Easy Guide for Taking Personality Portraits of Your Kids at Home | Bothell Family Photographer

I have a set of photos of my kids hanging on our wall that make me smile each time I walk past. They capture their personality and energy so well that it feels like I was able to bottle up some of their childhood and save it in a picture frame.

I would love to take portraits of your kids just being themselves, but this is also something you can try at home.

Here are some quick tips to help you take beautiful portraits of your kids.

(Hint: I took all of the portraits in this article in this little corner of our house. ) ——>>>>

· Find a spot in your home near a window that has a blank wall. Ideally a black, white, or grey wall.

· Pick a day with a lot of sunlight so that the light feels bright.

· Position your kiddo so that the light is not shining directly on them.

· Often this is easiest to achieve with a north facing window, or east/west facing windows during parts of the day when the sunshine is indirect.

· Turn off all indoor lights. Typically indoor lighting is warmer (more yellow) than outdoor natural light. Leaving indoor lights on will either make ½ your kiddo appear really yellow or the other half appear really blue.

· Position your kiddo in front of the plain wall with your big window to their side. This will help to give dimension to their face by creating some shadows.

· Position them just behind the edge of the window so that the window light is not hitting them directly. This will keep the shadows softer and keep the transitions between the brightest and darkest parts of the photo from being too harsh.

· If there are additional windows in the room, try opening all of the shades to increase the total amount of light in the room. This will help if you are using your phone or a small camera that gets grainy in lower light.

· Having your child near the window will also create that little bit of sparkle in their eyes that helps a photo come alive. These are called catchlights.

Once everything/everyone is in place, give your kiddo some prompts to get all of their best and most natural expressions.

o Look right at Mama/Dada

o Give me your best/biggest smile

o Tell me about something/someone you love

o Pretend to laugh

o Sometimes I just say “I love you” and it elicits a sweet grin

o Show me a silly face

o Strike a pose

o Show me your best dance move

o Tell them how beautiful/handsome they are

If I want a genuine smile, I often save the silly prompts for the end as once the silly starts; it is hard to pull things back to not silly. I try to keep these short and sweet, maybe 5-10 minutes per kid to get the most genuine expressions, maintain their engagement, keep it fun and increase my odds of getting them to participate again in the future. If my kids aren’t feeling it, I don’t force them to participate but often once they see their sibling go, they are eager to join in the fun!

Have fun making beautiful portraits of your kiddos! =)

Does this still seem like more than you’d like to take on? Reach out to see when my next mini session date is (usually spring/May and fall/Oct or Nov) and I’d be happy to create these amazing portraits for you.

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