Studio Lighting Question: Children

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to hear from all of you how you go about lighting for portraits of children, especially under the age of 4.

I'm starting to do portraits for children and I've experimented with my son, nieces and nephews. My dilemma is that when trying to use a reflector whether hand held or on a stand, it's pretty much useless with them moving around. What about for children who don't understand direction yet? I'm all about candid shots but how would you set up for that? Light up the general area?

How do you do it? Do you use one light for main and one light for fill? I've gotten decent results with this set up but sometimes it's a little off in terms of where the shadows are because of the movement. Are there some general lighting schemes you use that will compensate for movement?

Basically I'd like to hear about your experiences and challenges when shooting portraits of kids, and what lighting set ups work best for you. Any examples would be helpful too.


Here's a quick example done today...after settling him down bribing him with chocolate. No reflector used just fill on the left and main camera right.

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bump...any advice for a newb

Tyger wrote in post #6049494
bump...any advice for a newb

I have photographed kids and many under the age of 5. It's like everything is on the fly. They move, don't listen, spend some time crying and are stubborn little critters...anyway..

What has worked for me is setting up 3 lights w\umbrellas and lighting the entire area where they will be. Also, I have 1 area setup that's my plan B, a huge whitish\gray muslin on the floor and up the wall so mom or dad can work with the kids on the floor.

Of course I have a small area or at least a quick setup in case they are well behaved.

Even with all this it can still be a huge challenge with very young kids.

Thanks for the info frechfx....will try that. I've got limited space at home but I'll be do most of my work on location.

Someone also mentioned using the butterfly lighting technique...or using large reflectors. Guess It'll have to be more trial and error.

A second light is best. the kids move to much to have to constantly re adjust a reflector. Just get a second light and back it off a bit. you will have a bigger sweet spot and the movement will not mean a re-adjustment.

Mark1 wrote in post #6053106
A second light is best. the kids move to much to have to constantly re adjust a reflector. Just get a second light and back it off a bit. you will have a bigger sweet spot and the movement will not mean a re-adjustment.

Thanks Mark, guess it makes more sense to let them be free and keep snapping away!