1. Children are a natural
The beauty of shooting children is capturing them as they are. The art of capturing them is impromptu. Children don’t usually fake their emotions, which makes their portraits stand out. The photographer needs to be ready for candid moments, as children are best photographed when they are smiling, laughing, or playing in their natural environment.

2. Candid is their best pose
Throw your ‘pose guide’ out the window and let them be who they are. If they aren’t getting your idea, just move on to something else. And if you set up a shot, always shoot it, even if it’s not perfect – otherwise, the child may think they’re making a mistake and tense up in later shots."

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3. Speak their language
The single most important thing is having a rapport with the child. This means engaging with the child, asking for and using their ideas – and talking to them, which can be more difficult than it sounds: "Talking with kids is the one thing I see new photographers try and fail at. Never talk at them or down to them. Talk about real things – don’t fall into the ‘so how is school?’ trap. Ask what they like to do, learn about them."

4. Bow before your future
It sounds obvious, but remember that you’re likely to be much taller than your subjects. Don’t spend all your time looking down on them: "When photographing adults you have to be very careful about how you pose them. With children you just want to get a genuine expression or a warm moment, so you can get as low to the ground as possible to create an image that feels more connected with the child.

5. Don’t tire them out
Unless I’m working with a professional child model my shoots are never longer than an hour. I’m always watching for the signs they are done – pushing a child beyond that point doesn’t benefit anybody.
In other words, time is precious when photographing children – so don’t waste it on your equipment, or looking at the back of your camera:

"You really have to know your gear inside and out and understand how to take a quality photo. You have to be able to shoot and move. You only get a short window when you’re photographing children.

6. Use natural light in a natural environment for the most natural portraits
Studios can be intimidating – "generally I recommend not using a studio unless it’s commercial work. I always prefer natural light and a natural environment, as I believe the raw emotions of children should be depicted in the raw light"

7. It’s a word of mouth business
Once you’ve started to build up your portfolio, harness the power of word of mouth. Social media can be particularly useful: "A happy mother will always talk about the photos and show them to her friends. I always give the clients files with my watermark on them ready to be posted on social media, no matter what kind of package they buy, and I encourage them to share the photos. And if possible, get a few clients to give you a written release to use their photos for your own promotion."

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