How I Photograph Children

Children are a gift from the lord. I personally love sweet baby children. They are so fun and full of life. However, children can definitely be one of the most difficult clients a photographer can deal with. Children are very unpredictable. They may be the happiest they've ever been, they may also scream at the top of their lungs and throw a huge fit. Both are completely fine and normal. Here's some of my own personal tips for how I've managed to photograph children.

COMMUNICATION:

If I'm photographing children, especially ones I don't know, I always try to make time to get to know them. I find out what they're interested in and see how I can make them feel more comfortable in my presence. Children are just like us adults, they need to feel comfortable in their own skin when getting their picture taken. I always try to tell kids how good of a job they're doing and encourage them to be themselves. I’ve heard many parents tell their kids they need to sit up straight, to get that stupid grin off their faces, etc. While I understand the frustration of your child being a goober, and while I definitely don't want to tell people how to raise their kids. Children will not have a good photo if we are constantly trying to get them to be perfect. A few months ago I photographed the sweetest little girl. Scarlet. It was the first time i met her, so I sat down with her and just talked to her for a little bit. I showed her how to use my camera and even let her take a few pictures on her own. She was so attentive and did what I asked her to do. All it took for her to be so good and sit still was just me talking to her.

BRIBERY:

Do not judge me. Yes, I always bring snacks with me when I photograph kids. Sometimes, it is the only way to get a child to cooperate. Don’t worry, I always make sure that the parents are okay with the snack options I have. I have also been told by many parents that they totally agree and understand the bribery. Now this is not a 100% fool proof plan because sometimes, not even snacks will satisfy them. Sometimes, kids are just having a bad day.

BE ACCEPTING OF WHAT YOU CAN GET:

Like I said earlier, kids are unpredictable. I’ve had children give the biggest smiles and some have the meanest mug possible. I've seen some photographers go into Photoshop and change the images and replace the faces, and I'm sure there are people who appreciate that. I however, like having the real authentic mean mugs from children. To me, it adds character. I think more people should be more accepting of the photos they get with kids. Kids haven't dealt with real life troubles yet, so they are not as good at pretending to be happy like adults are. They have an enormous amount of emotions growing on the inside of them and they haven't quite learned how to work on them inwardly, so they express themselves outwardly, which can end in having maybe not so perfect photos. I’ve become more accepting of children not giving me a smile, it's honestly kind of funny now.

I hope these tips have been slightly helpful to you whether you're going to photograph your own kids or maybe you're a new photographer and don't quite know how to handle kids. Regardless, I encourage you to figure out what works for you, you may not figure it out right away but you will eventually. Try new things, and always have fun. As always be good people, and do great things!!

Love, your friendly neighborhood photographer!

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Below: Here are several different photos of children I've photographed. Everything from happy faces, to goofy ones, to just not even looking at the camera.