Preparing young children for their session

Picture time can be a stressful time, especially for your young children. As parents, we want to capture our children at their best so we try hard to plan sessions around nap and eating times. We spend weeks choosing just the right coordinating outfits, get hair cuts, and other miscellaneous primping. There can be a lot of pressure put on little ones to perform for the camera. After all, you're paying good money to have these taken you want them to be perfect.

As a parent, I know what you are trying to achieve and it is my job to capture that. I like to take a very relaxed approach to your photo session. I really like to think of it as a play date with a camera. If you've worked with me before, you'll notice I usually just try to lay low, talk to your kids, and capture them while they are having fun. You may think that in order for the pictures to turn out, they need to sit there and smile. That is almost never the case!

Here are my ideas for preparing for your session:

1. First off... relax! If you're not relaxed, your child will sense it and may be wary of what's about to happen.

2. Consider what you tell your child in regards to the session appointment. One suggestion may be telling your child that you're going to have a play date with Olivia. I'm no child psychologist, but in my experiences, telling a child that they need to take pictures creates opportunities to rebel. If they are told that they get to go play, there will be no need to try to control the situation. I never force your child to sit still or look at me, so more than likely they won't even know their picture is being taken. I do always have toys readily available should your child need to take a break.

3. Resist the urge to tell your child to smile and look at me. It works best when I am able to interact with your child so they are looking at me and the camera. I will talk to them and ask them questions. If I end up needing some guidance, I will look to you for ideas. It's important that your child and I are able to connect so I can capture them naturally with no forced smiles. I understand that some children will take some time to warm up so time will be allowed before I even pick up my camera if necessary.

4. Offer a reward. Not to be confused with a bribe or a threat- a reward is something fun they get to do after their session. Rewards are fun! Sometimes kids just need a reminder of the fun thing they get to do after they're all done with their pictures. It's all about motivation!

5. Let loose and have fun! Some of my favorite shots are parents interacting with their children. Kiss them, hug them, wrestle with them, tickle them! Try to kick back and enjoy the moment. I'll be doing my job capturing what's going on but you have the power to create the memory.

Try to remember that I am not your typical 15 minute walk-in portrait studio. It's very important for me to really get to know you and your children so that I can really capture what you're about. I allow plenty of time for my sessions so I hope that when we work together you don't feel like you're on a time clock.

I hope this was helpful and I look forward to working with you!

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