EXPERT TIPS ON PHOTOGRAPHING KIDS

"Quick, get the camera!"

What parent hasn't uttered some variation of that four-word phrase on a simmering summer day? Sometimes the plea takes the form of an urgent whisper, so as not to arouse the suspicions of the little ones at play.

Pictures of children and summertime go together like kids and wading pools. But, what to do about those worrisome shadows, bored stares and out-of-proportion results that just don't do the moment justice?

For those candid, at-home, vacation or sports shots that will be treasured for a lifetime, Bill Cheek of Cheekwood Studio in Cape Girardeau recommends that picture takers concentrate on capturing the child's natural expression.

He advises: "Try to get the child in some kind of natural activity, such as playing with a pet or a toy." The child need not be looking at the camera for an appealing photograph.

Particularly for the younger set, he noted, "A lot of times, it works well to lie right on the floor, or in the grass, to get a child's viewpoint. After all, they're kind of looking up at the world."

Just lowering the camera "creates a different perspective," Cheek noted.

While working toward an undergraduate degree in photography, David Crowe of Cape Girardeau was taught that maxim. Through countless applications, he's realized the value of getting close and at the same level as the subject.

"Wherever I travel or go with my kids, I love to take pictures," said Crowe, an orthodontist and father of two sons, Taylor, 13, and Austin, 10. Candid shots of the two boys abound, documenting their rites of passage from babyhood to the brink of the teen-age years.

Crowe said his favorite picture of Taylor was taken on outdoor steps when the boy was about 10. The moment was poignant in its simplicity. His son, Crowe said, was sitting and drawing in the late afternoon sunlight.

"My favorite picture of Austin is a picture taken on the spur of the moment, when he was trying not to smile," Crowe said, himself smiling gently with the memory. "He was about 5 and full of himself."

For Crowe, waiting for just the right shot -- and figuring out how to achieve the desired effect -- is as much fun as viewing the result.

"The process of taking the picture is as important to me as the picture itself," he said.

There's a certain power in the lens, cautioned Crowe. "A camera can change the event," he said. "You have to be careful not to be intrusive.

"When photographing children, it's important that they're comfortable being around the camera and that you don't let the camera rule," recommended Crowe, who is an avid landscape photographer.

Dewey Lukefahr of Jackson Studio in Jackson agrees. "At home, you're usually better off to catch them in the act," he said. With 40 years experience as a professional photographer, Lukefahr has photographed untold numbers of children, yet he retains infectious enthusiasm for the craft.

"I'd rather take pictures of babies than anything," Lukefahr said. "I have five children of my own. I've always been partial to children. They're natural, there's no put on, no fake or anything.

"Some parents make a mistake by trying to force the child. If you try to force them, to my way of thinking, you will often get a bad effect," Lukefahr said.

Cheek adds that if mom or dad says "line up," that's when "everybody gets stiff as a board. ... The kids turn into little robots."

Expression, Cheek said, is the most important component of an appealing photograph. "That's what melts our hearts," he said.

"The eyes and the mouth, those are the two most important focal points of the photo," Cheek said, adding that the features between the eyebrows and the chin "literally show their spirit and soul."

Sometimes getting those precious features reproduced on film is not an easy task. Indoors, there are the problems of too much or too little flash, and outside there are shadows and sun-grins to contend with.

When it comes to indoor shots using flash, getting too close to the subject is one of the most common mistakes people make, according to John Cychosz, photographer and printer at Photo World in Cape Girardeau. When that happens, natural skin tone is lost.

And what parent or grandparent hasn't sent off birthday film anticipating smiling angels only to be greeted by little red-eyed creatures when the developed product is removed from the envelope?

Not-to-fear, according to Cychosz, it's a common problem easily tackled. "Red-eye" is caused by "the flash bouncing off the retina and coming back to the lens," he said.

To help avoid the effect, Cychosz said, "make sure the lights in the room are on and are bright." A brightly lit room will cause the pupils to constrict and will reduce the chance of red-eye. Another tip is to have the child look off to the side of the camera instead of directly at the lens.

When taking pictures outdoors, "avoid shooting with the backs to the sun," Cychosz advised. The result of such positioning will often fool the camera and the subject will appear unnaturally dark.

Cychosz shared this rule-of-thumb: "Either everybody's in the shade or everybody's in the light." Positioning the camera so that the sun is coming at the side of the subject can eliminate sun-grin problems.

Cychosz recommends that persons use a flash outside if the camera will allow. Using the flash outdoors is called "fill-flash" and eliminates shadows across the face, allowing reproduction of the true expression.

Before the amateur photographer gets to the point of considering sun and shade, there are other decisions to be made, beginning at the store counter.

For basic, home photos, Cychosz recommends film with an ISO number of 100, commonly called 100-speed film.

"`Speed' is actually a misnomer," explained Cychosz. The ISO number denotes the size of the film's silver particles, called grain.

"With 100-speed ISO, the grains are smaller than the 200-speed, which are smaller than the 400-speed," he said.

Film with an ISO number of 400 is more light sensitive than film of lower ISO numbers, he explained, calling 100-speed film the most forgiving. "If you overexpose a little you can still get a decent picture."

"One-hundred speed is great for prints and great for outdoor shots. If you're within your flash range, it's great for indoors shots. And, if you're going to make enlargements, it also works great for that," Cychosz said.

Photographs of children and by children were popular long before equipment choices became so varied.

"My interest in photography started in grade school," Crowe reflected. "The summer between the fifth and sixth grade, my dad gave me a Kodak Brownie Camera," he said.

The orthodontist declares that there are parallels between his chosen profession and photography. "Both are a marriage of science and art," he said. "In both, there are scientific and aesthetic concepts.

"I've always been fascinated at being able to capture a moment," he said.

Choice of cameras, lens and film are personal decisions that depend on individual needs.

Crowe reflected: "As my dad said, `It's not the camera you use, it's what you point it at.'"