Tips for Photographing Toddlers

They’re active, unpredictable human beings—and perfect for studio shots! With toddlers, the most candid moments come within an instant and can be gone the next, so you need to be prepared with your setup and camera. Daniel Norton shares a few tips for getting the most out of a toddler photo shoot:

Get Down Low

Children have a perspective lower to the ground, so it is important to change your viewpoint as well. Don’t opt to take all of your photos from an aerial view above them. Get down low at their level and see what they’re seeing to create a natural look throughout your images.

photographing toddlers in a studio

Get down low.

Use Even Light

Although natural light fills his work space, Norton chooses to block it from coming in because it changes throughout the day. In this case, he wants light to fill every space of his studio so that anywhere his subject goes, he will be perfectly lit for the photographs. Small children are usually always active and curious about what’s going around them. They’ll move from area to area looking for something to observe or touch.

lighting toddler photo shoot

Use simple, even lighting.

Freeze the Moment

Norton also quickens his shutter speed and uses flash to capture split moments in time while his subject is in action. By doing this, he creates ingenuity in his images because his subject is moving his way through the space naturally. Unlike photographing models and asking them to pose a certain way, a child will move about as he or she pleases and the photographer is left to capture these moments.

Make it Fun

The most important thing about photographing toddlers, whether you are in a studio or in public, is to enjoy yourself! Capture the unforeseeable moments and keep your subject entertained throughout. You will get some amazing images by letting them act however they please!

toddler photography

Make it fun.

“The one trick here is to keep it casual. You want to stay down low with your subject, obviously. You don’t want to be shooting down at them all the time.”

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