Evening star., 1950-12-03
Camera Angles
Child Photography Is Easier Than 1t Seems
By Alexander J. Wedderburr
Curator Of Photography
The Smithsorion institution

By Alexander J. Wedderbum
curater Of Photography
The Smithsonian Institution
The pictures you make Of your
children can be just as good as
those you see in window displays
Of the professional portrait pho
tographer. If you are familiar
with the cost Of professional cam.
era portraits, you will realize that
a little patience and understand
ing on your part will save you
many hard-earned dollar when
the time comes to make those
record shots Of the youngsters In
your family.
To my knowledge this town is
full of really first class amateur
photographers; people who have
all the confidence in the world in
their ability to take almost any
kind of picture you can think Of
except when it comes to their
own children. They probably feel
in the same way that a physician
does who calls in another doctor
to treat his own children. But
photography Is by no means q
life-or-death matter. II you make
mistakes or have bad luck when
shooting pictures Of the children
you can always try it again. So
it all boils down to the fact that
If you are fairly competent with
your camera and lights. you have
an equal or perhaps even better
chance of making pictures of your
children than has a perfect
stranger.
In the first place, you have one
advantage over the professional.
You do not have to overcome the
sense of fear or reticence en-
countered by a stranger who
faces your children over the
camera. And the familiar sur
roundings of the home are in
themselves reassuring to the young
one about to have his picture
taken whereas the portrait studio,
no matter how well planned, is q
strange and often fearful place
with its array Of lights, cameras
and other paraphernalia. Try
it yourself this time, particularly
If you are planning to give pic
lures Of the children as gifts
this Christmas.
Speed Is Essential.
First you must decide whether
you want a formal portrait or a
picture that is more on the story
telling side. It isn't the best idea
in the world to tackle both the
same day because one of the
secrets of successful child photog-
raphy is speed. Babies and older
children alike begin to lose in
terest and tend to become bored,
restless and fretful after the first
10 minutes or so. Therefore stick
to portraits one day and put of
your informal shots for another.
With the weather too cold for
outdoor photography except in
cases where the bundling up
process of heavy outer clothing
is immaterial to your picture you
will have to give some thought
to the kind of lighting for your
indoor shots. You will also have
to consider your approach in
handling your young subject.
Child psychology will play an i'm
portant role in your venture. I
am quite sure that you already
know all too we'll that you can't
just plump a child down in front
of your camera and start shooting
and at the same time have any
expectation Of getting a good
picture.
Instead you will have to plan
each shot as though you were
telling a story in. one scene. To
DO this you will have to take into
consideration the mood, nature
and age of the child. If you are
photographing baby and you
want to capture a merry smile
you should start your project after
the young one has had a good nap
and is in pleasant frame of
mind. 1t is almost impossible to
catch baby in a happy. playful
mood when he is in need of rest.
Each Picture a Separate Story.
The best plan is to treat each
picture you take as a separate
story. Have a story idea in mind
before you start and wait until
you see a satisfactory portrayal
of your idea before you snap the
picture. If you follow this plan
you will not wind up with a lot of
meaningless pictures. AS an ex-
ample, a picture of a child seated
beside a discarded toy is seldom
of any interest. II your idea is
shot OF the child playing with
the toy either wait until this is
actus = happening-then trip the
shutter. Otherwise give up the
idea and proceed with some other
plan.
A favorite story telling idea with
most parents is the scene where
the baby is busily eating a meal.
And this is one of the easiest
shots to get if you work it the
right way. If the baby has only
recently been fed you will have an