Shooting the kids, by Jeffrey Veen

Shooting the kids

I am a very proud uncle. I have two nephews who can do things on a GameCube that make me embarrassed to even admit I'm in the tech industry. And now, a beautiful and captivating 5-month-old niece. And with the Internets being what they are, I've stayed happily connected to their lives through the wonders of flickr and such.

Kids are likely the subject of most of the world's photos, closely followed by sunsets and vacations. With so many adorable pix of smiling kids, it's no wonder they all start to blur together after a while.

So my sister and her husband are using the gigs of pictures of their daughter to figure out just what makes for a good shot. They've started a new blog, "Shooting the kids," aimed at helping parents take better photos of their children -- from camera handling to Photoshop tips.

Got a favorite kid pic? Post a link in the comments...

This entry was written by Jeffrey Veen and posted 23 February 2006 at 6:28 PM. It was filed under Personal. | View blog reactions

Comments

1. On 23 February 2006 at 7:16 PM Dan Perdue wrote:

Being an Uncle is one of life's great pleasures. I've really enjoyed my time with my nephews and nieces.

Here's one of my favorite pics of one of my nephews:
http://flickr.com/photos/danperdue/19880511/

2. On 23 February 2006 at 7:34 PM Jeremy Flint wrote:

Just a few of my favorites.

My son blowing out the candles on his birthday cake:
http://flickr.com/photos/jflint/86700955/in/set-72057594048474626/

My son in Cades Cove, Smoky Moutnains:
http://flickr.com/photos/jflint/53859585/in/set-1171682/

My son on the "bouncy thing":
http://flickr.com/photos/jflint/48383917/in/set-1077516/

In a bucket:
http://flickr.com/photos/jflint/26146100/in/set-603345/

3. On 23 February 2006 at 7:41 PM Travis Anderson wrote:

since my son was born 3 years ago, almost all my photography has been of kids. My favorite of him is probably this one (http://flickr.com/photos/travisanderson/25797099/in/set-309456/) because of the story behind it. My baby daughter has been the ham since her birth 6 months ago, as evidenced by this one: http://flickr.com/photos/travisanderson/68860425/in/set-825654/

congrats to your sister and brother-in-law on their site. it looks great. I look forward to keeping up with it.

4. On 23 February 2006 at 8:19 PM Rachel wrote:

http://flickr.com/photos/mathowie/12149464/ - Matt from Metafilter's daughter, Fiona, one day old. Shows that babies are perhaps the most beautifully designed creation of all. Try finding anything more beautiful than that button nose...

http://flickr.com/photos/missrogue/78784462/ - Tara Hunt with family member, playing Scrabble. Captures the bond created by love.

Now don't even make me get started on actual family members...

5. On 23 February 2006 at 8:31 PM since1968 wrote:

My friend's girls: http://www.flickr.com/photos/since1968/16473460/

6. On 23 February 2006 at 11:06 PM Andreas F. Bobak wrote:

I like to read your blog but have to admit my commenting rate is = 0. Anyway, finally something I feel inclined to make a comment on :-)

Here is Isaac, the youngest member of a friend's family: http://photos.abstrakt.ch/folio/blog/isaac_22/
He has a lovely smile, but then again, most babies do...

7. On 24 February 2006 at 5:39 PM Jason wrote:

Have to crow a bit, as a fellow uncle. My nieces/nephew were used by a friend/professional photographer on her site:

http://www.isabellegullo.com/imagegalleryportrait2.html

Niece the Oldest (with cute, toothy smile) - middle column bottom
Niece the Youngest (with hands over head) - middle column, second row.
Nephew the Oldest - Right Column, 3rd row.

No idea what makes kids pictures so naturally good. My guess is that, unlike adults, they have no reason to feel awkward in front of a camera.

8. On 25 February 2006 at 4:45 PM Karl Swedberg wrote:

Thanks, Jeff, for the opportunity to show off my kids. :)

Here's one of my son, Ben, zipping down the sidewalk in his "boy wonder" costume after just having learned how to ride a bike: http://www.englishrules.com/photography/archives/my_kids/000867.php

And here is my daughter, Lucia, who went to a local dog show and decided she wanted to be a pink dalmation (because, of course, pink is her favorite color): http://www.englishrules.com/photography/archives/my_kids/000906.php

Ok, one more, just to offset my shameless—though inevitable, I suppose—pride in my own kids: the son of dear friends of ours, who put on a viking hat and used a trash-can lid as a shield. Very serious stuff: http://www.englishrules.com/photography/archives/kids/000039.php

9. On 28 February 2006 at 9:48 PM Silona wrote:

This would be me torturing my wee little niece, Indigo.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52286374@N00/52207633/in/set-72057594057214463/

10. On 3 March 2006 at 9:53 AM Chris Frazier wrote:

Hey Jeff - thanks for the shout out! It's cool to see everyone else's posts here too. Karl - great Pink Dalmation!

In case anyone's interested in joining in, we're doing a project called 30 Day Photo where everyone is trying their best to shoot and post at least one photo a day for a month. If anyone's interested in joining in, just post your photos to Flickr with the tag 30dayphoto. No prizes or anything - just a cool way to see what other people shoot when under the gun.

11. On 5 March 2006 at 10:36 PM Simon Mackie wrote:

My gorgeous nieces:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiky_simon/82480830/

12. On 14 March 2006 at 12:19 PM natural breast enhancement wrote:

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13. On 22 March 2006 at 6:37 AM Andrew Miesem wrote:

Here are four of the zillion pics of my kids:

My son Harry on his bike:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amiesem/96998320/

Both Harry and Zoe:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amiesem/96998033/

Harry looking pensive at the piano:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amiesem/81722214/

Harry standing on a bridge:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amiesem/81722320/