So you've got a camera you don't know how to use? Part 4 [Savannah Photography Mentor]
Hi friends! I hope you have been enjoying practicing and learning how to use your camera in manual mode. Did you find parts one through three helpful?l It was a LOT of info all at once so as always you can always refer back to that at any time— the link for part one is here , part two is right here, and part three is here!
As a reminder, each block of instruction will have a blog post like this one here, as well as videos in the post (like the one below), to teach you the basics. You can either just watch the videos first (if you’d like to just have them all in one place, you can click here for the entire playlist) and then read everything, or break it up into your own pace/chunks. And, if at the end of each lesson, you find that you have any questions, you can comment below on this blog post, or message me on social media! Be sure to follow along there as I will go live after each lesson in order to try and help you learn even more! 🙌🏻
OK! Now on to posing and documenting your own family!
Friends, there really isn’t much to posing and documenting your own family! Here’s the thing— kids will be kids. And when you’re the mom, chances are your kiddos will want to do everything but let you practice taking tons of different photos of them. When I first began my photography journey in 2017, I had a one and half year old son who was CONSTANTLY on the go. There was no “sit here and look at me smiling” going on y’all! And here’s the thing, even as he grew up and cognitively could do more with listening to my directions, he often didn’t want to! And honestly? I didn't want him to! I much prefer the documentary and candid lifestyle shots of him over the sitting pretty and smiling ones. But how did I get them to look how I envisioned in my head (you know, those sweet instagram worthy moments we see while scrolling that show an adorable kiddo in beautiful lighting)? Well, that’s where this little lesson will come in handy! This of course is not the only way to do things, it’s just what has been helpful for me, and as usual I plan to link resources for you!
Julie’s tips for taking your family’s photos (including how to get in them too!):
Give your kiddo something to do, and have them do it in pretty lighting. One of my fave things to do is to document Theo’s day, usually as he is involved in doing something—playing, napping, eating, etc. I want to remember the way his hands were so little and how he sticks out his tongue slightly while concentrating— ya know the things they do that we can’t really “recreate” in a photo. And when he has something that is involving him in the moment, he isn’t paying as much attention to me with my camera snapping away. But sometimes when he’s doing something adorable, It won’t be in a great spot for lighting. Small side note— I really watch my house and pay attention to what good and interesting light looks like (refer back to lesson 2 for this one friends). So, if he is doing something sweet and it’s not in great lighting, I’ll just move him to a better spot! For example, if he is playing with toy cars, I often will grab a few of the cars and bring them closer to a window and have him come sit near it with me to play instead of in a dark spot in his room.
If you’re trying to set up a moment rather then document one, my best piece of advice is to get your kiddo(s) into the lighting you want and get them engaged with a game or task. Make sure they have something to hold or do with their hands, and while I love a good old smiling at the camera photo, my heart really starts singing when I catch them genuinely laughing or showing candid emotion, and that’s much easier to get with a game or a simple prompt— such as making silly noises (fart noises are always a good go to for a giggle with littles).
One question I get a lot is how do you get photos of kiddos who won’t sit still for a picture. My short answer is you can’t really get the traditional smiling for the camera one if they won’t sit and pose. So that’s where these tips come into play. I give a kiddo something to do and work quickly to take photos of the moment. Even the most unruly child at some point will stop (albeit maybe only for a brief moment!) to play or look at something interesting. That moment is your window! You seize it when you see it. By giving a child a task (whether that be to play with a toy, look for a tiny unicorn or frog in your camera lens, or see who can make the loudest fart noises) you will catch them for a moment being semi still and get the photo. In the video you’ll see me shooting Theo (who didn’t want to cooperate) and hear the prompts I was trying out to get him involved. I was able to document the moment instead of trying to get him to sit and smile for a photo which he wouldn’t do. Put on your documentary glasses and go in with that mindset! I know it’s frustrating when your kiddo won’t do what you want (I.e. sit and smile for a picture, believe me, we try and we fail a LOT with that in our house lol), but that’s where the rest of these tips will come in handy!
