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Photographing children can be quite a difficult task! Children have a lot of energy and vitality and being able to capture them in a single frame needs patience and dedication. They cannot sit still and quiet in one position for too long, which is why a lot of artists prefer doing their portrait paintings with a reference photo. In this article, we share with you some handy tips on how to get a good reference photo of children for your next portrait painting. If you are not an artist and still interested in paintings, you can use services such as Instapainting to convert your photo into painting instantly.
1. Be Patient
The first and most important thing is keeping your patience. Children are always moving around and are full of energy. You cannot make them sit in one place for too long. So wait for the right moment and then click their pictures, and when you do that ensure that you click more than one or two pictures to decide which one would be ideal as a reference photo for the portrait painting.
2. The Much Required Smile
Most portrait paintings of children look great when they are seen smiling in it. But the truth is all great paintings, if you look at them closely, are the ones where the subject is not smiling at all. Whether it be for elders or even children. A serene looking face speaks a lot more than a face with a forced smile on it. The best pictures of children come in their abstract moments. So focus on the moment more than how you want the picture to be or their smile.
3. Place
Select a good place for taking the pictures as the background plays an important role in accentuating the painting. You wouldn’t want a cluttered space for the background or a dull space such as a garage. The best pictures come in open space, close to Mother Nature, with trees and greenery around. It could even be a park, the ambience plays a big role in giving structure to the picture.
4. Light
Lighting is intrinsic to a good portrait picture. Bad lighting can damage the essence of a good picture, no matter how good the subject looks in it. You don’t need to go for strong shadows or too much of highlights. For the purpose of children’s portrait photo, you could position the kid against the sun or position them in a shadowy place but in a bright sunny day.
5. Perspective
Distortion is one of the biggest mistake that one makes when taking a child’s picture for the purpose of portrait painting. A lot of people tend to take the pictures from above, but it is better to take it from the child’s level. And make sure that you don’t place the camera too close to the subject, zoom to a considerable extent but don’t stretch it too far.
6. Clothes
One thing that adds beauty to a good portrait picture is the kind of clothes that the subject puts on. Colors play a very important role in a portrait picture as well as a painting. But ensure that the clothes they wear should complement their skin tone and also the light around.
The thing about portrait paintings and pictures of children is that you have to enjoy the moment and capture not just one or two pictures but more than a dozen of them. You do not need to ask them to pose or smile, just take your time to capture the “right moment”. Your portrait painting will only be as good as your reference photo, so make sure you take a good one!
