Take Better Photos of Your Kids This Holiday

© Kurt Budliger Photography

How many bad photos do you have of your child? Mouth open, crusty face, messy house in the background, terrible light, out of focus? If you are me, that number is in the hundreds-- maybe more. And I am married to a professional photographer (don't get me started about the cobbler's kids with no shoes).

So this post from said husband photographer really couldn't be more timely. Good photographs during the holidays are so essential. This is a time of year we want to document, and document it well. I get teary eyed when I even think that I only get one Christmas when my kids are 2 and 4. Time goes so fast, and the innocent, wide eyed wonder of little faces will be gone in the blink of an eye.

Kurt's been photographing landscapes, portraits, weddings and events for over 10 years. In his blog, Vermont Photographer, Kurt shares photo tips in a way that us non-photographers can understand, as well as information and inspiration. Here's part of his post on easy, doable tips for how to better your holiday photography of your little sweeties. If you like it, please follow his blog, fan him on Facebook, and follow him on Twitter. He's just started down this social media path and has lots to share with us in the future.

Here's part of his post, 5 Tips for Taking Better Pictures of Your Kids this Holiday Season:

During this festive time of year you’ll no doubt be getting together with lots of family and friends. And no doubt you’ll also be taking lots of pictures to commemorate the occasion. If you are fortunate enough to have kids, grandkids or nieces and nephews you probably will focus much of this photographic energy on capturing the joy of the season on their beautiful little faces. As a professional photographer and photography teacher I’ve compiled some quick tips for improving your portraits and taking those holiday snaps to the next level. The list is by no means exhaustive however represents some easy fixes to the biggest issues plaguing the images I see from family, friends and students.

© Kurt Budliger Photography

Don’t Bulls Eye Your Subject: Just because the auto focus sensors are located in the middle of your viewfinder or LCD doesn’t mean your subject should be. Try focusing on your subject’s face/eyes and then move the camera slightly to one side, placing your main subject off center. When main subjects are placed dead center the result is often a less dynamic or static composition.

Change Your Perspective: If you find yourself always taking photographs from a comfortable eye level position then this tip will definitely super charge your photography. Try getting down low (hands and knees or belly) and photographing children in their world, at their eye level (works great with pets too). It can also be fun to vary your perspectives, shoot from down low and then try some looking straight down.


© Kurt Budliger Photography

Here's the rest of the post. Enjoy and happy holidays, readers! I wish you a peaceful, safe and happy holiday (and great pictures!).