the unofficial Cosina-Voigtlander User Community

Maybe this is a growing trend brought on by the convenience and relative low cost of mainstream digital. Perhaps it has always been like this and I didn’t start noticing until becoming a father. It doesn’t matter. I’m tired of it. I’m sure you’ve seen it before. If you have children I can all but guarantee that you’ve done it before. I have. Really you need only go somewhere frequented by small children with their parents. Somewhere like the local park, where kids are enjoying new experiences and expressing themselves in a raw and natural way that only young children can. Seeing this, a parent suddenly exclaims “How cute!” and proceeds to stop their child for a photo, typically asking for a pose and smile in the process. Almost as bad are those that try and “script” or “stage” their child’s actions and behavior for the purpose of creating photographic opportunities.

While both of these practices will yield cute snapshots (if not a resentful child), neither will convey your child’s personality or a sense of who they are. What follows are some of my ideas adapted from the genre of street photography that can be utilized or adapted into useful techniques for taking photos of your children. It is my hope that in doing so you will create unique images that are not only show how cute your child looks, but also reveal some of who your child is.