Pic Tips

8 expert recommendations for taking better photos of your children

By Katelin Walling

We always have a camera in our hands these days, which makes it super easy to snap social mediadestined pics of our kids when they’re doing something cute, funny, or outrageous. But what about when you want to take professional-looking photos to share with Grandma and Grandpa, print for your gallery wall, or add to your photo album? Sarah Merians is CEO and founder of Sarah Merians Photography & Video Company, an NYC-based boutique photography studio that specializes in wedding, mitzvah, child, and family photography. Here, she shares eight tips to help you take better photos of your children.

Make it fun! There’s nothing better than capturing your child’s genuine smile or catching him mid-laugh full of personality. So, Merians recommends making the experience more playful and less like a posed, portrait experience. Tickle your child, have her dance or jump to get the sillies flowing, play peekaboo, make silly noises (we guarantee fart sounds will unleash the giggles!), and tell jokes.

Avoid taking photos in the middle of the day outside. Digital cameras and smartphones are really sensitive to light, so taking photos in low-light situations (either earlier or later in the day) is better than at high noon or in broad light.

Keep the light on the subject’s face. “I’m forever watching people with their iPhones in a restaurant or at a party and they’re standing against the window taking a picture, and I know the photo isn’t going to be good,” says Merians, who has been a photographer for more than 30 years. That’s why she recommends treating the light in the environment like a flash—keeping the light behind you.

Look for light, simple backgrounds. While there is a time and place for photos in the latest Instagram pop-up, stick to clean, simple, and light backgrounds for classic photos of your child. (And make sure there’s nothing in the background that looks like it’s coming out of his head!) Choose a background that will make the child stand out, Merians suggests, and stay away from darker backgrounds, which tend to go black in pictures.

Stand back to capture candids. If you want to snap a shot of your child living in the moment (i.e. reading, playing, having fun with her friends), stand just outside the doorway or in another room to take the photo. Then you can zoom in and crop the photo to focus on your child. That way, she isn’t aware you’re there.

Live in the moment a little more. With social media, it’s (unfortunately) easy to compare yourself and what you’re doing with your kids to others’ curated feeds. Merians urges parents to occasionally put the camera down: “I think it’s important to be with your children and enjoy them and interact with them and capture moments—just not all the time.”

Give the camera to your child. While you’re in an environment where your phone or camera is less likely to break if dropped (on carpeting) and your child is old enough, take a moment to teach him how to snap a photo of you. “It becomes a shared moment, a moment of education, and not all about what Mom and Dad want but letting the child have a voice and a vision as well,” Merians says. “They might find they enjoy having their picture taken that much more if they understand it.” And who knows, you might just have a budding photographer on your hands!

Be in more photos with your kids. Whether you’re on vacation or you’re doing something really cool with your child near home, ask someone in your vicinity to take a picture of you together. And if you see another parent snapping pics of their kids, volunteer to be their photographer.