How to Photograph Tweens

How to Photograph Tweens

By Kristin Prelipp Oguntoyinbo

A tween is the stage between middle childhood and adolescence, so from roughly 9 to 12 years of age. This can be an awkward stage as tweens bodies and minds are changing rapidly in fits and starts. They are not little children and are not yet teenagers. They are busy transitioning in mental, emotional, hormonal and physical ways. My own daughter, Amira, is at this stage. Sometimes she is still my little girl and other times she epitomizes sassiness. I joke that if she continues to roll her eyes at me they might just get stuck that way!

Recently I was asked to photograph a tween named Josh Leffler, who is beginning middle school next year. His parents, Donnabeth and Barry, realized that they had many portraits taken of Josh when he was younger but had slacked off in recent years. Many families fall into this trap! They record every moment of their child’s early years and then don’t photograph them again until they are about to graduate from high school. What about all of those years in between? So, I thought I would write some helpful hints on how to photograph tweens.

Collaborate with the Tween

Before I even came to photograph Josh I asked his mom to consult him about what he wanted to do for his portrait. I made it clear that this would be best if we all collaborated. He decided that he would like to have his everyday home life and hobbies documented. Even at his young age he realized that this would be an important document that he would look back on as an adult. Before we even began photographing, Josh led me on a tour of his domain. His mom stayed busy at the computer, leaving us alone to talk. The most important work of this portrait involved talking and getting to know Josh, rather than immediately diving into photographing him and ordering him around. Josh came up with the idea for the photo above. Love it!

Speak to the Tween like They are an Adult

If you have ever met Josh Leffler, you might think he is an adult in a boy’s body. So intelligent and charming! Tweens respond well to adults who speak to them with respect rather than talking down to them. This was not hard to do with Josh as he is so well spoken. We talked about photography, computers and literature. He admires Steve Jobs and loves to read. He even has started an information technology business from his Mac. The photos above are an homage to his idol.

Try to Avoid Posing

Even when I was going in for a more traditional portrait I lightly directed Josh to move around. He and I chose a spot with pretty scenery and nice light and I asked him to turn to the side then look at me. Once your subject stops moving that first frame you quickly snap is crucial! After they are posing for just a second they start to look staged and stiff. I wanted to capture him like he really is, not with a canned smile. So I had him keep moving around. I told him I was trying to figure out which was his best side.

Don’t Forget Mom and Dad

While your tween is busy changing, you are, too. When your child has grown to be an adult they will want to see their loving parents in photographs as well. Don’t worry if it is a bad hair day or if you don’t feel like it, just jump in there. Both Donnabeth and Barry were more than happy to get in a photo with Josh. No arm twisting here. This whole process took less than an hour. A tween’s attention span is longer than a toddler’s but don’t push it! Now get out there and document your lovely tween before you blink your eyes and they are off to college.

Thanks for reading! I am always looking for great photo stories to tell in the Chapelboro area. If you know of someone or something that should be documented please write to me.

Helen of Hair | Family Story

During the winter I spend a lot of time in the studio. The garden is quiet and everyone wants to stay inside where it is warm. Recently a new mom named Carrie brought in her amazing three-month-old, Helen. Prior to the shoot Carrie and I discussed what she wanted to do in her family story. When she filled me in on her new daughter, she mentioned, “She has a lot of hair.” I didn’t think much of it as my three children also had lots of hair as a babies. But nothing could prepare me for Helen and her amazing locks. So, I call her, Helen of Hair.

As with most of my newborn shoots we took our time. Helen was amazingly patient with the outfit and backdrop changes. We made time for a couple of feedings and even a little nap. I figure if you do something you may as well take your time and do it well! Carrie, thank you soooooo much for bringing Helen into the studio! Here are some of my favorites.

Helen was already teething, poor thing. When I saw this face I knew we were done! I am so glad she was such a great subject.

