Blog about Digital Cameras
[24/07/2010] Children as a Part of Traveling Photography Collection
When an individual travels to new places and new countries, he is exposed to different cultures through the people he meets and interacts with. While interaction with grown-ups can lead to new friendships, interaction with youngsters of varying age groups has its own charm and beauty for the traveling photographer. The children’s innocence and purity are two of the reasons as to why their photographs are accepted all over the world as silent ambassadors of goodwill, friendship and hope.
Encounters with children of all age groups are one of the inevitable experiences of travelling to new and distant places and it often takes a skilled individual to find the best ways in which they can be befriended and photographed. A common knowledge is that while the younger kids take more time to open up due to their inherent cautious nature, the older kids are more forthcoming and open to friendships. However, irrespective of their age groups, children love being photographed and therefore the best way to begin a friendship would be to let them pose and start taking photos. The only exceptions to this rule are the children in tourist locations who, being a part of the commercial set-up, approach tourists only when they wish to sell something or hope to get money or small gifts from the tourists.
It is imperative to first make friends with kids in order to be able to take natural photographs. Since the language of play is common for children all over the World which goes past all the other factors like culture, language and ethnicity, a wise photographer would immediately dedicate a few initial moments to playing with the children and participating in their games. Having broken the ice, one can continue to communicate with them by making faces, cracking jokes, dancing and showing them interesting photographs from your personal collection like home, family members and animals, the latter being the most effective. Once the connection is established, capturing heart rending moments is only a step away.
Some of the best photographs of children are taken in the ‘Kids and Pets’ mode or in its absence in the ‘Sports’ mode of the digital camera. Both choices entail a combination of a high ISO value, faster shutter speed and enhanced frame rate. In case of the absence of these combinations, one could simply ensure a combination featuring high shutter speed and ISO value or alternatively a continuous shutter option in case of a point and shoot digital camera.
A photographer who is keen to photograph children must have quite a bit of free time as well as patience and this is especially true in case of the younger age group who take time to open up. However, once the ice has been broken, the photographer can expect to have some of the most endearing photographs in his collection. The two factors of time and patience are particularly required in case of video cameras as one would be likely to spend hours recording the activities of kids and then spending equal amount of time showing it to them.
An important point to bear in mind while photographing children would be to ask permission from their parents - although this norm varies from one country to another in accordance with the prevalent culture and social set-up, requesting permission from parents prior to photographing their children is considered basic courtesy, which every photographer must adhere to. While a polite question is all it takes in some cases, a language hurdle is best overcome through friendly gestures and a lot of smiling.
Other articles from this category:
[19/07/2010] Holding a Digital Camera
[19/07/2010] Manipulating Exposure in a Digital Camera
[19/07/2010] Significance of Shutter Speed for a Digital Photographer
[19/07/2010] The Art of Taking Great Group Photos
[24/07/2010] Understanding Aperture and Shutter Speed in an Entry-level Point and Shoot Digital Camera
[27/07/2010] The Art of Taking Great Group Photos
[27/07/2010] Photographic Composition – Planning, Improving and Story Telling
[28/07/2010] Capturing the Splendor of Fireworks Displays
[28/07/2010] Before Taking a Digital Photograph
[08/11/2010] What to Look for to Take Night Photography
[09/11/2010] Exposure and its implication in photography
[09/11/2010] Don't Get Caught Up in Megapixels
