Guest post: Take two!
In the course of living with two daughters I’ve learned a great number of things, not least of which is that taking a good picture with two kids in it is hard.
Taking a picture of one kid, you’ve got two main factors - you, and the kid. (At least I do. My photography style lies solidly in the “aim and hope” school of photography. I don’t really change settings or anything, so the camera isn’t really a factor.) The kid is going to do what they’re going to do, and you’re going to try and capture it. Using the tips Jess provides, you make sure they’re not in front of a distracting background, you focus on their eyes, get close, and take a bunch of shots. You run after them if you have to, and make it fun. Take enough shots and you’re likely to get something good. After all, they’re cute, right?
But two kids- two kids is more difficult. Now you have 3 factors. Two sets of eyes to focus on, two temperaments, two sometimes conflicting agendas.
Most of my pictures with both of my girls look something like this:
Not horrible, but not compelling in any way. Booooooring.
The rest look something like this:
Amusing, but not as representative of both of their lovely selves as I’d like.
Then one day I stumbled into taking this photo, and something clicked.
Getting these girls on two different planes made all the difference. It adds visual interest and depth, and allows the eye to move around the picture. Plus, there’s a practical side: they’re both looking at the camera, but they’re not right next to each other, so they’re not distracting each other.
After taking that picture I decided to try experimenting with this- looking for opportunities to place myself in the right location as the girls did their thing.
I love the depth of the planes in this one, and the fact that while only Audrey is looking at the camera, it also perfectly captures a facet of Zoe’s personality.
The planes in this shot are much closer, but the vertical difference shakes things up a bit.
The natural height difference in the girls means that most of the time Audrey ends up in the front of the picture, which is something I’m trying to work with. But I love the candid feel of these shots; they capture the personality of each girl and highlight their similarities and differences. SO much better than that picture at the top of the post!
How do you get good shots of multiple kids? Please share!
January 16th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
I have two little girls too. how far apart are yours? They are cuties! I have been having the same issue with getting a picture with both of them looking at the camera, let alone both of them sitting still for a minute!
Alli
January 17th, 2010 at 9:53 am
What a super idea! I had never thought of this and it makes so much sense! Great post, Maryanne!!!
January 17th, 2010 at 10:25 am
[...] Guest post: Take two! | MomShots http://www.momshots.com/guest-post-take-two – view page – cached In the course of living with two daughters I’ve learned a great number of things, not least of which is that taking a good picture with two kids in it is [...]
January 18th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
I swear a lot, sometimes throw things.
I’m much better with OTHER people’s kids. Maybe we should swap. 
January 20th, 2010 at 11:40 am
Maryanne,
Great post and a good discussion topic! I have two boys and it’s always been a challenge to keep them from bouncing off the walls long enough to capture the moment. I often refer to them as my crazy monkeys, but the truth is, since they were little I’ve trained them like monkeys. [cracks up] My kids have grown up knowing the camera was likely going to be pointed at them. Like Hillary said, sometimes it’s easier to work with other peoples kids. I think it’s because our own kids push our patience while we’re trying to take a perfect photo of them. My advice to anyone: Blur happens. Don’t be disappointed. It’s more important for you to look back at the photos with a happy memory than worry about capturing the next cover of Family Circle or Parents magazine. Patience, practice, and sometimes a small bribe with candy won’t spoil dinner.
January 21st, 2010 at 8:56 pm
Hillary, your comment totally cracked me up!!! I can SO relate!
January 27th, 2010 at 1:59 am
I have two kids as well (a boy and a girl) as well as MANY nieces and nephews. The key for me has always been lighting. The easiest times I had were on nice overcast days (plenty of those up here in Washington). In order to get decent indoor shots, I had to direct my flash to bounce off of a ceiling or wall. The first time I learned about it, I used my point and shoot camera and a small piece of tin foil. I created a little scoop thing, so it reflected the light to the ceiling and there it was. A nice even light with decent depth of field. It wasn’t full proof (foil kept falling off), but if you can afford an external flash, then that will give you a lot more flexibility indoors. Most external flashes have pivots that allow you to aim it at the ceiling or a wall. You end up with less blur and sharper pictures compared to not using the flash at all. You also get better depth and a more natural looking light with the light source off the axis of your lens. For posing and interaction, introducing other objects like toys or you can even try telling a story while you take the picture. A tip Jessica gave a while back that I have used is telling kids their’s a monkey in the camera (lens). Then take a shot when they are peeking into the lens. Another helpful option would be to get a lens that gives you a crazy wide open aperture (F1.8). This can cost some money and is only an option for you SLR folks, but it helps a lot indoors and it is cheaper than getting most external flashes. I got a 50mm 1.8 lens for $75 and I use it all the time indoors. Someday I’ll get a zoom lens, so I won’t have to move back and forth all the time, but I could still use the exercise.
February 2nd, 2010 at 8:50 am
Most of my pictures of my two kids ends up being my two year old boy smothering my 10 month old baby in hugs and kisses, or the two crawling together (ever since she started crawling he seemed to find it fascinating again!). I think the different planes idea is great! I’m going to try a few of those.
Good idea about the wide aperture, too…. I’m dropping hints about getting a DSLR for mothers day….
we’ll see.