Bev's Blog

Last week, we talked about three tips on photographing children; intensity, asking questions and singing. This week, I want to add a few more top secret tips we have formulated over years of photographing children.

Off of their feet…what I mean by this is we ask parents to hold their children in their arms until the last possible minute, especially if we are doing a family portrait. Once a child is old enough to walk, they want to be put down and when that happens, there is no easy way for the parent to pick them up without a struggle. From the car to the dressing room and then from the dressing room to the camera room, young children are held. Another version of this idea is keeping a child’s feet off the ground, if we are photographing them alone, by having them stand on a short block. It’s amazing that this simple trick keeps them still and in place. They may wobble some, but they do try to stay on the block and not step off.

Pretending to cough or sneeze…this one ALWAYS works! It amazes me every time I pretend to sneeze that kids really like it and smile. Of course, we say they made us do it because we are allergic to them! Coughing is also great, but sneezing is the best! We switch between them during the course of a session.

Keeping our distance…when we first meet our young subjects, we don’t get down on the ground with them to try to make friends. Instead, although we are friendly, we keep a little distance, at least for the first few minutes. The reason; once a child is completely comfortable with us and the studio environment, we lose our advantage and a measure of control. We start the session very quietly at first in order to get the pensive and emotional expressions we are known for. Playing and fun come later for us and this is where we get more candid shots. Children will mirror what we do, so we are not silly, loud and playful when we want a more pensive look. On the other hand, if we are going for a fun and interactive look, we do get a bit more silly and loud.

Whispering…this “tactic” is great with small children that are antsy. We whisper a question and ask them to answer it. Because they really have to pay attention to hear us, they forget they are being photographed and we get some very engaged expressions.

What we don’t do very often is get toys out as they will reach out their hands to hold it and cry when they cannot. We work quickly, quietly and then increase the playfulness and depend on our word games and ability to engage our young subjects as the session progresses. By the end of the session, they are our best buddies! It goes without saying that we truly love children and they know it. Only as a last resort do we bribe with Smarties (with parental permission) and although it is not our favorite way to get through a session, it may work when nothing else does.

Here’s to happy times in the camera room with children! Have a great week everyone!

Bev

www.timandbevwalden.com