Any given day spent with your child can bring lots of moments that are worth capturing. Perhaps they’ve learned a new skill, they’re engrossed in their favourite activity or they’re having a giggle while making funny faces. Besides the obvious photo-worthy moments of them growing up, such as family gatherings or the milestones of school, these are the special day-to-day memories that are worth capturing.
“I try to take photos of my kids in their natural state, not only on birthdays, but also in everyday life,” says Japanese photographer Taishi Arashida, who’s the father of twin boys and the author of several books on photography.
“If you take pictures of them in their everyday lives, when you look back at those photos, they’ll relate to your memories – such as how they used to play. Just capture them in a natural way, without telling them to look at you or anything like that,” he says.
As well as using an SLR camera, Arashida says he normally shoots with his iPhone and uses photo-editing apps such as Adobe Lightroom Photo Editor and Focos. We asked him for his tips on how to best capture the natural expressions and everyday activities of your child, and his hints for effective photo editing.
Make the most of morning light
The morning is a great time to take photos at home, and if you’re lucky enough to have a sunny day, it will bring lots of natural light into rooms. “Occasionally, you’ll be able to take pictures that can only be taken during this time because of the interesting shadows that are formed,” says Arashida. And the photo below is a perfect example.
“In the photo below, to make basic corrections, I used the Light tab in Lightroom, lowering the highlights a little and raising the shadows a bit. I’ve also adjusted the tone curve to make the shadows greyish, so that they don’t come out completely black,” Arashida explains.
With Lightroom, it’s possible to crop and rotate images, adjust the colour and exposure, as well as intuitively edit and process photos. When you load a photo to edit and tap the Light tab at the bottom of the screen, a menu for adjusting exposure and highlights appears. Tap the Curves button at the top of it and a tone curve will be displayed above the photo. When you slide the curve, the changes will be displayed in real time.
“From the Color tab, you can lower the saturation slightly and make it look more natural in order to prevent the reds and oranges from becoming too strong. When you tap the mixer in the Color tab, you can adjust the hue and saturation of individual colours with the Color Mix panel that’s displayed, maybe making the orange a little more positive and the saturation of green a little less negative.
“Finally, if you add some grain with the Effects tab, the image will take on a slightly rough texture, as though it had been shot on film. I think this adds some warmth,” says Arashida.
Take a new perspective on everyday activities
In a house with kids, doing homework or drawing pictures are typical activities that may not seem like anything special, but Arashida says these are the moments that vividly reflect your child’s age and interests – and that’s why he loves photographing his boys at times like these.
“In this photo, the boys were 11 years old – kind of on the edge between adulthood and childhood. I believe that expressions also exist on areas other than the face, so I often photograph parts such as the hands and the back of the head,” says Arashida. “The width of their shoulders keeps getting bigger and bigger, and it makes me think about how they’ve grown.
“The same basic corrections were made in these photos, and I’ve decreased the shadows, tones and saturation of the greens with the tone curve in Lightroom. Personally, I like the texture of film, so I usually lower the saturation to create a calm atmosphere,” says Arashida.
If you use the Focos app, you can change the focus of a photo that was taken in portrait mode later on.
“It’s interesting to be able to put the focus on the part that you touch. In this photo, I adjusted the tab size for the lens aperture so that it was in the range of f5 to f16 in order to create a moderate amount of blur in the distant background, as though it had been taken with an SLR camera.
“The colour of the sky is adjusted by exporting the image edited in Focos and importing it into Lightroom. I increased the saturation of the blue with the Color Mix panel and adjusted it while watching the preview. When you drag the blue hue to the right it becomes more purple, and if you drag it to the left, it becomes more green. Here, I shifted it to the left to make the green tone stronger, giving it a fresher look,” explains Arashida.
Master those birthday pics
Your kid’s birthday, with cake and candles to celebrate, is definitely a moment to treasure – but it’s also a difficult scene to take a good picture of because it can be dark and blurry.
“Turn off the lights in the room and only use the light from the candles, because the colours don’t show up well if there are multiple light sources mixing. Also, try not to use a flash,” advises Arashida.
“Here, I focused on the cake and faces respectively, and shot in portrait mode. The iPhone automatically switches to night mode depending on the brightness of the scene; the camera automatically adjusts the exposure time from one to three seconds, but since children move a lot, I think it’s best to set it to about one second to avoid blurring,” he says.
Arashida also recommends holding the iPhone in both hands or setting your elbows on a table and using them like a tripod, which will make it easier to take photos that aren’t blurry.
“In the photo above, the background would normally be completely black, but by brightening it a bit in Lightroom, I was able to create a softer atmosphere. Since the candle is a warm orange, I softened the warmth of the colour by adjusting the colour temperature. And with a green-leaning correction, you can reduce the overall redness for a calmer look,” says Arashida.
Find joy in the small things
Arashida’s final piece of advice for taking pictures of your child is a reminder to find the joy in those simple, everyday moments at home together – the ones that produce memories you can truly treasure.
“In photography, there’s a theory that says it’s best not to get emotionally involved with the subject. I think it means that one should be objective, but personally, I get very emotionally invested,” he says.
“Whether photographing your kids, nature or urban landscapes, I think some photos can only be taken because of the love you have for this moment, so try capturing things with that in mind.”