Are you a child photographer who follows my work? I am going to reveal a few child photographer tricks that really seem to do the job, or get the job done!
Child Photographer tricks 1-5
Trick Number one. Go into the session with an open mind. Children are unpredictable. If you don’t go into your session with an open mind set, you will produce failure every time. That goes for most things really! If you go in saying “oh I am going to bomb this session” you probably will. Since children are unpredictable, I go in with “whatever happens we will create magic”. If a child doesn’t want to pose, let it go!
Lucky trick number two. Since children are super active for the most part give them something fun to do. Give them prompts and play activities to participate in while you photograph them! It doesn’t have to all be sit and smile at the camera. Parents will get stressed along with the children if we are upsetting a child to sit when they just want to play. This is where beautiful storytelling portraits come from anyway! Let them play!
Number three. Communicate with the child and parents. If you all have a good understanding of how the session is going to go, then there won’t be any surprises the day of right? I strive to communicate everything with the parents beforehand. This makes the session less stressful for the parents and in return the child will feed off the positive attitudes of their parents.
These tricks count! Take each one into consideration
Child photographer tricks number four. Keep outfit changes to a minimal. Yes, all parents want to see their children in a few different looks and styles for their portraits. To create different looks for my sessions I like to add accessories. Cute knit scarves, hats, bowties, socks, vests, coats, and hair pieces. We don’t want the child to have to change outfits where they become upset at the whole process. The process and session should be fun for the child.
Number five, quick bite snacks! Please make sure to check with parents if any of the children may have a food allergy before offering up snacks to their child. Also make sure the parents are ok with you giving their child snacks. Grab something small, something they can chew up quickly and get back to snapping. I have found that most children just love goldfish crackers. One piece and back to work!
Here comes tricks 6-10. Sometimes we can make our job easier!
Tip number six. Be quick. Children really do have short attention spans. If you are going to make a child sit and smile at the camera for more than 3 minutes, they are going to lose interest. Children like to explore, let them move around and then direct them back to sitting if that is the look you are going for. You’ll have to get your shots off quickly!
Child photographer tricks number seven. Choose child safe locations. If you want to tell a story with your photo and let the child explore, you’re going to want to make sure you are in a safe location to do so! This can range for children’s ages.
Number eight. Have the right equipment. For my child portraits I must make sure that I will be able to have good lighting along with a fast shutter speed. If my camera is unable to take in a lot of light and have a fast shutter speed it isn’t going to work out the best for a moving child. Invest in a high-quality camera and lens if you are planning to become a professional!
Lucky tip number nine. Make sure you have talked the parents through wardrobe. Nothing can ruin a great child portrait like a bad outfit. The colors don’t mesh, there is weird wording that won’t be seen anyway. Make sure to communicate wardrobe with parents far in advance so they can plan, and of course give help when needed or asked!
Finally, tip number ten! Get to know the child. Instead of walking into a session camera in hand take a few minutes to communicate with the child and parents. If a child sees us communicating with their parents, the more comfortable they will feel around us too. Then talk with the child ask them questions on what they enjoy. You will then no longer be considered a “stranger” to them!
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