7 Tips for Taking Great Vacation Photos of Your Kids
If you haven’t had a chance to book a session with your favorite photographer this summer there is always ample opportunity for snagging some great family memories while on vacation. Summer is not over just yet, so take advantage of these last few weeks of fun in the sun {even if it’s just a weekend ‘stay-cay’}. My family recently enjoyed our own summer getaway and I decided to use the opportunity to revisit some great techniques for capturing our kids ‘in the moment’. In this mini series allow me to share a few techniques along with all our summer fun:
Let’s start with The Golden Rule {AKA – The Rule of Thirds}
You may or may not be aware of the rule of thirds, but it is a basic photography 101, so I thought it would be best to start here.
The girl is placed along the right vertical grid line – although she is more to the left and the tree is in the middle, her arm hanging off to the right helps achieve the balance
The rule of thirds is all about composition and balance. If you apply an imaginary 3×3 grid (2 equally placed horizontal and vertical lines) to the viewfinder or LCD monitor on your camera you will dissect your image into three rows and three columns (ie. thirds). Many digital cameras offer an assistive grid view so you don’t even have to use your imagination. If you ever wondered what those lines on your camera monitor were for, now you know.
The girls head and hand are near the upper left intersection while her legs are anchored to the right vertical line creating a diagonal composition.
The lines are there to help you balance your composition, creating which a more aesthetically pleasing image. A good rule of thumb is to place your subject {ie, your kid of choice} on or near one of the 4 intersections or along one of the 4 horizontal or vertical lines in the grid. And if there is more than one subject you can make the composition more complex by arranging each subject in a different region of the photograph.
There are many ways to play with the rule of thirds, but the most important thing is to be aware of the technique and compose with a purpose. An image with your kid smack dab in the middle can be just as strong if you are purposeful with the effect you are trying to achieve.
Breaking the rule of thirds can be effective too.
Using (or not using) the rule of thirds is definitely a foundational technique and I will continue to build upon it in the rest of this series.
In the next post I’ll show how to draw focus to your kids and make them shine using the rule of thirds along with some other compositional techniques for great photographs.
