From My Portfolio

One of the best compliments I have ever received came from a newsroom colleague: "I don't think I've ever seen Bishop so alive and animated before." My colleague was talking about some portraits I took of Terilynn's shy and introverted son, Bishop. Having the opportunity to reveal a rarely seen side of this beautiful child was incredibly rewarding.

You might remember this image of Terilynn and her daughter Avery (it has become my signature shot). Before I took portraits of Teri, her husband and four children, I spent time at Teri's informal birthday party getting to know her family so they would be more comfortable with me when I brought them into my home studio a few days later. The key with shooting Bishop, and I believe all children, is allowing them to be them. Initially, Bishop seemed afraid of my camera, so I let him gently touch the lens and ask questions about my equipment. After that, I followed the children into the backyard and simply watched them play, snapping shots here and there. I wasn't too concerned about the images I took at that moment. I just wanted them to get used to me being in their space. I adjusted my settings to the wonderful late afternoon sunlight as I went. If they wanted me to take a picture of a flower they found in the garden, I did, making sure to show them the digital image immediately afterward. Soon, they were calling me "the camera lady" and asking me to take pictures of them jumping and running and throwing horse shoes.

So when Bishop decided he wanted to see if he fit inside this plastic storage bin, I was ready for a great shot. He was comfortable and at ease, and I think the resulting images show that. I shot this at f10, 1/200, ISO 200. If I were to take it again, I might use a shallower depth of field to blur out the grassy background, maybe at f4. Not every situation will allow a photographer that kind of quality time with a young subject. But when ever children are involved, it will be worth any time you have to spare getting to know them better.

Need more tips? Joel Sartore, a National Geographic magazine photographer, shared these ideas in the book "Photographing Your Family" (National Geographic Society, $24.95) featuring his work:

1) Consider what the child likes to do. Do they ride tricycles around the dinner table or wear a Superman outfit everywhere? Keep a camera handy to capture those moments before a child outgrows those antics.
2) Get down (or up) on the subject's level to create more intimacy and take advantage of great compositional angles.
3) People will do more interesting stuff if you let them do their own thing rather than direct them. Pretend to be looking at the camera, or fixing it, and take a few frames. You'll get more interesting pictures that way.