As soon as a couple finds out that they are pregnant, the first thing they do is buy a camera to record their baby’s first precious moments. The first time your baby opens his eyes, the first time he smiles, those moments are fleeting and gone forever, unless they are captured and preserved forever because they grow so fast. It is important to document the innocence of youth by capturing it in an image, to anchor memories around happy times.

Professional photography, while good at documenting growth and change, never seems to capture the real child, that playful little spirit that inhabits your day. You have to do it yourself, immediately when it happens and the moment it happens. So how do you do that? Well, it is not as difficult as it sounds. You don’t have to be a professional photographer. With a little foresight and a camera at the ready, you too can freeze those special moments for you and your child.

A simple point-and-shoot digital camera is really all you need. Most cameras made today have autofocus so you don’t have to fiddle with settings. And many of the inexpensive cameras perform well, similar to their more expensive cousins. Pay attention to the pixel count as this will determine how well you can enlarge your shots, if you wish. The more pixels, the larger the image can make and the better the resolution.

Four tips for child photography:

1. Capturing the moment – Children are natural actors and clowns, who see life as an adventure, because for them it is. They don’t really know what’s around the corner so it’s best to stay behind and watch them discover. Don’t try to pose them or place them in front of something. That’s when they stiffen, trying to please you. Let them play. Let them experiment. Have your camera ready for when the magic happens.

2. Shoot like a pro – Look Later: One of the secrets of photography is that capturing a special moment can take more than one shot. Sometimes it takes multiple shots and you don’t see the best one until later, when you look at the images. Shooting digitally allows you to immediately look at your shots, so you can delete or save the good ones. However, if you do that, you might miss out on the best one because the kids don’t stop playing, they keep moving.

So here’s a suggestion, instead of taking a photo and looking at it, just shoot and shoot and watch later. You can always delete the ones you don’t like, but you can never make up for the lost moment while looking at the images one by one. If you are always waiting for that magic shot, it will never come, so shoot the shutter and you will find the magic.

3. Get into your shot – Most people tend to pick up a camera and then immediately walk away from the subject. That is not a good idea when taking pictures of your children. You don’t want to be on top of them to stifle their spontaneity. But you need to be close enough so that “they” are the subject of the shot. In other words, fill your viewer with the action or the child’s head and shoulders. He loses the background, the statutes, the playground equipment. These are just distractions within the frame. Remember that you are taking pictures of your children, not the tree behind them, so crop it with the viewer. This is called viewer editing.

4. Shoot manually instead of automatically: After looking at your images and becoming familiar with your camera, you may decide that you want to try some manual settings rather than relying on your automatic settings. Most digital cameras allow manual adjustment and come with easy-to-understand instructions. However, some things about cameras, old or new, are forever.

For example, if you are trying to capture the action, you must have a fast shutter speed. Most cameras refer to it as “stopping the action.” Shooting speeds greater than 1/250 will stop the action. The faster the shutter speed, the better. You will also need to adjust the aperture settings. Aperture determines how much light is allowed into the camera. Bright, sunny days require less light than dull, cloudy days. Practice shooting in various lighting conditions to familiarize yourself with how to set up your equipment.

Don’t be intimidated by your team. Follow these four child photography tips and have fun with the camera and enjoy the kids while they play. Take photos while they play and you will find those special moments of memory, guaranteed.

I hope these child photography tips have been helpful to you.