Taking pictures of kids is one of the most popular uses for digital cameras. This is another article that we present to you for taking better kids pictures.
 

To Pose or not to Pose – the case for Candids When you ask a child to pose, you may get varying reactions, looks and faces. If your subject is cooperative you’ll probably end up with a nice portrait. But sometimes, catching your little one candidly – in a “surprise moment” – can often produce a more pleasing photo.
For this shot, we asked the young boy to smile for the camera. He cooperated with this open mouthed smile, but his pose otherwise seems kind of static.	Later in the day, we found him playing near the pool. Instead of posing him, we called out his name, he turned and we captured him looking more natural.
For this photo, the young lady was quite aware that we were taking her picture. We captured her with a nice smile	Using a telephoto lens, we waited patiently. She was unaware that we took this candid shot with a more relaxed look.
Here again we asked the young girl to stop what she was doing to take this shot. She cooperated by giving us a generous smile.	In this photo, you can see that we were able to capture her inner smile. We didn’t ask for one yet her running activity produced a great one.

 
Of course these tips are subjective and there is no right nor wrong way – especially if the subject is your own child! Candids are just another tool to add to your gadget bag.
 
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At times when I’m on the job, I dutifully carry a camera and accessories so that I am ready for the shoot.

Most often though, when I’m off the clock, I leave the photo equipment behind. One incident from 1989, changed this habit. I was in West Berlin in early November of that year. To the surprise of much of the world, the East Germans started to dismantle the infamous Berlin Wall. At this historic time, I was regretfully camera-less.

This lesson nudged me from this time forward to carry a small camera so that I wouldn’t miss those “once in a lifetime” photo opportunities.
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