Family Tips

Great Kid Pix Page 2

Lighting/ISO Settings
Your camera's built-in flash will come in handy, whether you're shooting indoors or out. Inside, of course, flash is often required because of lower light levels. When shooting outdoors in harsh sun, you can use fill flash to open up dark shadows on a child's face.

If you're shooting indoors without flash, consider using high-speed film or a fast ISO setting on your digital camera--perhaps in the 400 to 1600 range. Outdoors, ISO 100 is often a good choice, but a higher speed (sometimes combined with flash) may give you sharper results if you're photographing children in active play.

Reader photo by Kim Peck, Peterborough, NH

Parent & Child
Portraits of a parent and child together can be very endearing, although you'll need to consider the child's age when setting up such a portrait. A young child may naturally move in close to the mother, while older children or teen-agers often prefer to assert their burgeoning independence. In any case, whenever photographing two people together, make sure that the head of one--in this case the parent--is slightly higher than the other for a visually pleasing composition.

When a parent and child share a strong resemblance, you can emphasize their similarity by shooting a close-up of their faces. To reveal a mutual bond, take a few pictures of them looking at one another rather than directly at the camera.

Reader photo by Judi LaBelle, Bonita Springs, FL

5 Tips For Kid Pix
· Try different camera angles and levels.
· Engage the child in a favorite activity.
· Use a moderate telephoto lens to get up close.
· Experiment with fill flash.
· Shoot some parent/child portraits.

Send Us your photos!
Readers are encouraged to submit photos to our monthly Back To Basics feature. Please refer to the table of contents, which lists the location of the entry coupon and more information on monthly topics.