Photo Shoots with Kids

Taking your child to get their photo taken can be quite the challenge at times.? Babies can be very unpredictable, toddlers have a hard time sitting still and preschoolers can be hit or miss with their moods and cooperation.

I have a 3 1/2 year old daughter and a newborn baby boy.? I’ve experienced it all during photo shoots with our children from distractions to inconsolable meltdowns.

Here are some tricks that I have learned along the way for taking picture of baby:

Infants

make sure you arrive a good 45 minutes early so that you can feed them, change their diaper and put them into their outfit

if they use a pacifier, don’t be afraid to bring it into the photo shoot with you and time it just right so that you take out the pacifier seconds before the photo is taken

ask ahead of time if you are allowed to re-book if your baby is fussy and you feel like you won’t get a worth while photo from the shoot

Toddlers

have their photo taken while sitting in a chair so that they are given a concrete object to keep them stationed in one spot

bring a new toy, something that they have never seen before to keep them happy prior to the photo shoot and potentially to bring in with them

bring a favorite puppet to use as a tactic to help them look at the camera

time the photo shoot far enough away from naps and meals so that they are well fed and awake

Preschoolers

practice what to do at a photo shoot at home (almost like a dress rehearsal)

ask them to freeze in the position that the photographer poses them in, as though they are a statue

bring a special snack for them for after their photo shoot so that they have something to look forward to

If you have more than one child and you are getting a group shot done along with individual portraits, make sure you speak up with regards to the order in which the photos will be taken.? Aim for the group shot to be taken first and then individuals in order of priority according to moods, cooperativeness and age.? Remember to remind the children to not worry about themselves and to focus on the camera, not each other.? Too often, children worry about their siblings and then get caught not looking at the camera while they are trying to help out.

Posted by Multi-Tasking Mommy on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 at 3:15 pm and is filed under Photography.
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Tags: babies, infants, Photography, preschoolers, Toddlers
Posted in: Photography