Prop Ideas for Photographing Little Boys

Bubbles are a great prop to photograph a young boy with.

Posed photographs of children can look stiff and formal and don't always give a true impression of the subject. Giving your little boy some props to work with will get him to relax and act naturally, so that the child that you see everyday can shine through in the photos you take.

Toys

Giving your son a favorite toy to play with as a prop can get you some really nice shots. Anything that he will actively play with will work well, such as toy trucks, cars or airplanes, action figures and stuffed animals or teddy bears. If you want to give your photos a more classical look, give your little boy old-fashioned or antique style toys to play with. Wait until he is comfortably playing, and take the pictures once he's not focusing on the photographer.

Bubbles

You can get some really lovely photographs of your little boy having fun, just by giving him some bubbles to play with. There are two avenues you can go down when using bubbles as a prop. One is to give your boy the bubbles to blow himself. The second is to blow the bubbles towards your son and capture photos of him playing in them and trying to catch them. Of course, you can always try both.

Chalk or Crayons

If you have a young boy who likes to draw, snap some photos of him getting creative. If you're taking photos outside, you could get him to draw on the sidewalk or on your patio in chalk. If you're photographing inside, spread a large sheet of paper on a hard floor for him to draw on in crayon. You can get some sweet and pensive shots of a child drawing, as they tend to give it all their concentration.

Pets

If you have a pet at home, you can take adorable and memorable portraits by photographing your little boy interacting with it. Dogs tend to do best at this, as they're the most likely to stay still for the camera, but a well-behaved cat, rat, rabbit or other animal can get equal results. If you want to get your pet to look at the camera, get someone to stand behind the photographer with a toy or a treat to get its attention.

References

• Spectrum Photography Tips: 10 Children’s Photography Props
• Digital Photography School; Photographing Young Personalities With Fun Props; Brandon Price
• DIY Photography; The Complete Guide to Children Photography - Part II; May 2007