Sometimes it can be a battle to get your children on board with a portrait session. I know it can be equally as hard to get the husband on board with it, but let’s focus on the littles this time around!
Even though my own kids should be “used to it”, I still struggle to get them to cooperate for a picture at times. There are a couple of things I’ve learned about my own kids and pictures though, that might help you with prepping your own kids for their session! These three simple things have helped tremendously with making sessions with my own kids virtually painless (and that’s saying a lot – I’m awesome with other people’s kids and not as much with my own), and has increased the number of yeses I hear when asking if they’re game for a photo session.
Tell them the plan
I don’t mean telling them the date and time of the session, but what will happen AFTER your session with me! You may not get excited at the prospect of seeing yourself on the walls of your home, but I bet your child does.
Tell them the purpose of having their picture taken is to get one great shot for the living room wall, or maybe a fun one for their own bedroom wall. Watch their eyes light up at the prospect of having a big, visible reminder of how cherished and loved they are!
Or if you’re an album kind of person (and I have some gorgeous albums I can design for you), tell them the pictures from the session are going into an awesome book they’ll get to look at! Kids love flipping through photo albums – especially albums they’re in!
Pictures that live on a hard drive somewhere are not nearly as exciting to a child as pictures that are visible on a daily basis!
Let them pick their clothes
This can be a hard one, and honestly it’s one I’ve struggled with for a long time. Perfectly coordinated clothes are a beautiful thing to photograph and admire! If your kids don’t mind being told what to wear, then rock that coordinated look for sure.
However, if your kids are like mine, they like to have as much control as possible (my kids may have gotten that from me…). Some of my favorite pictures in the last couple of years have been ones where I let my kids pick what they wanted to wear. Sometimes their choices make me cringe a bit, but as long as they aren’t wearing sweats, then I roll with it!
Take this picture of my kids, from yesterday afternoon… When I sent them back to their rooms to change after school, I told them my only request was that they not be wearing sweats, and to pick shirts that didn’t have pictures or writing on it.
Sure – they aren’t coordinated in the least, and yes, one of them is rocking a clip on tie with his polo shirt, but this is who they are. The clip on tie look? He totally went to school wearing that exact outfit just last week.
The big question is, would you rather capture your child just as they normally are and happy, or get into a big power struggle with them 30 minutes before your session, and risk grumpy kids and frazzled parents at the start of the session? If there’s a struggle brewing, restructure your thinking on the clothes and let them have a little say.
Tell them it will be fun
While my goal is always to capture amazing photos for you to display and cherish for years to come, I have a secondary goal…. to hear at the end of the session “That was fun!”. 80% of my family and child sessions happen outdoors, where there’s lots of room to run and play, but you better believe I’m going to work hard for that “that was fun!” statement at the studio too.
Jokes, balancing things on my head, allowing a few silly face pictures, and planning in some playtime/running breaks throughout the session are just some of the many ways I capture those Faces You Love.
Towards the end of the 15 minute shoot I did with my kids yesterday, I asked if they wanted to run through the trees! They all thought that sounded like a whole lot of fun, and the result is likely the newest canvas that will grace the walls of our house!
Remember – have a purpose for your photos, and tell your child what that purpose is, don’t go to war over clothing choices, and tell them it will be fun!
If you’re ready to update your family or child portraits, shoot me a message via the Contact button here on the website; I’d love to get you on my calendar!
