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Sunset Staff Photographer’s Tips on How to Take Great Photos of Your Kids
When Sunset photographer Thomas J. Story isn’t shooting stunning A-frame cabins around the West or chasing golden hour at Mt. Diablo in the Bay Area, he points his camera toward his family.
![Kid on Hiking Trail](https://www.sunset.com/wp-content/uploads/marquee_large_2x/kid-on-hiking-trail-61423-0719.jpg)
Be Present, But Also Be Prepared
![Kodak Printomatic Instant Camera](https://www.sunset.com/wp-content/uploads/kodak-printomatic-instant-camera-pr-0818-1024x782.jpg)
Courtesy of Kodak
To capture authentic moments you have to live them first. Get familiar with your phone’s quick-draw camera shortcuts and you’ll spend more time engaged with your kids and less time fumbling with the lock screen. For iPhone: hard press on the camera icon on the home screen. For most Android phones: Double-press the home button to launch.
Include the Kids
It’s fun to involve your family and make sure they’re also taking photos. Get the youngsters a kid-friendly point-and-shoot camera (we like Nikon’s CoolPix W150), or even a toy camera, to give them hands-on experience. Create a photo contest or scavenger hunt where they can capture people, places, and things.
Celebrate Mistakes
![Snow Jacket](https://img.sunset02.com/sunsetm/wp-content-uploads/2019-03-28UTC08/kids-sk-gear-snow-jacket-pexels-1107911-0119-1024x683.jpg)
Nelly Aran/Pexels
Pictures aren’t meant to be flawless. If a photo is slightly blurry, or cropped in a weird way, you’re capturing authentic moments with “mistakes” that add a sense of timelessness and emotion. A perfectly exposed and composed image can’t do that.
Help Them Open Up
Talking to camera-shy kids and engaging with them helps a lot—make a game of it, even. Show them the back of the camera and let them “art direct.” Take a photo with your version and their version, then compare the two shots.
Use Burst Mode
![Kids in Hotel Swimming Pool](https://www.sunset.com/wp-content/uploads/kids-hotel-swimming-pool-61423-0719-1024x1024.jpg)
Thomas J. Story
Burst mode on cameras or Live Photos on iPhones is key. Live Photos records a 1.5-second clip before and after you take a picture, so you capture a range of moments and facial expressions. I select my favorite photo from one of the freeze frames.