Kids are my favorite people to photograph. They are awesome subjects for candid photography.
In general, kids hate posing and being still for a picture. They hate it more when they have to dress up, stay neat and clean, and then pose and fake smile for dozens to hundreds of photos. Well behaved kids will cooperate, but they usually don’t enjoy it. There is your occasional little ham who loves to be in front of a camera, but most kids would rather escape to go play and probably roll in the grass and get dirty. This is my favorite way to photograph them!
I like to photograph real life. A kid with grass stains, disheveled hair, and a sticky face is real life. It tells an accurate story about a child. A photo of a child who likes to be clean and primped and ham it up for the camera tells that child’s story, but personally, I don’t know many children like that, and I am an aunt of 16 kids and have numerous young cousins.
I prefer candid photography. It is far less stressful and my pictures turn out much better. Even when I direct my subjects, I usually ask them play and interact with each other. The resulting photos have an authenticity and energy that differs from posed photos. I have an appreciation for the beauty of posed family pictures and I know people who do some amazing work. It is art that inspires me, but it isn’t my personal style.
I am fortunate to have some adorable nephews close by who don’t mind me following them around with my camera. As confirmed by my sister, my photos of them definitely tell their story!
Pictures are of my nephews. March 2016 and November 2016.
Renee Hollowell 