the parents to be, new parents and any one who would love to get a cherubic shot!