Photographing children outdoors creates a beautiful setting with flattering natural light. But like any photo shoot, it creates its own challenges. This week, I want to look at how to capture the best photos when your shoot takes place out of the studio.
Photographing children outdoors creates a lot of distractions, especially if you’re in a public place, like a park. Everything from birds to dogs to passers by can cause a kid to look away from the camera. For this reason, it’s important to have patience an some tricks up your sleeve for getting their attention. I make all kinds of ridiculous noises and gestures during a shoot like this. Good thing I excel at looking ridiculous.
Natural light makes skin look soft and a little luminous, but mid-day sun can create harsh shadows on the face. For this reason, scheduling the shoot in the early morning or early evening is best. The “golden hour” is just after sunrise and just before sunset. Light is warmer and softer during these times. If you’re in a hot climate like we are in Texas, it also helps with temperature control to shoot during the golden hour.
Another consideration when photographing children outdoors is the background of your photo. In addition to people and animals wandering into the picture, trees and bushes can interrupt a shot. It could look like a branch is coming out of a child’s head, for example. One way to solve that problem is to make the background blurry, a photographic term called “bokeh.” Another strategy is to shoot a little bit down onto the child, instead of straight on. Just being aware of the background goes a long way to producing great results.
This week’s photos are of a repeat client. This was her one-year photo shoot and her parents wanted it to be outdoors at a local park. She was full of personality and really did well, despite any distractions. As you can see from the photos, I employed several of the strategies I mentioned above. The result is a series of super-cute toddler photos of a sweet little girl. I hope you enjoy and have good luck photographing your own children outdoors.
