Telling a Story with Your Photographs

Creating intimacy in a child’s photograph always captures the parents’ heart. A portrait is a wonderful opportunity to allow unabashed cuddling, kissing, or otherwise relating to another person, pet, or toy. Adding a warm and inviting environment and soft lighting to a child’s outward affection can enable you to create a photograph that is so much more than a snapshot.

As an exercise, the next time you are at a park or crowded shopping center, specifically watch children and parents relating. If you keep your eyes and heart open, you can see obvious and subtle exchanges between mother and child or father and child. Sometimes, it is a glance, a gentle pat, holding hands, or a quiet talk. Take a minute before you launch into your next photo shoot and observe how the children interact with their parents and use their natural body language and interactions to add life and spontaneity to your work.