Deer in Headlights - Bad Photos

I trick mine, I get the camera out and then pretend to take the pic, I let it out. Then when they stop the fuss I get the pic. My son did the deer in the head lights thing, always looked like his eyes were super big. He still does it sometimes.

Try to get pictures when he is playing and not paying attention to you. I think my pictures of the kids turn out better when they don't know I am taking them.

We kept taking photos until our son started ignoring the camera and going about his business. We had a whole two months worth of streaks or hands grabbing for the camera. We have noticed we get good photos when he is occupied with food in his high chair. Although the results can be messy. Just last week we got the avocado facial and hair treatment photo.

have a friend over to play with him or a group of kids and get candids up close while he's distracted. or, have your hubby or a friend behind the camera while you distract him and make him giggle.

Distraction is my favorite trick. You never end up with them looking directly at the camera though.

My daughter does not take good pictures at all. I used to delete the bad pictures. Now I save them for my own amusement. I put them all into a digital folder and when I need a laugh I open that folder and laugh till I cry.

I never had any luck getting my daughter to "pose" at that age - my best pics are when she was laughing about something and sometimes I would try to get her to laugh anyway I could and snap away. Making funny noises or faces was a good way to get her attention, focus on me for a second, and laugh or smile. It also helps to get down on their level, and have your shutter speed set as fast as possible! Also, often the best pics are when they are doing their own thing and having fun, like playing outside or in the tub. I have always tended to take a lot more "action shots" and they often end up being the best ones.

Now DD is 4 and rarely cooperates for pics - I think it is actually harder now! She never wants to hold still, or look at the camera and she fidgets all the time. She also does this fake smile/grimace thing so I still need to try to get her laugh or really smile about something so it looks genuine!

First, if you are using a cell phone camera, unless you have one of the newest smartphones with a 5 megapixel or higher rating, it is hard getting a good picture of anything moving.
In my experience (over 50k pictures with many different cameras), you should have a camera with a "sports" mode. This sets the camera at a faster shutter speed. Flash will help produce best shots in low light. Another feature that helps even more, I use this a lot, is having a "burst mode" setting. This takes multiple pictures at lower resolutions, but at high speed, like a mini-movie, preventing most blur situations. Then you just choose the best photo out of the set. It's the only way I've found to photograph children & anything else that is moving fast.

Don't try to pose him or have him looking right at the camera. Take shots of him in everyday life doing every day things and have your camera ready at all times. You can always crop the photo to get the toys out of the picture, etc. Don't be afraid to get him from that back. Those are always adorable.

I bought a DSLR. I take a million pictures literally in a row and then I am guaranteed to get at least one good shot out of it :).