Photography Tips: How to Capture Real Moments and Emotions | Southern Indiana Newborn and Family Photographer
Photography Tips for Capturing Real Moments and Emotions
tip 1: Capture what’s important to you
This is so important, in my opinion. When you capture what’s most important to YOU, then your viewer can feel it. In today’s world of social media and visual overload everywhere, it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that your photos should be perfect and beautiful and Pinterest-perfect. But my question is, will those photos mean something to you 10 years from now? What about in 30, 40, or 50 years? What will those photos mean to your children or the ones that your photos are passed along to?
Of course it’s fun and perfectly okay and normal to want your photos to be pretty. But I would first ask, are you taking that photo because it’s what you think the people on your social media want to see, or are you taking it because it’s what speaks to you?
So how do you even start figuring out what is important enough to you to photograph?
I suggest making a list of things you love right now, in this season of life. Your family, children, friends, pets, nature walks, traveling to new places (even if it’s in your own town)… When you look back on this season of life, what will you remember? What will be important to you? Start there!
I personally love photographing my children and my family members, so I make mental notes of all the things I love about them during this season of time. Their sweet details, what they love doing, how we spend our ordinary days together (which I know will one day be some of my favorite memories). So for example, my little girl loves all things sticks, rocks, and flowers, so capturing her in her own little world exploring is something I love to do. I love capturing my kids’ little details like their chubby little cheeks, pretty eyelashes, and sweet little fingers before they’re older and completely changed. We spend so much time with their grandparents, so I love to capture the little things that the kids enjoy doing with them. Not only will I cherish these moments captured, my hope is that they will too one day.
So think about it - what do your days look like? It may look a bit chaotic and crazy (like ours does), but I know there’s some beauty there and memories that you will look back on and cherish. Think about how you could possibly photograph some of those moments and details and have fun while doing it!
tip 2: Be an observer
Once you have an idea of what speaks to you and what you love to photograph, then keep your eyes open. Photography is all about slowing down and taking in what’s around you. It’s easy to find beauty everywhere if you take the time to look. If you love photographing your kids, simply step back and watch them in their element. What pulls on your heart strings when you watch them? What makes you laugh? What little characteristics and aspects of their true self do you love and want to remember? When they are in their own little worlds it can be pretty easy to photograph true moments and emotions. You just have to be on the lookout for them.
To capture moments that are meaningful to me, I like to take a step back and simply observe my subject(s). I mentioned that I love taking photos of my kids with their grandparents, so I just watch them together and don’t even attempt to direct them. I ask myself… What are things that I love about them, as individuals and together? What makes them who they are? When my kids think about their days spent with their grandparents, what will they remember? What will I remember and cherish?
Days spent outside in all kinds of weather, baking cookies, making ornaments at Christmastime, snuggling on the couch reading books, my mom in the kitchen making treats for the kids and my dad putting logs in the wood stove to keep the barn warm… These are all little memories that I know I’ll cherish forever, so I’ve made a point to try to capture them so my children and I can look back on them for years to come and remember just how wonderful these days are.
When you take the time to step back and just watch what’s going on around you, I’m certain you’ll start to notice things that speak to you. Real moments that are beautiful to capture!
tip 3: Anticipate emotions and reactions
Anticipating reactions is a great way to capture real emotions. We’ve discussed the importance of stepping back and observing.. When you do this you can get a good idea of how your subject is feeling - happy, silly, serious, etc - and choose how to best capture them. When they are engaged in an activity, it’s really easy to capture a candid moment of true emotion. For example, in the photo above of my daughter, she was throwing leaves up in the air. She thought it was the funniest thing and would laugh hysterically when she threw up the leaves, but as soon as the leaves feel to the ground she was so serious again as she started gathering more leaves. So, I knew that the best moment to snap would be when she was throwing the leaves up. Sometimes you have to be really quick!
In the photos below, took a step back and watched my kids for a few moments. My daughter kept jumping into the doorway of her little cabin and “scaring me” and thought it was so funny. Rather than asking her to “stay there and smile!” I simply waited for her to jump into the doorway again to capture her true emotion.
Sometimes you have to guide your subject and tell them what to do in order to elicit true, candid moments. If you ask my son to look at the camera and smile, he gives the most painful looking smile you could think of.. So I know not to do that! In the photo of my son at the beach below, I told him to run around and jump over the waves. The photo was taken when he started chasing me and thought it was the funniest thing since I was running backwards. (Luckily I didn’t knock anyone over!)
*I should also add that if you have an extra tough subject, you may have to act silly or even a bit ridiculous to illicit a grin, smile, or laugh… I tell my clients all the time they’ll have to excuse me as I act like a complete crazy person to get their kids to open up. Cracking jokes, asking silly questions, making funny sounds, and simply acting like a fool usually helps loosen up your subject and will get a more natural reaction from them. :)
tip 4: don’t wait for perfect
I love imperfect moments… Maybe because our days seem so messy and chaotic a lot of times, but it’s reality. If I waited until my house was Picture-perfect, my kids were in cute outfits, and I was somewhat put together then I would have zero photos of my kids and family. When you look back on this season of life, what will you remember? I guarantee it won’t be when you finally had your house clean and organized and you were able to get your kids to actually look at the camera and smile. (Maybe, but I highly doubt it.)
Real life isn’t perfect. It’s messy and wild and sprinkled with so many sweet and beautiful moments. Those are the moments we will look back on and treasure, so pick up your camera and snap those now and then. When you shoot from your heart it won’t matter what anyone else thinks about your photos… It will mean something to YOU and your family today and years down the road, and that’s all that matters.
tip 5: have a plan (when you want a mix of posed & candid photos)
Of course we all want nice photos of our family to put up on the mantle… One where the kids are actually standing in one place, looking at the camera and smiling. It’s unfortunate that these can be some of the hardest photos to take (when little kids are involved, at least!).
My best advice to get those photos is: Get them out of the way first!
Whether it’s an ordinary day and you’re going outside to play in the sunshine, it’s a special holiday and your family is actually dressed up for once, or you’re on the beach wanting to get family photos… Have a plan! If you know you want to get a few posed photos, then explain that to your kids and everyone involved. Tell them that you really want to get a couple nice photos, then they can go play. Have your camera ready before you even get to the spot you want to take the picture. Know exactly how you’re going to position them (or have an idea, at least). Don’t let them run off and start playing because we all know kids aren’t going to want to stop the fun to come take a photo. In my experience, I’ve found that there’s a very short window of time that kids will give you some of their attention… Use that to your advantage!
The “posed” photos shown were taken in about 2-3 minutes of time. After that, the kids were ready to run around and act crazy. There’s no way I would have been able to get them all to calm back down, stand together, and smile for a photo. Since we got the phased photos out of the way first, I was then able to get more candid shots of them playing on the beach without arguments or meltdowns. That’s a win in my book!
There you have it! I hope you found these tips to be helpful. I love documenting my children’s childhood and I’ve found the easiest way to do so is by getting on their level and acing like a fly on the wall. It doesn’t always go smoothly, but I’m able to get many more photos that are meaningful to me than I would if I tried to force them to stop for a picture. If you have any question drop them below in the comment section! Thanks for being here!
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