Sometimes I am asked how I got such great expressions of the people in the pictures that I have made. It is a compliment and at the same time a request to share with the person just what one does to get that kind of expression and reactions in my pictures. Over my photojournalistic career I have a number of great pictures that were made great only because of the reaction and expressions of those who were being photographed.

Really it is just a case of making your subject feel comfortable. With kids you really don't have to do much to get them to forget the camera. The task then is to be ready when that expression comes along.

The secret, if there really is one, is to shoot lots! That means you don't
just make one exposure. You make a number of exposures one after another and then you look for the best in the batch. Many times the best expressions come right after the flash has gone off. You see once the flash goes the subjects think it is all over. They relax, smile, laugh or do something else and that is what makes the best picture. I can remember one picture I made of a young figure skater who won a major
competition. I was to photograph the girl with her parents and siblings. The father was extremely proud of his daughter and it was obvious that there was a lot of love between them. Once they relaxed a bit it was very easy to get great shots of them smiling at each other. The picture was so pleasing it was selected by the Canadian Press as a Picture of the Month. That's out of all the pictures in Canada that Canadian Press ran from their associated newspapers in that month. A group shot was selected as picture of the month! A lot of people found that amazing - including me. This just illustrates that if you can get your subjects to relax and are ready to make more than one picture, you will probably get one that really stands out among the rest. That is the one you pick. When you are dealing with kids you just let them do what they will do and you keep on shooting.

Photo by Harold Merton

The picture of the three young girls in the playhouse reproduced with this column was one of probably fifteen exposures I made when the kids were first enjoying the new playhouse that was a birthday present for the little girl on the right who was the Birthday girl.

Wait, shoot lots and you'll probably surprise yourself! With the advent of digital photography it now doesn't cost you any more to shoot a dozen shots that it does one. You simply delete the exposures you don't like and make more. Try it! Get your subjects to relax and keep on shooting. You probably will surprise yourself!