When a Family Session with Young Kids Doesn’t go as Planned | Chicago Family Photographer
It’s funny; when I schedule family sessions with clients that have young children, moms often wonder: “what if my kid doesn’t cooperate during the session?
It happens.
The thing is, as a photographer for children and a mom, I have seen it all, and I know how to work around it.
When families book with me, they get a Session Preparation Guide in which I give them lots of tips and suggestions for getting their children ready for the photoshoot. The day of the session, I come prepared with my bag of tricks, both in terms of “rewards” I offer children if they “help” their parents out, but also in terms of the prompts and direction I give to them to make sure they are relaxed and having fun.
But, sometimes, no matter what the parents and I do, children may just not be up for it.
Take this session, for example. First, this little guy woke up late from his nap, and that reduced our time together. Then, he decided he wanted to do something different and got upset, even crying at times.
While the mother got stressed out (happens to all of us), I reassured her and let her know that we would still get some great photos. I then used different strategies that included distracting him with some playful activities, letting him dictate what we should be doing (that’s where the swing in the photos came in), and giving him and his family space while I took some candid images from a distance.
I think this is why hiring a photographer that has experience working with children is invaluable. Your time is precious, and you want to be happy with your product, so you need to have a partner in someone that knows when to step in and when to let go while still being creative and finding ways to getting amazing images.
Back to this session and some good news: Mom loved the result! And I do too.
We got a few good smiling shots, and I even adore the images where mom is soothing her kid and the one where he is looking at the camera with teary eyes. What do you think?
