Get low. Then get lower.
Most sideline photos are taken standing up. Kneel and the kid becomes the hero.
- Step 1
The camera should sit at their chest, or below
Standing, you look down on a child and the background is other parents’ knees and the parking lot. One knee, a squat, or sitting on your heels puts the horizon behind them and the sky (or stands) in the frame. They look like a first-team player because that is how first-team players are shot. Kneel a few steps back from the line, so a player running out of play has room to stop.
- Step 2
Fill the frame with the kid, then take one step closer
If you can read a sponsor board behind them, you are too far away. Crop with your feet, not later. Leave a little space above the head for a graphic overlay (clubs need that headroom).
- Step 3
Hold still through the burst
Elbows in, phone in both hands, burst as they plant. The keeper of the sequence is usually frame 4 or 5, not the first tap.
If your knees complain, sit on your heels for restarts and stand only to move. The photo will thank you.