Share your tricks and tips of the trade

[autofocus]

I would be among the many who say that photography is an ongoing learning experience with new methods and ideas learned almost daily. I thought it would be a good idea for the pros, semi pros, and the damn good amateurs to share their tips. I kind of thought of this idea after reading Izzy's post on shooting his 18 month old relative. Being that the primary focus of my, and my wife's business is children's and family portraiture, I thought I'd start this thread with a tip or two on photographing a very young subject...like around 18 months.
1) try to get them out of their familiar safety zone as in their house and yard. They will usually settle down a little better in a new environment.
2) within your control, and as much as possible remove any outside stimuli. That includes grandparents, other siblings, aunts, uncles, etc. The mom is usually enough. Avoid kids parks with lots of kid's attractions and tons of people running around.
3) Always work around the child's nap time..a cranky over tired kid is no picnic.
4) Bring little squeaky toys, and long handled feather dusters for tickling. A little kid's arm chair will also be useful to help immobilize them. You also can chase mom around with the duster..most kids will find it very amusing, and it makes it easier to do it to them.
5) Working with an assistant can also help (typically my job to be the clown off camera)
6) Patience, and lots of it. Never force the child to do something he or she doesn't want to do. Often it's best to follow their lead.

I hope this thread will get traction and others will share their tips, whether they be sports photographers, or wedding photographers, or macro photographers, or whatever their photography specialty. So, please share your tips for everyone's benefit. Thanks

[autofocus]

Here's another tip that I recently learned, but may require someone to assist you. If you are photographing a newborn who happens to be wide awake, and you want shots of them sleeping, try this. Have your assistant put his/her hand briefly over the babies eyes. As they pull their hand away the baby will react to the bright light and quickly close their eyes..you'll have to be quick with your shot, because they don't stay closed for long.

[candidrachel]

Make sure you have some baby wipes handy so that the parents can wipe any marks/stains and bogies off the little one's face saving your hours of cloning and cleaning up.

[Izzy]

I will watch this thread.... I hate being beat on any subject..

[autofocus]

hmm...90 visits and nobody has any tips to share

[3bayjunkie]

umm is this just for portraits or for any photography tips?

Here's a tip: Buy this camera. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Contax-645-z...item27bd503b75

If you don't buy it, then Its your own fault :P

[candidrachel]

I suppose it goes without saying that sometimes you just have to go with flow and be flexible

[BigFuzzy]

Originally Posted by 3bayjunkie

Here's a tip: Buy this camera. Contax 645 + zeiss 80mm F2 Lens + film holder EX+++ | eBay
If you don't buy it, then Its your own fault :P

Seriously? Telling people to buy nice kit is helpful how exactly, and in the spirit of this thread how exactly? Do you mean that any percieved lack of quality in your shots is from not having this camera? Pfft.

Anyway.. getting back to the actual point of the thread..
I'll add a tip that I don't believe many people do, especially if you're trying to capture nice natural looking shots of kids that don't involve them cheesing it up for the lens.

Tell them to try to see if they can see the shutter moving inside the lense. That will (often) get them to relax and just gaze into the lens (ie great eye contact) and even if they react when they see the shutter, you've already captured it!

HERE and HERE are two samples of what I consider nice examples of putting this technique to use.

I'd particularly get them to look to you while in the middle of doing something else.. he was playing in the sand.

Tip #2 jumping at the beginning of a session (while shooting) often loosens up people (or tires out the kids making them more chill!).

[RLucas]

Subscribed. I want some tips on what you guys do to relax yourselves. My people skills seem to be going completely backward lately. I can't seem to relax, and it shows in the photos. That's one reason why I don't post much anymore.
I always ask the people I shoot what they want to gain from their shoot, and the standard reply is, "I don't know? Just do what you do." It almost always throws the burden back on me, which tenses me up even more because in my limited experience, what I find pleasing and the best shots are always the opposite of what the subjects like. It's a cycle of awkwardness!

[BigFuzzy]

Originally Posted by RLucas

Subscribed. I want some tips on what you guys do to relax yourselves. My people skills seem to be going completely backward lately. I can't seem to relax, and it shows in the photos. That's one reason why I don't post much anymore.
I always ask the people I shoot what they want to gain from their shoot, and the standard reply is, "I don't know? Just do what you do." It almost always throws the burden back on me, which tenses me up even more because in my limited experience, what I find pleasing and the best shots are always the opposite of what the subjects like. It's a cycle of awkwardness!

Dude... you totally have to go into each and every shoot with a plan, with an idea of 5-10-100 different shots already in your head that you want to get. Start with some basics to loosen the mood, then move on to some other things you know you definitely want. My 'montage' series, for example, is something I always have in mind when going into any shoot, even weddings!

Then, when you're cruising through those things you know you can nail every single time, it becomes a cycle of fun and confidence as opposed to stress. You know me, I'm always stressing preparedness! Go with a cheat sheet of photos you want to nail. I totally copy and paste inspirational images onto a word doc and print it (even in low res b&w) just to have it in my pocket in case I come up dry for ideas which is increasingly rare for me (thankfully!).

I bet most of those times you went into it simply thinking "I wanna get some kick ass shots" and then winged it.. instead of going in with the mindset of "I'm going to start with A B C and see how that goes then try M N O and once we're flying, I'll finish off with X Y Z!" Booya.. shoot finished.