The picture you see is one I absolutely cherished. I wanted to give a little back story on it! The session lasted all of about 5 minutes and the one picture I got was this one. It was NOT what I had in my mind, i wanted one of us smiling and laughing right in the middle of a field without a care in the world. Yeaaaah, that didn’t happen. But this photo, is the most priceless photo I’ve ever taken. It was honest and what life can be like as a mother and those little arms wrapped around you to help comfort. Something I never want to forget. I kept this all to myself, until now. We have been quite busy these last couple of weeks that have been filled with photographing young children. It is so much fun to photograph and work with these little ones and we have some really beautiful photos to share with their parents and family! Jason and I have had an array of emotions with each shoot; from laughs, smiles, and giggles to tears, screaming, and being shy. Or all of them in one shoot! One theme became apparent and it hit me that I needed to blog about this. Many parents had tons of anxiety about this and even felt that one small meltdown ruined their entire shoot, absolutely not! I wanted to share a few tips to help prepare you and your family and also wanted to be the reassurance you need!
1. Dress for the weather. It seems pretty simple, but extra layers on a warm day or too little clothing mixed with a cool breeze can be the first problem of a shoot that can lead it down a rough path.
2. Reel in your expectations. We totally understand you booked your session and have a fantastic idea in mind or a pose you so desperately want. We love to do our best to make that happen! But, the more expectation, pressure, and direction we start giving to young ones can easily frustrate them. Especially when in a different environment and having a camera clicking away at you. Give us ideas of things you have seen and would love, we can create situations and place you in positions to be ready to capture those special moments!
3. Don’t freak out if they begin to cry or become fussy. We know you don’t want teary eyed photos, but trust us when we say you definitely don’t want photos of you looking upset or frustrated either. Many times, mom or dad can be consoling their little one and those make some of the best shots. It’s genuine and real, but most importantly it is your life and those little moments are something to certainly treasure years from now.
4. Plan a day and time that works for your schedule. We try to be as flexible as we can, but if you know nap time is always between 1-3 please don’t schedule an early afternoon session. Even if you feel you can lay them down earlier or later, it almost never works out. Also, keep it relaxed that day. If they had school or events going on, maybe schedule your session for another day when there is less going on. And another big tip, a little snack to avoid that hangriness feeling we all get!
5. Rewards do help. This is totally up to you, but it has worked many times for us. Especially with our own son! We will never say “if you’re good, mommy and daddy will...”. But, if there is a reward you know they will like that could get some cooperation for 10 minutes, we can bounce off of that and it helps!
6. We will do our best to make your child smile, but we can’t guarantee it. I know as a Mom, I love seeing my son’s smile and I just want that exact smile that I see when I’m driving home and he’s in the backseat without a care in the world just laughing and smiling away mounted right on my wall. As we photograph, we try our best to direct attention to the camera and get those smiling photos for you. We ask for assistance a lot from mom and dad right behind the camera, because who knows what makes your baby laugh more than you do? Even though we have been known to be quite goofy behind the camera ourselves! But unfortunately, sometimes babies and kids know this just isn’t right and they aren’t having it. I was one of those kids! So there is no reason to be flustered because they won’t. Again, it goes hand in hand with reeling in your expectations. This is why we like to do a combination between portraits and lifestyle. With lifestyle, it is much easier to get those genuine reactions and smiles when we are able to stand on the side lines and capture those special moments! Not to mention, they feel the most real and exactly how your life is.
7. Talk to your kids. Let them know they are getting photos done by us. You can show them our About Me page on our website so they can see our faces, you can show them our logo, or even show them some other photos we took of other kids and their families! Now is also a good time to mention rewards if you choose to do so. We have allowed kids to help us shoot, they love it. Tell them they can help us out for the day. It is amazing to see the little artists at work!
8. Most of all, come to have fun. We have been fortunate enough to photograph many families with children. And like I mentioned earlier, sometimes there is combinations of emotions from hysterical laughs to hysterical crying. Nothing is by the book and cookie cutter, it is simply going with the flow when having young ones. Trust in our ability to make the best out of the situation and create the images you will love and cherish for many years.
