Okay, so you have a shy kid...
... or they don't smile for photos...
... or they DO smile but it's always SO CHEESY!!!
Here are some mindset shifts to help ensure you'll LOVE the photos we get...
For the shy kids...
Once a VERY shy, SERIOUS kid myself, I never force a child to smile.
Instead, I let them warm up to me slowly. Sometimes I let them watch the other kids go first... let them see how much fun they're having.
Sometimes we play games... ("Pop-around-and-surprise-me" is a great one. I have the child turn around backwards, and then when I'm least expecting it, they POP back around and surprise me!! It's hard not to smile when you're being tricky! :)
Sometimes we just chat to take their mind off of the fact that they're taking pictures... we talk about their favorite ice cream, who's the funniest person they know, what makes them laugh...
... and if none of those tricks get a smile, we capture the child's true feelings and the beauty of their shyness... however they're feeling at the moment.
And in the end, these are always some of my favorite photos. Meaningful and genuine. They capture the essence of your child at this moment in this stage in their lives.
For the ones with the CHEESY SMILES...
There's a certain stage that most kids go through... from about 2nd through 6th grade... in which a canned smile surfaces.
Developmentally they're understanding social norms and adding sophistication to how they mimic adults... and the canned smile becomes something that they THINK they SHOULD do in front of the camera.
For those kiddos... we'll play, we'll chat, we'll laugh... and then the SECOND I point the camera, BAM!!!...
... GONE is the genuine smile and ON comes the deer-in-headlights blank-eyed cheesy smile.
Every. Time.
So for these kiddos...
1- Talk to them ahead of time...
... Let them know it's okay to be totally natural in front of the camera.
Tell them to let whatever facial expression they're naturally having remain on their face, whether the camera is pointed at them or not.
(It's my job to elicit a smile, and their job to let it stay there! :)
2- embrace their cheesy photos as a passing phase...
... a developmental milestone that we'll look back and chuckle at in the future!
Because cheesy photos are a milestone.... a rite of passage that we all must have... a gift that one day THEIR kids will look at and laugh. :)
Would you love to treat yourself to new family photos or headshots?
Click the button below to be the first to hear of upcoming Mini Sessions and other events!
0 Comments