People Make My Day

Chinese school children

Everyone loves to watch children being themselves. Certainly they add interest to a story about your travels. So, how do you get a good photo of kids in action?

We were on a tour of China, now a popular destination for westerners. I have to say, when I was growing up in the 50’s, I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be standing in a school in Shanghai watching pre-school children get their daily exercise! Never mind being able to take a picture of the activity! Besides, Grandmothers can never resist taking photos of children.

First rule of thumb when taking photos of people in action: shoot and shoot and shoot and then shoot some more. These little guys move, and to get a well-framed photo with the action frozen and the kids positioned so you can see them, you need a lot of possibilities.

Second rule of thumb: Try to focus in on a single set of actions. There were lots of children in this group. I used the telephoto aspect of my lens to narrow the field a bit. If you try to get everything, you will end up with a messy shot that doesn’t define the action. The teachers provided a frame around the kids.

Third rule of thumb:

Set the camera on an action icon so the shutter speed is faster, or, if you have a camera that gives you that kind of control, set a fast shutter speed. This time, you want to freeze the action as much as possible.