Dance it Out

Asking little ones to stand still for a whole 30 minutes is a recipe for grumpiness—and demanding compliance will get you tears and tantrums. (ask me how I know) Now, in other situations in life, it might be time to lay down the law or remove the child from their situation but that doesn’t really work when you’re trying to get photos of them without tears. My solution to this is to keep the session moving. We never stay in one spot. We only a certain pose for a few minutes before continuing our walk down the path. A change of scenery and not standing around in one spot really helps the kiddos stay engaged. And if they’re feeling especially jittery, I let them jump around or dancing it out. Not only does it make them feel like they are in control (and not this stranger they don’t know) but they also have fun and give us some cute natural smiles!

The Kids Are Alright

Parents of older children, do you want to know a secret? Once your kiddos get older than 25, it becomes significantly easier to get them to agree to take a family photo. I don’t know what it is about the ages between 12 and 22 but wheeew, those are tough. Hang on. It gets better, I promise!

Patience is the Key

Sometimes our littles are a bit camera shy and that’s okay! Sometimes bribes work, but I find that if we ignore them and start photographing other people, they eventually come around. Who wants to be left out of all the fun??? Plus, I have a fast button pressing finger so they just have to smile for a few seconds, haha

A Series of Fortunate Events

This is an example of what you’ll get from your session. You see, I tell people that they’ll get a minimum of 15 images from their session but I actually deliver a whole lot more. This is because I like all of the in between expressions that kids make—from their serious faces to their smiles. Kiddos are just tiny adults and we all have a million different emotions (maybe that’s just me :P ) and I want to capture them all for you.

Get Your Wiggle On

I am an advocate for encouraging kids to move around during sessions. I’ve found that the more we say “stand still and smile pretty” the more nervous they become. Yeah, sometimes they’re grumpy and just combative (they' ARE kids after all) but overall, I think our kiddos just want us to do what we want them too but their nerves and unease get in the way. So I get around that by letting them move around and have fun! My go do with littles is turn around in circles and jump up and down. Sometimes we throw leaves or change locations. As soon as I notice that mood shift, I switch up whatever we are doing