So many of you responded that wrangling the family was the most stressful part about having your photos taken and I’m here to help!
If you know me well, you know I love acronyms and any opportunity for a little bit of alliteration, so here we go:
E.A.T.
First up, E
E: Embrace the chaos. Enjoy your babies. Enjoy yourself!
If I’ve learned anything from my 10+ years working as a pediatric speech language pathologist, the only predictable thing about kids (furry or non furry) is that they are unpredictable. No matter what your “plan” is, they very likely have a different one.
No pet or child comes into a session behaving “perfectly”, and I don’t expect them to!
What I do hope and aim for? For them to be comfortable, to be themselves, and also to have a bit of fun.
It’s not really in their nature to automatically sit or stand still, put on a completely natural looking smile (while you emphatically tell them to “cheese” or “smile” for the 321098th time), and look at the camera (unless they’re a model or a robot, because if so, this post is not for you lol).
Part of the reason why I love lifestyle photography so much, is that it lends itself so well to capturing children and furchildren as the beautiful and uninhibited beings they are – instead of who we expect them to be.
More than anything, embracing your child where they’re at and allowing them be themselves will pay dividends like:
1. Reducing your photo shoot related stress
2. Increasing your mutual enjoyment of each other during the session
3. Increasing the likelihood of capturing authentic expressions, giggles, and smiles (tongue out smiles for the furbabies) that come only from being comfortable and actually having fun
So rather than stressing yourself out about how s/he might not “behave”, I’d challenge you to shift your thinking instead to: meet them where they’re at in the moment, literally and figuratively get down to their level and engage and play with them, and most of all just enjoy this sweet moment with your child.
When you do that, they are more likely to feel comfortable and actually WANT to engage and participate and have beautiful natural interactions with you that are truer representations of your beautiful relationship with each other. All of which I capture with my camera 🙂
A: Acclimate, adjust, and re-adjust
You remember that part about kids and pets being unpredictable? This is where flexibility (literally and metaphorically) comes into play.
Sometimes a child or furchild wants to do absolutely nothing but run around.
What do I do in those situations you ask? I join them or start incorporating running, jumping, or more movement based prompts into the session to involve the whole family together.
I’m very accustomed to fast moving subjects (thank you dogs for that experience) and will never force a child or animal to do anything they’re not ready for or comfortable with.
The trick here is getting them to WANT to engage, and to find ways to make being in front of the camera FUN, rewarding, and as natural as possible for them.
T: Trust your photographer
As a recovering planaholic/control freak, I know intimately how difficult it can be to relinquish control and hand it to someone else. But please trust that your photographer and you have the same goal: to capture some priceless memories of you and your family. Trust that there’s a reason behind why she’s making certain decisions to tease out those authentic expressions, and capture you and your family in the best light.
When things go off script, trust in your photographer and know that she’s there to support and guide you and your family through the process. When littles (furry and non furry) are involved, off script is just par for the course and that’s to be expected. There’s a reason why you selected your photographer, and this is where you let them help you shine. This is all about you and your unique, beautiful, and special relationship with your family, I’m just the one lucky enough to capture it 🙂
Lastly, if you’ll notice this acronym spells: EAT. I don’t know about you, but when I’m hungry, I become extremely unhelpful and irritable. Making sure you and your family are fed, warm, and comfortable goes a long way in terms of overall mood and motivation for the session.
If you found this remotely helpful, please help this post reach more stressed mamas and furmamas like you by sharing or saving this post, or dropping a comment below!
