Tips for Photographing Birthday Parties

In the yearly cycle of a child's life, the birthday party is one of the most important events. As a parent, we spend time and effort creating the perfect individualized birthday party for our child. Therefore, we want to take the best possible photos to remember the event. Unfortunately, birthday parties are among the most challenging events to photograph: they go by very quickly, there are lots of children running around, and as parents we find ourselves too busy to wait for the perfect shot. Here are some suggestions to get some good birthday party photographs while still finding time to enjoy the party yourself.

Before the Party

Before the party is a great time to survey the venue.  Look for spaces where the lighting may be good for photographs and figure out where you want to stand to get these photographs. Next, look at the place where the cake will be served. Choose a spot for the birthday child to sit where the background is not too distracting and where the photographer will have a place to stand with a good view of the child. If you would like both parents to be in a cake photo with the child, think about to whom you will hand the camera.

There will not be time to change lenses during the party, so this is the time to choose which lens you will be using. A zoom lens will provide the most flexibility although a 50mm or wide angle might be best if the party is completely indoors.

Take a few staged photos before the party begins. The birthday child will be anxiously awaiting the arrival of the guests and will appreciate the distraction of posing for photos. Choose a location which illustrates something about the party venue. This is also a good time to take posed photos of the birthday child with siblings, parents, and grandparents.

Finally, if there is time before the party begins, take a photo of the cake.

During the Party

During the party, the children will be busy with the activity of the party. Find a place with a decent view and lighting, and take a few candid photos. However, don't spend so much time with this that you don't get to enjoy the party yourself. Perhaps ask another parent or grandparent to take a few photos of the action. These photos don't need to be perfect; the memory of the event and the happy expression on your child's face is all you really need.

If you get the chance, ask the birthday child to stop for a second and pose for a photo with a friend, but keep this to a minimum. Don't make your child resent the fact that half the party was spent posing for photos.

Of course, the most important party photos are the ones with the cake. Before you bring the cake over, make sure that the person taking photos is standing in the right spot. If there are multiple people taking photos, then try to insure that two of them will have a chance at the right angle for the cake photo. If you are handing your camera to someone, you should instruct them as to whether you would like them to take as many photos as possible, or whether they need to wait between flashes. Finally, after the candles are blown out, take one more posed photo with the birthday child in front of the cake, perhaps with a best friend, sibling, or parents. Limit yourself to one posed photo, and then serve that delicious cake.

If you are trying to stick to a diet, this is a great time to hide behind your camera and take photos of children with frosting all over their faces. If not, then put the camera in a safe place, and enjoy some cake.

After the Party

After the party, the activity will be focused around opening the presents. We always try to open gifts in a controlled setting, so that we can keep records for writing thank-you notes. Before starting to open gifts, place the gifts in a nice arrangement and take a few pictures of it. Encourage your child to pose one more time in front of the gifts, but a photo of the gifts alone will be fine as well.

Finally, take a few candids of the child opening the presents and maybe smiling at the really good ones.

As you photograph your child's birthday party, just remember that the party is for you too. Don't spend so much time photographing the party that you forget to enjoy it yourself. Pretty soon they will be older, and you will want to have memories to go with the photos of these special moments.