Remember standing in your new clothes in front of the hedge, squinting into the sun, while dad or mom backed across the yard, pointed to the camera, and told you to smile?

Our family has years and years of pictures like that, all made in front of our grandparent’s house. Flipping through the albums, you can follow the year-to-year changes in the children and the changes in the bushes and trees that take up most of the picture.

These old photos bring back memories for us because we were there. For a stranger, looking at the same snapshots, the pictures show them nothing because the children are too far away to see what they look like, and the poses tell them nothing about the children themselves.

Here’s an idea. Get closer. Always get more intimate, and the pictures (almost any picture) will improve, especially pictures of children.

When we travel, the pictures we take of the children we see usually are quite different from those of our kids.

We make photos of children playing, being themselves, and not all cleaned up. Their clothes’ expressions and colors draw us to make these photos.

Please introduce yourself to the adults supervising the children and ask permission to photograph them. You may have to do this with gestures if there is a language barrier.

Whether it is your kids or those you photograph on the trip, get to the child’s eye level. Crawl on the floor with a toddler, or get on your knees to photograph preschoolers. Not only is this a better camera angle for children, but the kids like it when you are on their level.

The trick is to take the time to let the child become comfortable with you and your camera. When they begin playing in their world again, you can peak in with your camera and capture something of the actual child.

Children often mimic their surroundings. Give them a pot, spoon, or other grownup stuff and let them play to their heart’s content.

To add to the story value, place a toy in the child’s photo playing with the grown-up things. Use a wide-angle lens or set your zoom at its widest setting. Get close to the child and show their surroundings.

Take a lot of photos. With today’s digital cameras, there is no cost to making many photos; edit them on your computer before you print.

So take lots and lots of photos. Truly explore your subject in their world.

Following these suggestions, your pictures will be true treasures, and even a stranger will be impressed.