10 Kids Photography Tips to Help you Take Cool Instagram Photos of your Child

18/1/2018

10 Kids Photography Tips to Help you Take Cool Instagram Photos of your Child

Hi there! In this post, I want to share with you 10 kids photography tips that we personally use when we do a DIY photoshoot for our 23 month old (at this time of writing) daughter Maeleth.

We love to capture beautiful moments in Mae’s development and feature them as cool Instagram photos on our IG account @miltongohblog.

I will be featuring some of my Instagram photo posts here too to illustrate each tip.

I believe that these cool kids photography tips can help to up your Instagram game and take better photos of your child!

Pinterest Pinnable Image. Pin this to share with your family and friends my 10 kids photography tips and help them to take cool Instagram photos of their kids too!

Before the Photoshoot...

Kids Photography Tip Number One: Have a cool idea in your mind of how you want the photo to look like as a whole.

When you’re setting out to take cool Instagram photos, you need to first visualize how you want the shots to look and feel like.

Picture it in your mind, and then prepare the necessary equipment, props and items after having a clear vision of the photos.

You can also draw out your idea on paper - it helps in communicating your vision to others, especially if you’re collaborating with a partner to do the photoshoot.

A post shared by Miltoה Goh | Parenting Blogger (@miltongohblog) on Nov 27, 2017 at 8:12pm PST

We went for a white Christmas feel with this shot. Using one of my favorite photo editing apps, I transformed the shot into a magical winter wonderland! This photo was taken at Parkway Parade mall in Singapore by the way - not in an actual place with real snow.

Kids Photography Tip Number Two: Plan a cool outfit for your child.

An outstanding outfit for your child can really enhance the shots taken.

Many cool Instagram photos are shots with the subject wearing beautiful clothes, which makes those pics better than others.

The outfit you’re planning should ideally fit the theme of the photo you’re intending to capture.

The clothes should also fit your child well and not be too big or baggy, which would come across as sloppy.

A post shared by Miltoה Goh | Parenting Blogger (@miltongohblog) on Aug 1, 2017 at 8:35pm PDT

Our little Snow White who is fair as snow! I love this outfit because it is so iconic and it fits Maeleth perfectly. It helps that the background matches the princess theme of the outfit as well. This shot was taken at Tiara Society in Singapore.

Kids Photography Tip Number Three: Prepare cool props and backdrop for the photo.

Now that you have the outfit ready, you can choose what props and backdrop you want that can complement the outfit.

Have them in colors that go together well with the clothes.
Everything in the shot should work together to create a unified theme, feel and look.

You can also consider getting a big white sheet backdrop as a staple photoshoot item to take DIY studio shoots at home.
Photos with a plain white background if taken well can look bright, crisp and beautiful.

A post shared by Miltoה Goh | Parenting Blogger (@miltongohblog) on May 29, 2017 at 3:50am PDT

How's this for a splash of color? We were feeling dotty so we brought Mae to the Kusama Yayoi "Obliteration Room" exhibit in National Gallery Singapore and dressed her in polkadots to camouflage in it. This photo is very unified in its colorful polka dot theme.

Kids Photography Tip Number Four: Use a cool camera that can take sharp and crisp photos.

Of course having an expensive camera with high megapixels and many advanced functions doesn’t automatically mean that you are already a pro photographer.

However, when photos are crisp, sharp and the colors look good, that affects how aesthetically-pleasing they are too - Many cool Instagram photos have these traits.

As parents we don’t like to carry a diaper bag that’s too heavy when bringing Mae out, so I opted for a compact camera rather than a heavy and bulky DSLR camera.

I love my Sony RX100 III and it has served me well for these few years. Here's a cool Instagram photo that I took with my camera.

A post shared by Miltoה Goh | Parenting Blogger (@miltongohblog) on Jan 5, 2018 at 7:22pm PST

Celebrating her turning 23 months old! I love how my camera captured the textures of Mae's clothing, the wooden background and everything so well. The photo is so sharp and crisp. This was taken at Universal Studios Singapore in front of Shrek's swamp house!

Kids Photography Tip Number Five: Make sure your child is in a cool mood from being well-rested and well-fed before the photoshoot.

After preparing everything before this, don’t forget that your subject/model must be in a good mood in order for amazing photos to be taken.

To help ensure this, make sure that your child takes a nap and eats a snack or meal before the photoshoot.

If you time it this way, there’s a lower chance of ending up with a cranky, uncooperative child during the photoshoot.

A post shared by Miltoה Goh | Parenting Blogger (@miltongohblog) on Jan 17, 2018 at 3:57am PST

Just give her food and she's happy. Look at what a great mood Mae is in! Joyously licking on her Pororo snack cone at Universal Studios Singapore. I love how everything came together perfectly in this shot to produce a cool Chinese New Year theme photo.

During the Photoshoot...

Kids Photography Tip Number Six: Do your best to engage your child. As his or her parent, you should know what cool antics captures their attention and makes them smile.

As a full-time dad to Mae, I spend a lot of time with her and am able to know what makes her laugh.

