Don’t Wait for a Smile
By Annie Tao
It’s simple.
Take photos of your baby — or if you’re a professional photographer, of your client’s baby — in whatever state they’re in. Serious, curious, grumpy, sleepy, silly or sad.
For true lifestyle photography, shooting how people are naturally is what makes the photography truly editorial and photojournalistic. These are the kinds of images that will tell a story or show an emotion. Don’t just wait for a smile.
Of course, be respectful if they had just fallen and are wailing in pain, for instance. It may not be a good idea to be in their face with your camera. But if you can discreetly snap a shot with a zoom lens, then go for it! (Wait – did I say that out loud?!!)
From that shot, you can capture mommy soothing her baby or daddy kissing a boo-boo, which are moments to be treasured.
Too often I witness photographers waiting for the “perfect” timing to snap a shot: when baby is smiling, when the little boy is looking straight into the camera, when the girl stops playing to look up.
Capture the natural moments and you will capture personalities and stories behind the faces.
Annie Tao is a lifestyle, commercial and event photographer in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can view her work at annietaophotography.com and see what she’s been up to at annietaoblog.com. Connect with Annie at Facebook.
35 Responses to “Don’t Wait for a Smile” - Add Yours
October 17th, 2011 at 1:44 am
Great advice. That second photo is fantastic!
October 17th, 2011 at 3:39 am
So simple yet powerful. I totally agree. The first photo is brilliant!
October 17th, 2011 at 8:07 am
That’s great advice! Some of my favorite pictures of children are when they aren’t smiling.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tallok/5690274180/
October 17th, 2011 at 6:55 pm
Thx Annie,
great example pictures!
October 17th, 2011 at 7:48 pm
one of my Favourite Photos does not have baby smiling
http://dsdphotography.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Teddy_Care_baby_photographer_Johannesburg_DSD-826×1024.jpg
October 17th, 2011 at 7:50 pm
My thoughts exactly…. we don’t see enough pictures of crying babies / kids…. Lets face it, they spend most of their time in floods of tears….
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eddiefletcher/6236769484/
October 17th, 2011 at 8:48 pm
Great tips, thanks for sharing…
October 17th, 2011 at 9:00 pm
My baby’s photo..:)
October 17th, 2011 at 10:23 pm
We recently had a new edition to our family. My husband and I went to the hospital to meet our new great nephew. I brought my nikon w/the 50mm 1.8 lens. I wanted to get a few shots (my first newborn shots) without causing any interruption. The room was pretty dark. They wanted a really calming environment. I left the hospital feeling disappointed that maybe I didn’t get anything… But I was pleasantly surprised… Here’s one of my favorites:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/debthepicturelady/6251821753/in/photostream
October 18th, 2011 at 2:01 am
Great tips indeed!
Here is a Gerber look:
http://kerstenbeckphotoart.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/the-new-gerber-baby/
October 18th, 2011 at 2:18 am
For that matter, the same advice applies to any age; forget cheesy, fake smiles, you’ll get better results.
October 18th, 2011 at 2:26 am
I find some of the best shots don’t have any smiles at all. Sure the smiles are nice, but there is so much more than the smile, and I love capturing it.
October 18th, 2011 at 8:45 pm
I never wait for smile… I used to shot 1500 within hours… i mean I used to… lol
October 19th, 2011 at 3:34 am
I definitely agree. I especially like photo #2 – so cute
October 19th, 2011 at 5:51 am
thank you for reminding
October 19th, 2011 at 7:24 am
Thanks for this, sometimes I go crazy trying to get both my boys to smile and the results often times are just ok. Seems like the winners are the ones when they don’t say a word or know I’m there.
October 21st, 2011 at 2:05 am
I took a school daycare photo of a child screaming. It was the 3rd time her teacher brought her in and the only time she sat at all for the fall portrait during the day. They family ended up purchasing my biggest package just because it was their child, and likely very “her” at this stage of her life. Sometimes those shots are the ones worth taking. You just never know.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:21 am
Candid portraits always offer a more realistic view into the personality of the subject I think. I find some of the most captivating images are of people caught on the the street in the midst of their daily lives.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:22 am
Thanks for the tips! Quite often I want to get people smiling for my photos, but now I know that I can still take great photos without having the subject smiling!
October 21st, 2011 at 4:42 am
I’ve just purchased a Sigma 150-500 zoom originally to capture wildlife.
Yesterday was the first occasion to use it…at the park with my 3 grandchildren.
97 photos taken…only 3 duds.
Some priceless expressions of them engrossed on the swings & on the scooter…money well spent BUT don’t tell my good lady wife others wise I’m for it!
October 21st, 2011 at 6:06 am
We did a photo shoot in a park with my 2 year old, and my husband met us at the park. When my daughter saw her daddy, she went running for him, but tripped, fell, and cried. My husband picked her up, and one of the best shots from that day was her snuggled into daddy’s shoulder. It came out far better than the ones we were trying to get a smile out of her!
October 21st, 2011 at 6:26 am
A good reminder…thank you! You’re absolutely right, the moments that we capture “unposed” are usually the most precious.
October 21st, 2011 at 6:58 am
Ihave been telling people for years to take their as you see them , let their photos tell a story , so many times they wait and they loose the best of the best . their expressions make make the story . rule of 1/3 and focus take the pic. you will be a lot happier with your photos.
October 21st, 2011 at 9:05 am
When I shoot the high school games the cheerleaders are always posing and smiling for the camera. What they don’t realize is that these shots rarely make it to the website. Real people are far more interesting than posed people. Most of the time.
October 21st, 2011 at 9:22 am
Some of my favorite pictures are pouts!
October 21st, 2011 at 10:06 am
Solid advice Annie. Exactly why they call it a moment
October 21st, 2011 at 10:42 am
I always capture the kids playing, or whatever they want to do, but I always try to capture a smile and them looking at the camera as well. Usually, those are the only images the parents purchase.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:37 pm
LOL Perfect timing! I just did a shoot last weekend where the 1 year old hated my camera. We got some adorable super sad faces!
October 21st, 2011 at 6:07 pm
When I’m taking photos of children in particular, I get them involved in something, that way they forget I’m there, I’ve captured some priceless images through the years. Totally agree with NOT waiting for the smile when there are so many more emotions we can capture.
October 21st, 2011 at 7:05 pm
All the pictures are excellent but the last one takes the cake. It is a wonderful picture and one can say so much about it- I mean what it evokes in one’s mind…… To me it appears to be … The father is thinking about the grim harsh world ahead to be faced by the little baby and the baby is just oblivious of it at all. This picture is simply classic. God bless you Annie for taking such a marvelous picture.
October 22nd, 2011 at 12:36 am
Finally…somebody gives some realistic advice on shooting kids…or anyone for that matter
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:42 am
I totally agree! I stopped trying to capture the perfect smile and just let nature takes it’s course. I love getting photos of children in their own world. Not all pictures have to be staged.
October 23rd, 2011 at 5:08 pm
Nice article. Thanks.
October 24th, 2011 at 5:30 am
Kids captured in their natural manner and behaviour will be better than most of the posed ones
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashiqpm/sets/72157624143332194/
November 13th, 2011 at 10:20 am
Great advice and tips!! Couldn’t agree with you more:)
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