Photographing Children

• Photographing children

Taking photos of children is fun but challenging. Keep a kids' portrait session short and entertaining. Play games with them: ask them of they can see their reflection in the front element of the lens is a good way to get some eye contact.

Fit a wide-angle lens and shoot without looking, poking the camera into their face. Get them used to the shutter sound and not having to look down the lens and smile.

Make the most of opportunities when they're still for a moment, such as when they're concentrating on a toy. Chat to them as you would with adults and once you've taken a few photos show them the results on the LCD screen, so that they feel involved.

•  Shooting in burst mode

Whether you're taking a child's portrait or a group portrait, set your camera in its fastest drive setting. You don't need to machine gun the shutter release, but shooting in short bursts will ensure you capture a fleeting range of expressions.

It also improves your chances of getting a shot where everyone's eyes are open in a group portrait.

Even if you don't capture everyone's eyes open or their beaming smiles, having a range of shots taken fractions of a second apart means you can easily swap faces in Photoshop.