Tips for good composition with busy kids?

[StephanieS]

I recently bought a new camera, at Canon T1i as opposed to my former Canon XT. I have been having fun with it, trying to practice and improve- and it seems my constant problem is composition.

Today I took my nephews to the park and took my camera with me. I wanted to put some things that I've been told to good use and try to improve my photos. But I found it SO hard to try and pause to compose a shot when that shot won't last longer than a mere second at most.

Any tips on how to properly compose a photo when you are taking pictures of kids? Getting them to pause with me just isn't possible! LOL

[Rentham]

Anticipation. Get your composition and wait for your subject to arrive.

[LeeR]

Everyone from my generation remembers the message of the Karate Kid movies; "Wax on, wax off":mastery requires much practice. This is as much true of composition as it is of delivering a roundhouse kick. Try practicing composition on things that move very slowly or not at all, like landscapes and still lifes. Take your time, try to make each image as perfect as you can. Then, when you have mastered this skill, you will come to find that it is second nature requiring nearly effortless thought. Your brain will be balancing elements without your knowledge and you can concentrate on waiting for that magic moment to press the shutter.

[OsmosisStudios]

Sedatives.

[NicoleScraps]

LOL! I just got back from a 6 yr old birthday party at the park. I took a ton of photos. It was fun, but a lot of them are terrible because the kids were moving so fast. But I did get some really cute ones.
1. Use al servo focus
2. Put the camera in continuous mode
3. Use a fast shutter speed
4. Leave some cropping room in case they move quickly out of the "spot" that you wanted them to be in
5. Try calling their name at the exact moment that you are ready to push the shutter button, but this will only work so many times
6. Sometimes with kids, you just got to use the spray and pray approach

[StephanieS]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Sedatives.

LOL thank you for that laugh

Rentham- I thought of that, and attempted, but today was a special case since I had to stop them from hurting other kids LOL

LeeR- Thank you. I have been told about the ability to see the composition of a shot gets easier with practice. I will try not to be so hard on myself when I can't get the images quite right of the kids.

NicoleScraps- I like the extra cropping room idea. I will try that next time. I am bad about the spray and pray approach A LOT. It's often my fallback

[PaulVI]

I try to give my 4 year-old something to look at. It's the old "distraction" method. "Hey, what's that?! Over here! Over there!" With practice, you might be able to direct the kids' faces where you want them. It's not guaranteed, but it's a starting point. Also try giving them things like a ball or a magnifying glass to tickle their interest. Might mess up your themes, but it's another go-to trick. What do you think? Good luck!

[dalmorloson]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Sedatives.

Lol...I was going to say Benadryl

[pricephoto]

My kid is autistic and while she may not be extremely "busy" running around physically, her attention span is small and it is EVERYWHERE! Eye contact is almost as often as a full moon eclipse during the day time. I can say "look at me! look at me!" til I'm blue in the face but it just doesn't happen...and if it does her face is tense and distorted and that's not the kind of picture I want. Forget posing. I can catch her beautiful and natural expressions when she doesn't think I'm wanting the picture of her...it puts too much pressure on her to focus her attention on the camera instead of the background noises and other children who might be playing or her siblings. I've learned if I can at least keep her close to the other kids and "pretend" I'm taking a picture of just them (with her in frame) the pressure is off, she's looking at me (not the camera) and ... click click click. [IMG][/IMG]

It's not the greatest technique in the world, but it works for me. A little cropping and ...

I have a nice beautiful picture of my daughter to put on my wall. Patience is probably the key to photographing busy kids. LOTS of patience, a quick finger and always at their level.

[carloshpvp]

Lat saturday I went to a 1-year birthday party that started in the end of the afternoon. It is a terrible time to find the right set for the camera and it is particularly bad for the auto mode of the camera too (at least it seem to be for my Sony DSC-HX1). I tried to get the right settings as the time was getting darker but with all the environment lights and children movements it was very difficult for me. I definitely need to practice more and get a better camera!