Hellobee

I know when it comes to shooting little kids getting a good focused shot is one of the most important things parents want, but also one of the hardest things to achieve as well — those little guys move like lightening! I remember at the start of my photography journey getting so frustrated when I got what I thought was the perfect shot, good eye contact, smiling kid, nice background only to see the photo was fuzzy when I uploaded it. As much as I loved the photo, fuzziness bothers me so much it just ruins the image in my mind. Over time I started to learn some tricks to help me nail focus, and while the occasionally fuzzy does sneak in, I get at least 90-95% of my shots in focus these days.

Back Button Focusing Button

Back Button Focus – I learned about Back Button Focusing (BBF) very early on in my photography journey. So many people in my forums swore by it and said it helped them get the focused shots I was craving. I admit I don’t really know the technical aspects of why back Button Focusing is so wonderful, but once I switched I have never looked back. It really did improve my shots and I use it every time now when I shoot. It’s a simple adjustment that you can do on the back of your DSLR, changing the focus point from pressing your shutter down halfway to another designated button on your camera. This website explains the idea better and you can usually find a video to walk you through it. I’ve done it for both my Canon Rebel and when I upgraded to my 6D quickly and painlessly.

Make Sure Your Settings Are Right – With the way young kids move, it’s best to make sure your settings are done in a way that can encompass the extra movement and wiggles. When I shoot my shutter speed is usually at least 1/250 if not higher, since anything too fast and you’ll get motion blur. It’s also difficult to have great focus with a wide open aperture because the plane of focus is so slim that any movement outside of it can capture blur and motion easily. I do like shooting with a wide open aperture personally, but if you are newer to DSLR settings closing up your aperture will help with focus issues even if it does get more of the background in focus and less bokeh.

See how Juliet’s face is well focused while everything in the background is more blurred — that’s bokeh

If you adjust your settings around enough and get used to shooting with higher shutters and sacrificing some ISO, you can always lower your aperture slowly as you get use to shooting more. Practice obviously always helps as you go, so even if you shoot one way for a while doesn’t mean you can’t change things up as you improve. That’s what I did for a long time until I was able to nail smaller aperture focused images.

Freezing Your Kid – Sometimes the best way to get a clear shot is to make sure your subject stays still — easier said than done with little kids I know! Sometimes when I want a certain shot, I will try to freeze my kids in their tracks. With Juliet that often means placing her somewhere where she can’t easily escape and then trying to keep her attention with songs and silliness that allows me a few precious moments of stillness. Drake I can sometimes talk into staying put (not usually), but when that fails breaking out into silliness seems to work wonders for him as well. I will tell him silly jokes or that I have an animal on top of my head, which will make him look over and usually smile and laugh. If I’m already focused and ready, I can snap quickly and get that authentic joyous moment. Every kid has their thing and I’m sure with trial and error you can find your kids’ sweet spot too.

Waiting for the Moment – Sometimes I wait for my kids to lead me to the perfect shot. I just follow along as kids explore and investigate their world and when they stop on their own to stare at something, I take that moment to capture a picture. You get a lot of observational photos as well as real life expressions and moments when they look up at you to show you what they discovered. I like seeing glimpses of their childhood through their looks of wonder and questioning natures. Not every shot has to be of a smiling kid, and some of my favorites are the ones that my kids lead me to themselves by simply being kids.

Bribes – When all else fails, I’m not above bribing my kids from time to time if I want a certain shot or two. With Juliet its often food like Cheerios or Goldfish, and occasionally my cell phone to watch her Elmo shows. With Drake it usually has to be a little bit more special for him to want to participate — a piece of chocolate or some extra TV time later on. Both my kids are used to having my camera in their faces so I do think it’s nice to reward them for their patience and tolerance for me and my hobby.

What tricks do you use to get great pictures of your kids?