How To Capture Natural Smiles From Children | 3 Tips
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One of the biggest challenges for family portraits with children are capturing genuine smiles. And I think this is one reason why a lot of parents are reluctant to schedule family portraits. The GREAT news is that it is easier than you may think! Here are my top three tips on how to capture natural smiles from children.
Bringing Someone Along Can Be REALLY helpful!
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One of the best ways to ensure that children give natural smiles for family portraits is to bring someone along to help π This can be a friend or family member who your child is familiar with β like your sister or best friend. In my experience, this works really well because it enables me to focus on capturing the moment β while the βhelperβ can engage with the children. If a helper is able to come along, I like to have them right over my shoulder β so that the children are looking in the direction of the camera.
Practice Some of the Poses Before the Session
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Another tip to consider is figuring out a few poses that your child will like. Some examples of this is lifting them in the air, holding them while spinning, tickling them, or making a funny sound. There are a lot of poses that I will try β but you will know your child much better than I will. For example, some children really like being thrown up in the air. And other children are terrified of this and it may even cause them to cry. As much as possible, I prefer to avoid tears during the session π I recommend practicing some of these poses a few days before the session.
Give Them An Incentive
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Last but not least, another great tip is to provide an incentive for doing well during the session. This is particularly helpful with children 2 years old or older. Letting them know that if they do a really great job during the session that you will allow them to play on the playground afterwards. Or promising them ice cream after the session seems to work really well. One of the things I do not recommend is to offer too many incentives during the actual session. In my experience, when you provide them with a reward during the actual session, they become less interested in taking pictures. And NEVER-EVER promise them your phone β because at this point it is nearly impossible to get their attention back π
Hopefully these three tips on how to capture natural smiles from children has been helpful. If youβve been putting off family portraits, just remember to bring someone along if possible, practice some fun poses, and provide them with an incentive! Thanks π
