PhotoBox Kids’ Photo Studio – Putting the #FocusOnDad for Father’s Day

It’s not often that I willingly hand over my camera’s controls to anyone else to take our family photographs. Still, when PhotoBox contacted me to see if we would be interested in taking part in PhotoBox Kids’ Photo Studio, I couldn’t say no.

Get Dad’s in the frame

In recent research conducted by personalised photo gifting service PhotoBox, it was found that in the majority of families, it is Dad behind the camera, not Mum (although this is obviously not the case in our house).

Kids Photo Studio

This can be down to several factors, from Dad not wanting to let anyone else touch his precious tech gear (that’s me) to not being comfortable being in front of the camera. The truth of the matter is that Dads are often missing from family photographs. In a bid to put Dad back in the frame, PhotoBox is opening a photo studio run entirely by kids for one day only; and everyone has the chance to take part.

Apart from setting up the camera on a tripod and showing them what buttons they needed to press, the rest of our Photoshoot was down to the Beans. They each decided what they wanted Daddy to wear for their photographs (which was interesting in itself), and then they told Daddy where he needed to stand or sit and how to pose. I love the results of the images, and they were delighted with the results too. To finish off their little shoot, they asked if we could put the camera on timer and take one of all of us, which I wasn’t banking on, so excuse my rather haggard look!

Some of the research findings were;

• Dad is always behind the camera and not in front;
• Mum prefers Dad taking the family photos (68%)*
• Two-thirds of Dads believe they’re better at taking photos than Mum (61%)
• A third of Dads admit trying to avoid family photos altogether (34%)

When it comes to family photos, as expected kids are always stealing the show from Dad:

• Over half (51%) of parents agree one of the top reasons Dad is always behind the camera is so he can capture all the children’s best moments.
• Half (47%) of photos on display in the home feature the kids and neither parent.

Robert May, Global Marketing Director at PhotoBox, comments:

Families are forever growing, changing, and experiencing new things together. Through photography, we can capture those special and everyday family moments so that we can celebrate them again and again. When we discovered that Dads were missing from many of the family pics, we were astounded! And knew something had to be done to rectify this. Our Kids’ studio will help put Dad back in the frame and celebrate his great moments with the family too.”

Professional Photography Tips

Professional photographer and father-of-three Darren Coleshill of Photalife shares his own top tips for parents:

1. Pick the right camera

From experience, picking the right camera is key – there’s really no point in getting them an expensive all-singing, all-dancing camera. Still, equally, a disposable camera isn’t right for them either. A simple basic camera with a zoom and, importantly, a screen is perfect. Even a phone with a camera is fine. Children need to see what they have taken a photo of, and this needs to be instant, not a few days later!

2. Holding the camera

Before you get them to snap away, show them how to hold the camera. If they are using a phone, then showing them a grip where they hold it in each corner is normally good. Show them what happens if fingers are in front of the lens. No one enjoys looking through photos where little fingers are in the way. Show them beforehand so they won’t get disappointed when you look back at the photos later.

3. Setting up the photo

When getting children interested in taking photos, don’t bombard them with too much information. The best way to start is to tell them to start by getting everything in the canter. Then they won’t go too far wrong. This is where having a screen is ideal as they can see exactly what they’re taking a photo of.

4. Experiment

The beauty of digital photos and smartphones is that you can take endless amounts of photos, which doesn’t matter. If they get a disposable camera, it’s limited to 24 or 36, which is no good. My tip would be to give them a camera on a day out and just let them snap away. You can then look back over them together and pick out their favourites or work on different ways to improve.

5. Get up close

There will be some form of zoom on most cameras and explain to them that if something looks too far away, then move up to the subject, so more of the point of interest is in the photo. This may be easier said than done, but let them find out what they like and what works best for them.

6. Focus on interesting things

Why are they taking that photo? Once they’ve got the basics of actually taking a photo, get them to take photos of interest. What catches their eye? If it was an animal or person, get them to focus on that and fill the photo with the thing they found interesting.