Minimize distractions in your shot. I don’t mean you have to have a super duper clean house with a minimalist Marie Kondo-ing theme going on— I just mean that if there is something distracting in the background of your shot, move it! Then it isn’t a hassle with editing. I’m constantly moving toys or clutter around when I’m taking photos in my house! Composition is important here and you will want something that’s interesting and a background that is enhancing your subject!
Get on your kiddo’s level. This is so key with composition (mentioned above)! I’m usually laying on my belly or sitting/squatting down while taking photos of Theo. Another tip is to put your camera into live mode! I love to shoot down and show a bird’s eye view and live view helps with this, as well as for when I’m shooting from the hip! Here’s several resources on shooting live view and from the hip:
What is live mode and why you should use it
Four tips for using live view
How to shoot from the hip
Shoot from the hip
I was squatting down here and had my camera in live mode to be able to be on this little munchkin’s level!
Go into this with LOW expectations. I know this sounds like silly advice, but I can’t even begin to tell you how frustrated I get when I can’t get the shot I have envisioned in my mind of Theo because he won’t cooperate. I’m “mom” and because of that, he usually won’t do what I say. I have to know when it just won’t work ya know? I usually have some sort of bribe available to get him to cooperate (whether it be a small piece of candy, or some TV time). It’s also super helpful to make sure your kiddo is FED and in a good mood (unless you’re trying to document how real life is and then hey there’s no rules other then just capture the emotions you’re seeing…because let me tell ya, I have some killer shots of Theo bawling his eyes out over the unfairness of being a toddler HAHA).
For action shots, switch your camera to high or low speed continuous modes! This may be called something different on Nikon just fyi! This mode is great for if you want to get a shot of your kiddo running or riding a bike or maybe dad throwing a kid up on the bed or something. Think of it like the burst function on your phone! I show a short demo of setting this up in the video too!
How to set high speed continuous mode
Burst mode- 3 tips for continuous shooting mode
Burst modes and how they work
Try your best to get a wide, tight, horizontal, vertical, and close up detail shots of the moment you’re trying to document. This can be tough but if you do that you will have quite a bit of photos! I always try to tell the story through my work, and by getting all these different angles and views I can do so more easily!
I won’t lie and tell you it’s easy to get into the shots too, but it IS worth it. I have tons of photos of my husband and son together, but unless I ask him to take one for me with me in it, I’m left to do it by myself (aside from hiring a professional photographer, which I do every year for our family photos! Seriously, it’s so nice to not have the stress of trying to do it myself haha). My best tips for getting in the frame too, is to see if your camera has wifi built in and then use the app from the camera on your phone (for canon it’s called camera connect). I set my camera to a 10 sec timer and then use my phone as my remote to control the camera. I will usually hide my phone within the 10 secs before the shutter goes off. Theo loves to be involved with this, so I will usually set the focus on our faces (by touch screen on my phone) while having him snuggle in my lap, and then I let him press the shutter button. I then hide my phone closeby, and will tickle or kiss Theo until I hear the beep of my shutter! Rinse and repeat…this one takes practice and patience! Again, low expectations momma! You don’t need a tripod for this, but it definitely can help! Or if you have a friend/partner who would be down to press the shutter button for you that’s an option as well. One way I do that is, I get my settings set up, and put the camera into live mode and turn the camera over to my husband, I instruct him to get focus by tapping on our faces (my camera is touch screen so I’m unsure how you do this on a non touch screen but I’m sure there is a way!) and then he uses the shutter button to take the photo. Its a bit slower than shooting through the viewfinder, but easier for someone who doesn’t know how to toggle single point auto focus. Try that out too! I show a little demo in the video of how to set up using the app and timer on a canon too by the way!!
How to take self portraits
How to use the interval timer (I believe this is Nikon specific unless you buy something for a canon, which stinks because I’d love to be able to use this feature)
Self portrait photography tips
* EDITED TO ADD: So previously I didn’t think Canon had an interval timer. I have since found out I’m an idiot and THERE IS an interval timer for canon cameras. Here is a link of how to use it and set it up for shots. This has been LIFE CHANGING for my timer/tripod selfies/family photos!!