When I say naughty words like “pang pui” which means fart in local dialect, and imitate the farting noises like “poot poot poot...” Mae laughs.
I know that it’s crude and lowdown but it works!

Another thing that makes Mae laugh is when she sees us pretending to fall down or knock ourselves on the head.
Is that sadism in her?
I guess that’s why Looney Tunes is so entertaining for kids - they love seeing people get beaten up, minus the gore.

Get to know your child and find out what words or silly behaviors and gestures makes him or her laugh.
Bright, genuine smiles are what make cool Instagram photos as well.

A post shared by Miltoה Goh | Parenting Blogger (@miltongohblog) on Oct 30, 2017 at 9:04pm PDT

Look at that glorious smile! This photo has been featured a few times on different Instagram accounts - I guess people love how radiant her smile is in this shot. You won't believe the silly actions I had to do behind-the-scenes in order to get her to smile like this!!

Kids Photography Tip Number Seven: Make it cool for your little one by keeping the session short.

Kids have short attention spans in general and if your photoshoot drags on for too long, you’ll have a bored, tired and cranky child on your hands.

Make sure to be aware of the time that’s ticking by and aim to complete the shoot as quickly as possible.

It should not take more than 15 - 20 mins.

If you have no choice but to spend a long time during the photoshoot, make sure to prepare new, fresh, fun toys and objects for your little one to entertain themselves in the process.

A post shared by Miltoה Goh | Parenting Blogger (@miltongohblog) on Sep 22, 2017 at 2:28am PDT

"Erm, daddy, can I go and play now?" Mae looks kind of bored and fed up here, but I just love her entire outfit. This was taken during her ballet lesson in Singapore.

Kids Photography Tip Number Eight: Keep your cool! Be positive and lighten up so that your child will mirror your good mood.

Sometimes when a photoshoot is not progressing as well as expected, it’s possible to get frustrated and impatient.

Remember, being anxious and barking orders at your child doesn’t help the shoot to move faster or help you take cool Instagram photos.

Instead, you should always keep your energy positive and excited throughout the photoshoot so that your child will be influenced by your mood and mirror it too.

Relax, have fun, it’s a bonding activity with your child - enjoy the shared precious moments together!

A post shared by Miltoה Goh | Parenting Blogger (@miltongohblog) on Sep 18, 2017 at 3:19am PDT

This shot was difficult to take because the bubbles were not floating out nicely and Mae kept trying to struggle out of the pose to run away. Not to mention that the weather was super hot. I could have lost my cool, but if I did, that would have ruined the entire photoshoot and we wouldn't have been able to get this lovely photo.

Kids Photography Tip Number Nine: Take lots of cool photos so that you have a wide selection to choose from after the photoshoot.

Many times when I manage to take cool Instagram photos, it’s not because I timed it perfectly, but rather due to spamming lots of shots in a row!

Turn on your camera’s burst fire mode and snap away!
You never know when that perfect moment will happen, and it’ll be such a waste to miss it because you weren’t snapping fast enough.

It’s best to have a wide selection of shots to choose from after the photoshoot.
You may like a few photos and decide to compile them all into one Instagram carousel post, or you could schedule a few single shots to be posted at different timings.

A post shared by Miltoה Goh | Parenting Blogger (@miltongohblog) on May 26, 2017 at 2:27am PDT

After the Photoshoot...

Kids Photography Tip Number Ten: Enhance your favorite photos with cool photo editing apps.

Yes I edit my photos! There’s no shame in that. Often if you’re not taking photos in a studio, then the environment won’t be perfect.

Sometimes the lighting is too dark, too bright, or the background is full of trash, walls full of cracks, etc.

Or it could be that your child accidentally scratched him/herself and has a temporary red mark on the face, has rashes, bruises, etc.

By using photo editing apps, you can optimize a shot to reach its fullest aesthetic potential.

Most of the cool Instagram photos you see are edited using one or sometimes multiple photo editing apps.

Some of my favorite photo editing apps on iPhone are: Photo 360, Meitu, Picsart, Retouch and Werble.

A post shared by Miltoה Goh | Parenting Blogger (@miltongohblog) on Nov 20, 2017 at 5:17am PST

Significant editing was done on this photo using my favorite photo editing apps. I love how she looks like a pretty Japanese doll in Sakura bloom season! This was taken in Singapore during a parenthood event in a community centre.

I hope you enjoyed reading my post on "10 Kids Photography Tips to Help you Take Cool Instagram Photos of your Child".

What are your favorite practices when taking photos of your child? What tips do you have on taking cool Instagram photos in general?
Share your answers with me by leaving a comment below!

Do any other of these suggested blog posts interest you?

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Many Blessings,
Milton Goh

1 Comment

Eve Mitchell link

12/8/2021 11:11:09 pm

I appreciate that you mentioned that being positive and staying happy will ensure your kid won't get stressed about the photos. I have a toddler and I want to have a nice photo session before she starts preschool. I would love to find a cute place to take them or a nice studio.