Simple Ways to Get Your Kids to Smile for Professional Family Photos
What parent doesn’t want photos of their kids playing, smiling, and laughing?
Unfortunately, some kids just aren’t big fans of photos, regardless of whether it’s taken with a smartphone or a professional camera.
If you’ve recently booked a family photo session or just plan to take pictures on your next adventure, there are a few simple tricks you can use to get as many natural smiles and giggles as possible. It all comes down to understanding what makes kids tick.
- Make them an important part of the process. Most kids love giving their opinions and being involved in family decisions – use this to your advantage and get them excited for being in pictures. Ask them for their input on the location, how they want to pose and what they would like to wear – just make sure it’s aligned with what you have in mind for everyone.
- Plan it around their timing. If your children are still young, it really helps to plan your session around their snack and nap times. This way, they’re not grumpy, tired, or hungry when it comes down to saying “cheese”. For an actual photo shoot, pack the photo outfit and have them wear something comfy to travel in... this way there are no tears over spilled drinks or snacks on the shirt for the pictures.
- Talk about your photographer. Tell your kids a little bit about your photographer in the days leading up to your session. Start with their name, what they look like, what they’re like, and what they can expect on the day. By the time they get to the shoot, they will feel like they already know your photographer pretty well. On the flip side of this... talk about how you are going to document your adventure and how the images will be put into the family scrapbook/photo album to be able to enjoy again later on.
- Give them positive feedback. If your child has never been in front of a camera before, you can’t expect them to act the way you’re hoping they will. To prevent tantrums and sulking though, it’s important to provide them with positive feedback throughout the shoot. Focus on what they’re doing right and encourage them to play and have fun. On the flip side.... when documenting your adventures... put your camera on burst mode for action shots, and just take all the pictures. You can go back thru later and delete what you don't need/want and be amazed at all the true to life images you caught in between the moments.
- Reassure them. If your little one is really not good with strangers, give them plenty of reassurance. Explain that you will be with them the entire time. For this one... maybe even schedule a quick facetime intro call when the kids are around so when the shoot rolls around the photographer is still a stranger but somewhat familiar and a little less scary.
- Create a game. Depending on the age of your child/children, you may want to come up with a few games and role-play during your session. This is ideal if you’re looking to capture candid images.
And if all else fails, you can always bribe them with a small reward if they behave and have some fun during your photoshoot. When I did in person sessions I always had a bag of mini dum dum suckers in my bag and with parent permissions would offer them as a treat for following directions and getting through their part of the shoot quickly.
It also helps to remember for scheduled photo sessions that you are working with a professional family photographer who has experience with kids, so don’t overthink it too much.
If you are documenting adventures... don't let them being bothered about not wanting to be in the images stop you. Switch your focal point and keep documenting, keep it fun and light hearted. Make the focus be about being in that moment together and how fun it will be to look back at the images you are creating of the experience. I find that when you shift the focus and give them a few minutes, they will usually get back into having fun with it and participate.
If you found this post helpful please like/comment/share! And if you would like to do a remote photo session on your next adventure.. get on my calendar HERE!
