Photographing Children and Babies: How to Take Great Pictures

By Michal Heron

Book Overview

Featuring more than 150 striking examples of successful pictures, the book provides the skills and technique to create excellent portraits, action shots, group pictures and more. Written in an easy-to-understand, to-the-point tone, the book evolves from general to specific photographic concepts, with chapters including: seeing your children, the value of shooting close ups, portraits, capturing different moods, backgrounds and environments, film and editing, choosing b/w or color, the technical side, and family photos. Dozens of tips and instructions for bringing creativity to kids' photos are featured, including posing and catching great non-posed shots, working with children as models, advice on equipment, and more. A chapter on "Tips for Photographing All Ages" gives recommendations on how to get the best pictures in all stages of a child's life. Special assignment forms help the reader go beyond good intentions, get organized, and fulfill their goal of excellent portraiture.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0058M7T90
• ISBN13: 9781581154207
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: Allworth
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 8.6" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

Great for New Moms!

I loved this book. Loved it. It was exactly what I wanted. I am a new mom whose photos were sadly lacking and I knew it. I just wanted some quick, basic tips on how to make my photos a better representation of my beautiful baby boy. I am so pleased with the results! I wish I could show you some before and after pictures. What a difference. I wish I'd gotten this book before he was born so his first 3 months of pictures didn't look like crap. But live and learn. If you don't know much about photography and you feel your pictures lack something--get this book. You won't be disappointed.

A fantastic read

Probably not the book for a professional photographer, however, I'm not a professional and Michael Herron didn't write this book for professionals. I just want to take great looking shots of my toddler and this book is fantastic in telling me how. I now understand about aperture, f/stops, shutter speed, light and the relevance of ISO. I have enjoyed reading this book and found a lot of my beliefs about photography were false, I never realised the pros took a heap of shots until they got that one they wanted! This book has taught me all the basics I need to know and helped to build my confidence to be able to take great shots. Thanks for such a wonderful book Michael Herron!

Buy it BEFORE you have a child!

This is truly a great book that gives you a ton of good advice without overwhelming you with all the terminology! Be sure you buy this book before you expect to photograph children, if possible (when you're still expecting a baby, for example). I bought this book when my baby turned 10 months, so two things happened: 1. By now, I've been trying to figure out how to take better pictures for so long that I stumbled upon some solutions on my own, and found some advice in shorter guides available online. I could have learned as much and more from this book in just 3 days had I purchased it earlier. Now, some of the stuff in the book seems repetitive to me, but I'm hoping to have my husband read it and start taking better pictures as well, so that it's not always Daddy and the baby in all the pictures. 2. While I was learning all the tricks on my own, I missed dozens of golden opportunities. It might sound funny coming from someone who shot thousands of pictures already, but I get very upset looking at my baby's first weeks and seeing all the mistakes I made and chances I missed. So, once again - great book, get it early!

Well done!

A great little book that takes all the mystery out of taking photos of your baby or child. Step-by-step instructions, how to avoid common pitfalls, and LOTS of top-notch illustrations to show before-and-after comparisons and how-to's. If you are a parent or a photographer bent on taking world-class photos of the little ones, this book is a must-have. Michel Heron couldn't make it any clearer or more simple. I wish I had this book 20 years ago when my son was a little guy!

photographing children

I haven't finished the entire book yet, but I am finding it very useful. The reccomendations are simple and the text is well written and easy to understand.