Interval Timer Shooting on Canon 5d Mark IV
I used a tripod, the timer, and my camera app to get this photo— my phone is actually “hidden” behind me in Casey’s hand!
Know when enough is enough. If you or your kiddo or partner is getting grouchy, just stop. I promise you can try again another day. It’s like that quote from mean girls “stop trying to make fetch happen.” I know when enough is enough for me or for Theo or my hubby, and I will put my camera down. It’s ok to try again later or another day when everyone is in the mood. I find that when I’m fed, well rested, and had my coffee, I’m definitely much more fun, and our little tiny humans are so very much the same. 😂😘 Also on this note, sometimes everything can be SO good that you just keep on clicking… know when you’ve got the shot and then do your best to stop and live in the moment with your family too! A wise friend told me she likes to pretend she is shooting on film and will run out and I’m trying really hard to do that same thing as I’m usually such an overshooter and have hundreds of photos of the same exact thing!
Get your kiddo involved! I sort of touched on this already about how I let Theo press the shutter, but another tip is that sometimes I will even let him take a photo of me or the dog or his stuffed animal. He loves to play photographer and it’s a good way to keep kiddos happy. Plus sometimes his eye really amazes me!
Lastly, this isn’t really about posing, and more just a general tip but it IS important. Keep your camera charged, with a memory card in it, in a central location to where you usually are. For me, this means in the kitchen. I can’t tell you how many times I will see my kiddo or husband doing something and say OH MY GOSH I need to capture that, and then will run to get my camera out. Having it charged and ready to go closeby saves me from having to say “NO WAIT, FREEZE!” and instead allows me to grab and go! Also, remember that sometimes the best camera is just the one you have on you which could be a cell phone or even a go pro! Its OK if it’s not perfect, what matters is that you have a priceless memory of your kiddo(s) for years to come
This is one of my ALL TIME favorite recent photos of Theo…. and it was caught because I had my camera close by! He was being super sweet and telling me he wanted to marry me, and then he grabbed my hand and kissed it! I died inside, and asked if I could take a photo of him doing this, so I grabbed it from the kitchen (I was sitting about 10 ft away) and asked him to do it again. He then cheered after kissing me and I’m family certain I cried! I’m so glad my camera was charged and with a memory card in it so that I could quickly preserve this memory! 💙
A few final notes about posing:
Most of these tips are things I will also do with my family sessions… but I just do a LOT more with clients. If you’re interested in taking your photography to the next level or if you’re interested in just taking your own family photos each year and not hiring someone, then there’s an amazing app called Unscripted which has TONS of poses and prompts for getting natural and candid photos. It also has a ton more resources on shooting and the business side of things that will set ya up for success! But if ya are just interested in learning poses and prompts for taking your own family photos, this is definitely a good tool to get! You can find it on the App Store and if you sign up for lifetime access you can save $20 off by using my referral code of julieigo (all one word and lowercase!). More info about how I use Unscripted can be found right here!
Remember, this should be FUN. If you’re finding yourself stressed out, just stop. Take a break and try again later or a different day!
Documenting is really more what I personally aim for over posing and smiling at the camera. This is much less stressful and easier to achieve with your own family! Beware, they eventually may get tired of you snapping away though! 💙
Additional Articles and Posing Tips:
Twelve Tips for Photographing Your Own Children **this is a really good one with great advice!!
29 Brilliant Ways to Photograph Uncooperative Kids
Three Tips to Capture Emotion in Your Family Portrait Sessions
Ten Family Portrait Posing Tips for Photographers
Five Simple Family Photo Poses Tips
Five Quick Tips for Taking your Own Family Photos
OK friends, again it’s now YOUR turn to practice:
Keep your camera close by and just get to it!
Try to use your timer (or partner’s help!) to get into a photo too!
As always, if you’ve got questions or just want to shout out that you’re following along and on this journey, drop a comment below or send me a DM on Instagram! I can’t wait to see what y’all learn from this series and hope you’re loving learning how to use your camera! 💙