Meet Our Child Photography Expert

Series Summary

Photography is the practice of making images by exposing film or another medium to a timed flash of light. The basic equipment used for photography has changed dramatically in the last decades, many people finding digital photography an inexpensive and creative hobby. We use photography as a means of communication worldwide: to sell things, to tell stories, capture memories, evoke passions, fight for causes, make new meanings, and inspire the imagination. Mastering the art of photography is a technical and challenging experience. Even with an automatic, digital camera, one has to learn how to frame a shot, choose a background, interact with the subject, use natural light, and select the right supplies and tools.

In this free video series, professional photographer Erin Neumeyer offers excellent tips on photographing children in and around your home. She suggests methods for choosing locations, backgrounds, and props, and her advice on getting the most out of newborns, infants, and toddlers is sure to take your photographs to the next level. Erin also shares tips for printing, sharing, and storing your images, helping you make the most of the shots you take.

Video Transcript

"Thank you for watching Expert Village. Hi, my Erin Neumeyer and I am a professional photographer living in Venice, California. Today I am going to talk to you about taking amazing photographs of children and getting that professional look right here in your home. Alright now I am going to talk to you a little bit about some situations you might run into. We are in my garage right now and you might have this situation when you are at home if you got a window or a doorway or maybe a sliding glass door or if you have some light coming in strongly on one side, but you want to fill in this other way. You will see on this side his face is pretty well lit and it is actually a beautiful day out, it is over cast, it is perfect. But you might have some things around the house that you could use to help fill in this side of his face. So this is just a bath towel, but it is a nice light color and you can kind of see how this side of the face has gotten quiet a bit brighter. You can use a lot of other things. I mean I can use a pillow case, you know it sort of has the same effect or you know your bed sheet. So pretty much anything around the house and you can just support this off of a wall, or get someone else in the home to hold it up for him and then you would step back here and take your picture. Now I use this reflector. You can purchase these at a camera store, obviously you can see you don't need them. A reflector like this costs about sixty dollars, but they are great and if you are really going to get serious about taking kids photographs, this also does a fantastic job. (And what do you do on the other side?) This is a much brighter reflection. "