Tips on taking great pictures at kids birthday party
Friday, September 14, 2007 by Michael
I was at Dave's place last weekend and enjoyed a good amount of time talking about things here and there and playing chess. I have no clue how to play chess, I just move the pieces. While playing, I got to know from Dave, who's a good photographer, how to photograph kids at birthday parties. I didn't know there was so much to it!
I'm sharing with you what Dave shared with me:
1)Kid's Perspective -- Don't be intimidated by the camera. Even if you just know how to click a button it's good enough. All you need is to have a camera - digital cameras are of course the easiest. You don't need to be a technical expert. The most important thing is to get the child's perspective. Get down low while taking the snap of the children, so that the lens is at the level of the subjects - in this case kids. It would be the biggest mistake if you take shots standing. You can show the point of view of kids this way.
2)Shooting Angles – It's a good idea to take the snaps from different shooting angles in a mix and match basis. Just stand up on a table and take a snap for the whole group partying. The next shot can be a close up – getting down, looking up the kids closely.
3)Illumination – If the party is indoor, make sure you have enough lights. It's needed to get perfect result. If your camera has white balance, make sure you set that up before shooting. This applies to digital cameras and the colors should come out fine. Consult your camera's manual for this. Dave is really good with lights. He says that artificial lights usually leave your shots with undesirable tinges like florescent lights will give a green tinge. So the trick is all about setting the White Balance Controller properly.
4)Party Details-- Don't shoot in unplanned way. Focus on the party details. Some of the shots are best taken before the guests arrive, for instance the shot of the cake, decoration, party table and the birthday kid with his/her mom. You can capture all of the important moments by knowing how it is planned to run. So planning the party is really important.
5)Shooting Before and After Party: It is really amazing to see how a silent room turned into bustling a party hall with kids partying and dancing and again turned into a silent room with things scattered here and there. You can create a short story with your lens.
If you're planning to invite guests over, you can use these beautiful birthday invitation ecards so you have some guests ready to be shot! (No pun intended.) Make sure you have your camera ready with lots of film if you're using a film camera or batteries charged and memory sticks ready. It's easier to delete photos than not having enough space to capture all the beautiful moments.
I'm sharing with you what Dave shared with me:
1)Kid's Perspective -- Don't be intimidated by the camera. Even if you just know how to click a button it's good enough. All you need is to have a camera - digital cameras are of course the easiest. You don't need to be a technical expert. The most important thing is to get the child's perspective. Get down low while taking the snap of the children, so that the lens is at the level of the subjects - in this case kids. It would be the biggest mistake if you take shots standing. You can show the point of view of kids this way.
2)Shooting Angles – It's a good idea to take the snaps from different shooting angles in a mix and match basis. Just stand up on a table and take a snap for the whole group partying. The next shot can be a close up – getting down, looking up the kids closely.
3)Illumination – If the party is indoor, make sure you have enough lights. It's needed to get perfect result. If your camera has white balance, make sure you set that up before shooting. This applies to digital cameras and the colors should come out fine. Consult your camera's manual for this. Dave is really good with lights. He says that artificial lights usually leave your shots with undesirable tinges like florescent lights will give a green tinge. So the trick is all about setting the White Balance Controller properly.
4)Party Details-- Don't shoot in unplanned way. Focus on the party details. Some of the shots are best taken before the guests arrive, for instance the shot of the cake, decoration, party table and the birthday kid with his/her mom. You can capture all of the important moments by knowing how it is planned to run. So planning the party is really important.
5)Shooting Before and After Party: It is really amazing to see how a silent room turned into bustling a party hall with kids partying and dancing and again turned into a silent room with things scattered here and there. You can create a short story with your lens.
If you're planning to invite guests over, you can use these beautiful birthday invitation ecards so you have some guests ready to be shot! (No pun intended.) Make sure you have your camera ready with lots of film if you're using a film camera or batteries charged and memory sticks ready. It's easier to delete photos than not having enough space to capture all the beautiful moments.
Send This Kids Birthday Codes eCard
More Kids Birthday Comments
Tags:
