Take Fabulous Family Photographs

Be spontaneous

Avoid posed pictures and shoot while your child is engaged in a natural activity: playing in the sand pit or paddling pool, climbing trees and making dens are all good starting points.

Think candid

Hold your camera in your hand, but not up to your face, and take pictures by looking at the screen on the back. Or, if looking at the screen is too obvious, simply rest the camera in the palm of your hand and aim it upwards in the direction of your child. Your child won’t even realise you’re taking pictures and you’ll get some great shots from interesting angles.

Be flexible

Try to respond to your subject. I’ve taken some of my best photos by changing my ideas. For example, for the shoot African Dream, for which I won the Sony Award, I was photographing a little boy in dungarees with a very moody expression on his face. At first we tried to make him smile, but he wasn’t having any of it. So we went with that, and we got a great picture where his personality really comes through.

Be inspired!
Look at lots of other photographs for inspiration. The internet is a fantastic and inexpensive resource – you could start by browsing this year’s entries for the Sony World Photography Award.

To see the Sony award-winning images, click here