Amanda in Waiting | Family Story

Well, this is a fun blog post to write! My very dear friend, Amanda Fortuna, has a birthday tomorrow. As she celebrates with her family and friends in Roanoke, Virginia she is waiting. They are all waiting. We are all waiting! She is 39 weeks pregnant and gorgeous! When her baby is born I will complete the story by visiting them during the first week or so the baby is here. I cannot wait to see if it is a boy or girl. Mandy Sue and I kept calling her “Myrtle.” Reminds me of how I used to call Leo by the name Lola while in utero. I still love that name. Look for a follow up post soon!

And here is the very best ending you could have to a maternity story– a gorgeous, baby girl was born! Here is Elizabeth Sue at just over a week old. Love you little, girl!

The Promise | Family Story

Kathryn Bacon Goldman made a promise to her mother last Christmas that she was going to get her a family portrait as a gift. Her mom, Ellen, takes great pictures of the family but she’s never in any of them. Kathryn had good intentions of completing the portrait quickly but several months had gone by and she had not actually scheduled the session yet. When you have two small children sometimes things understandably get delayed. She and her husband, Jeff, who live in Maryland, were planning to visit her parents in Durham so she seized on this opportunity to finally make good on her promise. One of her good friends, Cora Harrison, referred her to me. Thanks, Cora!

We met at her parents home in Durham one recent morning. Darren, 7 months, and Alya, two-years-old, were in the living room playing when I arrived.

Alya is incredibly adorable with her curls and great smile but, unfortunately she had not slept well the night before and was a bit cranky. I figured she would eventually smile and she did! I wrote about how I got this great photo above in my Local Buzz column on WCHL’s Chapelboro.com for you photo geeks who want know how to do a head swap.

Kathryn had filled out a survey before I came. This helps me to understand who is coming and what kind of photos they want. The most important photo on the list was the whole family- her parents, her family and her brother. Their yard had a great view of a lake and the light was even and beautiful so we easily knocked out the list. The whole process took about an hour and, I hope, was fun for all involved!

Only two head swaps to make the photo above work!

We cannot forget mom and dad! I love this moment between them.

I bet this one will be their holiday card!


A sweet moment between Darren and grandma.

Even though Alya was tired her Uncle Michael could always make her smile! How nice that they are so close!

So, the moral of the story is to not put off until tomorrow what you can do today! My grandma Vivian always said this and it is so true. Book your KPO Photo Family Story at any time or take part in the KPO Photo Fall Family Story Special on October 23rd. Only four slots are left!

Run for the Border

This a new installment of a blog post that was originally published on April 28, 2010.
Back in April 2002 I photographed the wedding of Marisa Ferguson and Michael Kelly. I remembered them well as they were journalists like me, and thus shared a bond. I knew that after the wedding, Michael took the foreign service exam and they ended up moving to Turkey. It turns out that Marisa also ended up working for the State Department, and they have most recently been living in Mexico City, Mexico. It is there that they gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Maura. They were coming into North Carolina to visit with family and made time for a portrait session. I loved meeting seven-week-old Maura! She has her mother’s eyes and was a very patient, sweet baby as we changed her outfits and posed her in the studio and out in the garden.

You can see the WHOLE story in their GALLERY.

In July of 2011 Michael, Marisa and Maura came through North Carolina again to visit friends and family. I am so excited that they made time to visit me as they had big news and it is just wonderful to see how Maura has grown! First, they are moving from Mexico to Vancouver, Canada. Secondly, they are pregnant and due in October. Maura was so tiny when I first met her. She is now a great walker with beautiful curls and still has her mother’s eyes. At her age she would not “sit” for a portrait, which is fine. So we spent an hour or so just playing. She wandered all over the studio and the garden while I followed her with my camera. Here are my favorites.

Anatomy of a BIG Family Photo

I am one of four children. I would absolutely LOVE to have a photo of our whole family- my parents, my siblings, their spouses and kids. This kind of thing would be a logistical nightmare to coordinate as we are rarely all together, but it would be so worth it! I would cherish those prints forever.

