One of the tricks to getting a good candid shot of your child is to get down on their level.  Yes, you can get nice shots standing above them, but they have to be framed well to really work. Whenever you stand over your subject, you make them look innocent.  Not totally necessary when photographing kids, but it’s a thought.

Another trick is to watch your kids doing something they enjoy or that is interesting to them.  Sometimes you can get the best shots when your kids aren’t even looking at you.  If you want them to look at you, focus your camera & then call their name.  Depending on how old they are, they may mug for the camera if you call their name & then focus.  Also, close-ups are always endearing when done right.  Just to clarify, zooming up a child’s nose is not cute.

Do you have kids that are just naturals in front of the camera?  If so, take advantage of it!  Some children just love to be in front of a camera & can be very creative.  I’ve had shoots where the child(ren) would go from pose, to pose, to pose & all I had to do was stand there & shoot.  It was so much fun (I’m all about fun) & it gave me quite a laugh.  Children are fun to begin with, but when you pull out a camera, that’s when the real fun begins!