Children and Photo Shoots: It Doesn’t Have to be Stressful

I absolutely love photographing young children. They’re uninhibited and carefree and curious and silly. When given the freedom to be themselves, the camera isn’t intimidating, and the resulting images are full of life and joy.

Which is why I am so very grateful to work with families who understand that when it comes to having your children photographed, letting them be themselves is okay. In fact, it’s more than okay: it’s the best! A photo shoot involving young children doesn’t have to involve props or poses or performances for the camera. It doesn’t have to be stressful or involve barking orders that may lead to tears.

Because whether you’re being photographed in your home or on location, beautiful and authentic captures occur when you let go of an expectation to create some “perfect” image and embrace the idea that the photographs are preserving memories of what they were like as a child – and what it felt like to be their parent- not just a memory of how their faces looked.

But for those of you thinking “but I do want some portraits of my children looking at the camera to remember how their faces looked,” I completely understand. A portrait of my toothless six year old cheesing into the camera will forever be a favorite because it captured the only phase of life where she had no front teeth. And that phase only happens once. Hopefully.

But I digress.

Yes, you want a portrait of your child’s beautiful face at every stage. And you’ll get that during your photo shoot, too! Because it just so works out that when you give children the freedom to run and play and laugh during a photo shoot, they will actually -without a fight – look into the camera when I casually ask them to. No stress, just a simple request amidst the fun. So the end result with be a portrait with joy in their eyes instead of a flat expression made on demand.

So to show you just what the above scenario looks like, I’m featuring images of a family near and dear to my heart. They show up ready to have fun and be themselves, and the end result is this:

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I’m currently booking one family session a month, so please contact me if you’re interested in having a shoot happen in your home or on location!