Tips for Better Family Portraits with KIDS!
You’ve made the decision. You talked your spouse into it. You filled out the session agreement and selected a date. You’ve picked out what everyone is going to wear! There’s just one major hurdle to clear...
How do you get the kids to cooperate?!?
You’re not the only one. Every parent DREAMS that their kids are looking in to the lens of the camera and giving the most natural and relaxed smile of their life…the entire family looking and smiling at the same time. Is this the holy grail of family photos?
Its just a phase right? Right?!?!
Although every kid goes through that phase of awkward smiles, poses, or just straight up attitude-just be patient, they’ll get there. It might not happen this year, but eventually there with be a moment when your family is in that groove and the photo of your dreams will be ready to post for all to see.
In the meantime, here is a list of things you can put in place to help increase the likelihood of that happening sooner:
Tell them about the photo session a few days in advance. It allows them to get their disgust with the idea out of their head and most importantly off their face. There’s nothing worse to a kid than being told about a photo session an hour before…this means time away from games, movies, and lounging in comfy clothes.
Ask them to do their best because you’re going to use the photos for a surprise gift. This can be a motivating factor especially if you are giving these photos to grandparents as it’s highly likely they would do things for Papa and Grams that they wouldn’t do for you. It’s fun to be in on a secret surprise and it creates excitement.
REDUCE SCREEN TIME. I encourage everyone to set the devices down for at least one hour before the session…maybe more-you know your kids. Don’t let them see it in the car even. It’s scientifically proven that kids can become grumpy when you take their dopamine reward mechanism from them and stick them in front of a camera. So just leave those things at home…and for sure don’t get yours out during the shoot and show that 2 year old without asking your photographer if it’s a good idea to play that youtube song they always laugh at. Once they see it, that’s pretty much going to be the only trick you’ll have the rest of the shoot.
Bring fruit snacks. This is helpful for littles. You don’t want a hangry little one to become an agent of sabotage when you could easily fix this with a little sweet treat mid session.
Stay positive. Kids will sense your energy and mirror it…and sometimes they won’t. BUT you just gotta stay positive…it can catch on and it allows the photographer to give direction better when kids see you positive rather than being the photo session police.
Bribe them. Yes! That’s really the most powerful motivator. It could be a toy, a video game, a trip to get ice-cream, sushi from their favorite spot, or maybe even money to use however they want once it’s over. They really don’t care about these photos after all. They aren’t mature enough to understand why they are happening, so if you’re going to spend the money on fresh clothes, a photographer, and take the time for these photos, you might as well make sure you pay off the child mafia in your group as well. Think of it as protection-or insurance, so your shoot goes as smoothly as possible. It’s also something that you can discretely remind them of if things start to go off the rails…hey, remember there’s a $20 bill in my pocket for you when this is over. I mean, that would still work for me and I’m an adult!
Film…it still rocks. Kodak TMAX 400
Of course, as much as these CERTAIN, IMMEDIATE, and POSITIVE motivators can help (remember those keywords and think of other ideas that will help your squealers cooperate), you want to avoid the negative, future, and uncertain consequences. Seriously, just DON’T do these things:
Threaten. This is the worst…I’ve done it. You’ve done it or at least been tempted to. Saying things like, “ You WILL smile.” “ I’m going to take away ___________ when we get home.” “Well, no _____________ for you!” Threats are a for sure way to produce more frowns, bad attitudes, and tears than just about anything you can do.
Spring it on them last minute. Nobody likes to be rushed to get ready. Include them on the planning. You can even show them pictures of the face you want them to make or a pose/concept you want to try. Just don’t tell them about it right before you are set to go to the shoot.
Chocolate treats…nobody is going to look good smiling with chocolate smeared on their lips, in between their teeth, or a brown tongue. Just leave those at home.
Crackers-NOPE! Too messy and crumbly…same goes here.
Welch on the deal. If you made a promise, keep it, even if they didn’t give you 100% of the performance that they promised you. They will remember next time if you came through with your end of the bargain or not…and they are just a kid. You modeling keeping your word is going to pay off. It will.
Remember, what you do in this photo session will build into the one after that, and the next, etc. That’s how you will finally get those photos that right now seem only to be the things your Christmas card dreams are made of. Put your game plan together and stick to it. In the end, any bribe or small thing you can do to add to the investment of your session is going to be worth your effort. After all, you’ve got nothing to lose except those little frowns from your family photos!
RELAX! You can do this!