Recently I had the opportunity to photograph two such groupings. I prefer to collaborate with my client so that we are partners in creating a Family Story. We typically meet before the shoot to discuss ideas, what to wear, which location- so many decisions! My clients fill out a quick on-line survey and then we are ready to go!

My first shoot was booked this past winter so we had been planning it awhile. I had photographed the Harry Family last fall at their farm in Orange County, North Carolina, just outside of Chapel Hill. Kim Harry asked me if I would be available for a Family Story at the North Carolina coast this summer. Her extended family would all be together so it was a golden opportunity for a big family portrait. So the week after school let out we arranged to meet at Kure Beach. I loooove the clothing they chose and we ended up having so much fun at Fort Fisher.

My other recent large family portrait was for the Broun Family. I met Margie Broun and her husband, Ken at the Dispute Settlement Center’s Silent Auction. She bid on and won a KPO Photo Family Story. They have two adult boys who are both married with two children each. She really wanted a great photo of all of them together as well as some smaller groupings. They have lived in Chapel Hill forever, close to the UNC campus. So we met at the Forest Theatre on the UNC campus and then finished the shoot at their home so we would have a lot to choose from. Here is what we came up with.

Do you have a family gathering coming up that would be a great opportunity for a big family portrait? You can sign up for KPO Photo Family Story here.

How to Better Photograph Your Children | Tip 6

This is the sixth in an eight-part series that will post each week through May. This series was created by me, Kristin Prelipp Oguntoyinbo, for the amateur family photographer. These tips are simple, quick things you can do to vastly improve the photos you take. I will be using photos that I have taken in my role as the family photographer, not images taken with high end cameras, complicated techniques nor studio lighting. These are images that ANYONE can take, many of them shot with a point and shoot camera.

TIP 6: NATURAL LIGHT

Professional photographers spend years learning how to work with light. The goal is to make their artificial light look like beautiful, Rembrandt-style, natural light. But why spend all that time learning how to modify light when the real thing is right in front of you? I am going to show three examples of using natural light versus the on-camera flash. For those of you using a point and shoot, you may have to consult your camera manual to learn how to turn the automatic flash off, when you so choose. Also, in darker situations, it would be nice to know how to turn your ISO up a bit, maybe to 800 if you can.

My first example is shooting indoors at night. Roman’s birthday is right before Christmas and Leo’s is right after, so the holidays are really big for us. It is right before bed and Roman is playing with his new train that he received as a birthday present from his Grandma and Grandpa Oguntoyinbo. First I photograph him using the on-camera flash. This photo is fine for capturing the action but it is rather bland.

In this second version I turned the flash off. I think that this image captures the scene much better- a quiet, dark room with the beautiful, twinkly Christmas lights. The only caveat with using no flash indoors is if you inadvertently shake camera the image will be blurry. In this case, I was down laying on my stomach on the floor. I put my elbows on the floor and used my body as a tripod so that the camera did not shake.

Next we are indoors but during the day this time. Most point and shoot cameras automatically turn on the flash when you are indoors. Often there is plenty of good light indoors to use. At least it is worth a try! In the first example the automatic flash came on. This illuminates the subjects closest to the flash but almost always renders the background very dark. In this case my background is ugly and messy, (see Tip 4) so maybe that was a small blessing, but normally I would like to see what is going on in the perimeter as it adds detail and information to your image.

In the image below I tried again. I used a plain background and had the girls close to a large window with the flash off. I think this works much better!

Finally, we are outside in front of a bonfire. First I let the on-camera flash do it’s thing. Again, this is not a horrible photo but the second photo with the flash off captures the mood of the evening much better, don’t you think?


Did you miss the fifth tip? Click HERE to read it. You can also read all of the tips on our FACEBOOK or TWITTER page.