your child(ren)'s portraits

[panfocusrio]

Hello
I am wondering if any of you pro/semi-pro/hobby photographers with children have brought them to a mall or professional studio (other than your own if you have one) for studio portraits?

I have been debating if I should take mine to a studio and have them work their magic to keep my toddler suited for posed and candid photos and for my baby to not crawl away, or if I should just keep shooting them in a natural setting and buy my own prints.

I'm inclined to save the $$ and just take my own portraits, plus it does come with the pride that what I put in frames are "original" work. However, I am having a hard time getting either of them to sit together for more than a second.

Thanks!

[Henry Wilt]

I know what you mean about getting them to sit together, (or pose or smile or ... or ... or... or ......) the little blighters are a nightmare. But personally I think it is worth the effort to get the pictures yourself, at least you will know when you've got one that captures their characters. Plus the pride thing of being able to say or think to yourself "I took that".

[panfocusrio]

i think i agree....! i often look at the coupons i get from sears but i feel like it would be more fun for us to just do it ourselves. i think that i will take them out somewhere and just focus on getting their pictures taken. thanks!

Originally Posted by Henry Wilt

I know what you mean about getting them to sit together, (or pose or smile or ... or ... or... or ......) the little blighters are a nightmare. But personally I think it is worth the effort to get the pictures yourself, at least you will know when you've got one that captures their characters. Plus the pride thing of being able to say or think to yourself "I took that".

[Henry Wilt]

Good for you, I'm sure not only will you get the pictures you want but you all get a day out as a bonus (much more fun than sitting in a studio ).

[meganea84]

I have two kids of my own and I don't take them into get their pictures taken mainly because my children don't do well in front of people who they don't know. Getting them to get dressed up, sit still, and smile naturally and not that fake smile is hard to do.

I would have to say that tho it depends on your abilities and what you are looking for in your children's pictures. I am comfortable with the pictures I take and I just bring out my 85mm lens with an aperture of 1.4 and take them out on decent days and snap away. Because my children are use to 7+ years of me behind a camera and constantly taking pictures of them they are comfortable and act naturally and give me real smiles.

If you do decide on doing your own just make sure that you have a great portrait lens, get the backdrop you want, and have fun. There is an awesome thread with a very nice posing pdf to give you ideas.

[NicoleScraps]

Yeah, I have taken them to in the mall type studios. Those experiences were one of my main reasons for buying a really nice camera so that I never had to go back.

[panfocusrio]

i definitely want a natural smile or one that they put up after i make them laugh at something. my best lens is a 50mm 1.8, which i usually have on the camera when we're out.

the summer has ended but we're still blessed with some nice summer sun in san francisco. we hardly had a summer here, so now that the sun is playing nice with us, we had better do this soon. thanks

Originally Posted by meganea84

I have two kids of my own and I don't take them into get their pictures taken mainly because my children don't do well in front of people who they don't know. Getting them to get dressed up, sit still, and smile naturally and not that fake smile is hard to do.

I would have to say that tho it depends on your abilities and what you are looking for in your children's pictures. I am comfortable with the pictures I take and I just bring out my 85mm lens with an aperture of 1.4 and take them out on decent days and snap away. Because my children are use to 7+ years of me behind a camera and constantly taking pictures of them they are comfortable and act naturally and give me real smiles.

If you do decide on doing your own just make sure that you have a great portrait lens, get the backdrop you want, and have fun. There is an awesome thread with a very nice posing pdf to give you ideas.