As a home schooling mother I don’t have the option of having school portraits taken of my children, but that doesn’t mean I can’t take them myself and have some really stand-out prints of my kids, on our wall, marking the year.    Also, you don’t have to be a home schooling mother to take portrait matters into your own hands.  Today’s prosumer cameras afford us the ability to take our own, high quality school year photos.

Here are some tips to help create awesome, inspired photos instead of opting for the boring, often laser streaked background shots:

Save The Cheese for Lunch

There’s really nothing worse than a forced smile from a child with tension in the eyes.   Avoid saying things like, “Say Cheese” or “Look at Mom and smile big!”  because, honestly, they never will.

Go With The Flow

Take time to get in tune with your child.  Don’t direct him to “do this” or “do that”, rather observe and capture him in his natural state.  This will also ensure that you are capturing your child’s true essence.

Rapid Fire

The best thing about the digital age is that we can shoot, shoot, shoot, and delete, delete, delete. Chances are you’ll get one or two great shots to use from all the snaps.

They Like to Move It, Move It

Keeping a child still will bore her to tears.  Literally.  So, why not let her move around, stretch, jump, and explore?  This will provide relaxation and that will definitely come forth in the finished portrait.

Know Your Stuff

You can remember to do all these things to make the subject happy, but if you don’t know your camera and how it works the subject will pick up on it. Know your camera’s settings: check your ISO, pay attention to the lighting and how your camera responds to it, and make sure you have all your batteries charged for the shoot.