A dozen "do's and don'ts" to keep in mind

When photographing your own children

1. Do not plan on a photo session that requires your child's participation for more than a few minutes, since children can quickly become bored, losing interest and spontaneity. When you see this occur, put your camera away to try again another day. If your child is having fun, though, and seems keen to continue, that is a bonus. But, in any event, going beyond five or ten minutes is generally not advisable, since children may begin to associate your camera with a process that takes up too much of their time.

2. Do take your pictures reasonably quickly. No one, especially children, likes to be left waiting for the click while the photographer fiddles with focus and tries to find the right viewpoint. A beautiful smile or the right expression will quickly fade into an impatient look that says "C'mon mom, take the picture, please." There are many time-saving things you can do before involving your little subject - prefocus, choose the right shooting angle, select an appropriate backdrop, check that there is sufficient light, and ensure the shutter speed and aperture are set for proper exposure and appropriate depth of field. (Check out Hyperfocal distance for a good depth-of-field tip.)

3. Do keep the photo session fun, including for yourself. A fun session will produce happy-looking expressions.

4. Do ask your children for their ideas about what will make a good picture. You may be surprised to find out how creative little minds can be, and they will invariably suggest something that is of interest to them.

5. Do not take pictures of your children when they have a cold, are not feeling well, or are in obvious need of a nap or some food. The results will always be unsatisfactory.

6. Do not force an unwilling child to pose for a picture. The child may be embarrassed, cranky, upset, tired, shy or experiencing any number of feelings. Capturing the expressions of a child who is uncooperative or reluctant generally does not make for good pictures. Besides, unposed, candid shots of a child who is occupied with something that interests her or him often produce the best results.

7. Do keep it simple. Move in close to fill the frame with your child. Remove any distracting clutter. Watch out for backgrounds that are too busy, and move around to re-frame your scene in the viewfinder to get a less-distracting background, or use shallow depth-of-field to throw it out of focus. How do you know if the picture is cluttered, even to a small degree? If an object in the viewfinder does not add anything of value to your image, it is clutter.

8. Do include some color. A yellow shirt, a green hat or a red toy can add brightness to an image. "Plain" is usually better than strongly "patterned" when it comes to clothing, because it doesn't distract the viewer's eye from the subject, but simple, small patterns will also work. A bright color against an opposing color in the background can add contrast and dimension. Soft, pastel shades work well with babies and little girls.

9. Do take more than one picture of the same scene, but do not take exactly the same picture twice. When you have a good composition with all the right elements and a bright-looking, cheery subject, take a few insurance shots to be sure you will get at least one that is an improvement over the others. Shoot again when there is a change of expression, or make a slight shift in your viewpoint. The extra pictures can always be sent to Grandma and Grandpa, and you will feel more confident that your child did not blink in all the frames you exposed just as the shutter was released. Be sure to adjust your exposure to bracket your shots when the picture looks to be a particularly good one.

10. Do get down to the child's level, or lower, for the most natural-looking images.

11. Do rotate your camera so that you are shooting in portrait format when your subject is in a vertical position and in landscape format when your subject is in a horizontal position. You can generally include more background in landscape mode and this is usually the preferred camera orientation for photographing groups of children. Two or three standing children, or an individual child who is seated or standing, almost always photograph better in portrait format.

12. Do not use a wide-angle lens or wide-angle zoom lens setting when you are seeking a properly-proportioned, close-up portrait of your child. Your child's face will be distorted and out of perspective. Use a long focal length lens for the most pleasing, natural-looking proportions for a portrait. But, if you want to include the surroundings as a part of the picture, then step back from your subject to include more surroundings. Switch to a wider-angle lens or choose a wide-angle zoom lens setting when you are not too close to your subject to avoid distortion.