Taking photos of your children at every stage of their growth, and looking at them, makes you proud of being their parent. I am a mother, and every time I look at the photos of my kids I took in the past years, a smile comes on my face and I feel fulfilled. I am sure it is the same for you, and you try to get as many potraits of your children as you can.

The thing is children are unpredictable! Sometimes they are shy and do not want to show themselves, sometimes they are so energetic that it is impossible to have a good pose, and sometimes they are just not in the mood.

What can we do in this typical situation? I will tell you what I do when I shoot children portraits.

Let them familiarise with the environment

When mothers come with their children to my studio, they immediately feel their little ones do not feel comfortable, but it is absolutely normal, especially if the children are under 8 years old.

The best thing we can do is organising the stage for the shooting while they explore the environment (we’ll still keep an eye on them to make sure they do not do anything dangerous). After a few minutes they will familiarise with the surrounding environment and I will be able to shoot some amazing children potraits.

Introducing myself to the kids

Children are a bit shy when they meet a person for the first time, especially if this person is an adult. When this happens, there is the risk of missing out their beautiful smile in their portrait pictures.

In order to avoid any shyness, I dedicate the first minutes of the photoshoot to the introduction. When people decide to come to my studio for a children portrait photoshoot, I ask them what are their favourite games and hobbies, so I have topics for a conversation with their kids, and I know what questions will come up. Basically, when I know what they like, I can easily break the ice, and at the same time, they think they will have a good time and are more keen to cooperate.

Bring their favourite toys

Toys in a children portrait photoshoot serve various purposes:

• They will attract their attention during the shooting, so I can make them look towards the camera with no difficulties;
• They can be part of the photoshoot: there is nothing more gladdening than a child playing with their toys;
• They can be used during breaks when the kids need to relax for a few minutes.

If you have matching clothes, we can shoot photos of your kids dressed like their superheroes while they play with them, making the whole experience funny and the photos very nice and peculiar.

Take into account their age

Kids can be very different: to them, even one year makes a lot of difference, which is why I treat them in a different manner according to their age. For example, if the kid is 10 years old or older, I know they could get curious about my equipment, so I explain them how it works, and they are often very enthusiastic. Young kids are a bit more difficult, because they can easily get bored if they do nothing, but still they do not want to be treated like babies. In this case, the language is very important, because they can feel whether your cute words are contrived or natural.

I have been doing children portraits for over 15 years, so I know how to interact with them in order to get a nice photoshoot.

By the way, if you are interested and want further information, contact me.