Hey there! Hello!
For number five, they ask you to list some tips for photographing children. Children tend to have shorter attention spans than the adults that usually coordinate the photo–taking in the first place, so the best thing you can do when taking photographs of them is to remain patient with them. You photographing them is probably not the first thing on their minds. The next few things you can do are:
1. We already discussed that patience is a virtue here. Also keep in mind that you should be ready for that kid's smile at all times. If you try hard enough, you'll get at least one really good one where everyone's looking at the camera and smiling.
2. Try not to control the session. Let them tell you what their visions are so that they'll want to listen to your ideas. Getting them involved will make the photographic process go much smoother, and, it may even yield some pretty good results. It never hurts to hear a second opinion, especially from a kid who's full of creative ideas!
3. Get down to their level. Kids are short! You, or anyone else who wants the picture, is not going to want a picture of their child's forehead. Getting down to their level also makes them not feel so intimidated of you, being taller than them with a bulky camera and all. Of course, try out different angles – but getting down on their level with a combination of relating to them and having a fun time in the session will be the ultimate key to success.
For number six, they ask about portraits. A few key things to remember here are these:
1. Remember that you are not only photographing a subject, but an actual person. Just like in the last question, relate to these people and share ideas. Especially be sure to ask them if they have a "good side," since this can especially make them feel like they have a say in the process. They're paying for it (most likely), so they should!
2. Have your lighting and environment down pat. If they're a costumer, you want them to come back to you when they need pictures. Not only will knowing what adjustments to make to lighting and environment make your pictures way better, but it'll also make you look way more professional. People these days don't like their time to be wasted, so ensuring that everything is correct beforehand is key in addition to quality.
3. Increase your ISO and/or shutter speed. This applies to the other one, as well, since kids will probably move around more than any complying adult will. But, it's impossible to stay still. It's just human nature to move around. You'll catch a bunch of pictures in the middle of someone blinking, sneezing, their mouth getting tired from smiling, etc., so you want to make sure your camera is as ready as possible to take a picture of that particular moment all of the stars are aligned.
The last photography type they discuss is group photography. I've never really photographed a large group before, but I can definitely give some tips, being one who's posed in a group picture before.
1. Tell your adult/older subjects to ALWAYS be looking at your camera. This is especially important if there are little ones in the picture and will not be doing this 100% of the time. Go figure that the one time all the grandkids are looking, good 'ol aunt Cindy is looking at the ground or the person next to her, ruining the photograph that would have been great otherwise.
2. Bring chairs/stools/things for height changes, especially if there's going to be a larger family in the photograph. Families (short of the children) tend to stick around a general heigh range, so having people sit on the ground or stand on a stool behind other family members can help differentiate between people and make sure everyone ends up in the photograph.
3. If you can, have everyone make sure they're kind of coordinated with their clothes and that they're wearing solid colors, especially something like black or white. This will ensure that nothing is distracting the looker of the photo from the actual subjects. There's aunt Cindy, back at it with the striped shirt, jean jacket with pink flower embroidered decals, and blue leggings. Just try to avoid it if you can.
The last two questions are up to you. For number eight, keep in mind how much patience you have with younger, more energetic subjects vs. older, much more opinionated ones. For number nine, keep in mind the realness and "in–the–moment–ness" that comes with candid photography vs. the sort of "ease off your shoulders" that comes with planned, posed photography. Also keep in mind which you like to look at more, since drawing inspiration from stuff that you really like is the key to making sure you like your own work!
I hope this helped you out! I know it's a lot, but thanks if you stuck with it. There's so much to know about photography, so feel free to ask me any questions about it if you have any!
–Lamb :-)
