E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

The technical aspects, equipment issues, lighting, pre-planning are all important aspects of children's portraiture. The most important facet of successfully photographing kids and securing natural poses and spontaneous authentic expressions is seldom discussed in detail.

So...before I go on with my post I want y'all to Google Joseph A. Schneider- the photography of babies and young children. Read his bio and if you can score one of his books, you will own the "bible" of children's photography.

I was extremely fortunate to study with Joe and attend a number of his seminars. Joe started off his career in child psychology and became a very capable and prolific photographer later on in his life. The first thing he teaches in his classes and seminars is you do not need a degree in child psychology to be able to motivate, stimulate, entertain and successfully photograph kids. You just have to understand the approach with various age groups and enjoy working with kids.

Each age group requires different approaches. With younger kids, the main concept to grasp is that PLAYING is children's attempt at life. You can't necessarily direct them as you would an older child or an adult but you can basically sit down on the floor and play with them. You can appeal to their incredible sense of humor. You can engage in all kinds of silliness and if you are embarrassed to do this, are too shy or inhibited or overly self-conscious, you are out of luck!

When I have a children's portrait sessions at my studio, my camera room is equipped with all kinds of toys and puppets, forbidden pleasure like candy and playing with toilet paper. I practice my funny noises, and funny faces (that's natural for me) and conversations geared to the ages and interests of the kids I am working with. I have learned to "size kids up" according to their movements and body types. There are high strung kinda nervous kids and rolly-polly jolly ones and I have a method for all of them and everyone in between.

With certain age groups, you better know what is popular as to current entertainment. Silliness works- if you wanna get a big smile, just ask a 7-year-old if he or she is married. If a young lady is wearing a blue dress, just compliment her on her lovely red dress and get ready to grab a great expression.

Wanna hear a dog bark?- I ask and then I do my very authentic meow- works all the time! In between the laughs and smiles, there is always time for a serious expression as well- good conversations will work there too.

I always try to extend the kids' attention spans but I still need to have many things standardized- exposure, lighting, etc, so I can work quickly. A session can last an hour or 2 minutes.

Pre-planning is mandatory. Scheduling for the child's best time of day is vital. Parents have busy lives and hectic schedule can affect the children. Just last month a mom brought in her 3-year-old and the poor kid was extremely upset. She told me it was her only day off so she took him for a haircut, to the doctor, the dentist and then to ME! Another reason why I never wear a white shirt when I am photographing children. That only backfired once when the mom explained that here pediatrician also dresses in t-shirts and genes.

Except for forJoe's classes, my other teachers and mentors never taught me how to talk like Kermit the Frog or make a bird out of toilet paper and make it fly up in the air.

Older kids are more sophisticated that one might think so get ready for some interesting conversations.

I'm certain the OP loves her grandkids so that helps. Kids have a sixth sense so they know if you like them and are having fun too. When you love the work, you will be successful at it.

srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA

I agree that performances or classes are usually the best way to get candid portraits. With little grandkids, sometimes just asking them to show you their pigtails or pretty new dress works. Here is an example of some successful portraits of my them 2 1/2 year old granddaughter taken very spontaneously.

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-458810-1.html

dat2ra Loc: Sacramento

The question to ask yourself is "What is the point of this photo?" Is it to get pix of your grandkids? If so, then who cares? Just shoot a bunch and choose the best. If it is to learn how to shoot portraits then you have a ways to go including model rapport/posing, composition, exposure, lighting, etc. That will take a while so be patient and practice, practice, practice.

Kaib795 Loc: Maryland, USA

Yup, that's a keeper to frame up and give to her. Once they see how good the shots can look, kids start working with you. Also keep a camera around all the time so you're ready for those once in a lifetime shots ... and get the shot, don't worry about back grounds. It's all about memories.

Here are some quick shots taken with a old Nikon E5600. Sure they aren't perfect but for me it was about capturing emotion, love to one another and what they did together or for each other. When they see the shots the memories come back ... of the nice times with family. These are my kiddos, back in 2006.