These tips are things that I use in my studio all the time but it will also help you when you are trying to take pictures of your kids at home.
- Keep them still. Kids of all ages need something to do. If there are any toys that they love that you don’t mind being in the photo let them play with it. Kids will be much more calm and still if they have something to keep them occupied besides just looking at the camera. Chairs work well too!
- Let them be kids. You know when we were all younger and we went to the stuffy dark photography studio and we were told to sit or stand still and smile. Not only is it nearly impossible for kids to do they look unnatural doing it. Even most adults have a hard time with this. Let your kids be silly which brings me to the last 3 tips:
- Sing a song. Changing the focus of what is happening can really change your photos for the better. Kids have a hard time being upset or not listening to you if you say: “hey what’s your favorite song…what to sing it with me?” I use this a lot in my sessions and it would work at home too.
- Play a game. Peekaboo is very helpful for the little kids and sometimes the older ones too because they think I am nuts. 🙂 Just getting a kid to talk to you without them focusing on the session can work miracles. Even telling jokes or asking riddles is super funny to most kids.
- Make it fun. This is the name of the game! It has to be fun for everyone or you will see the awkwardness on the kids faces and no one wants that. You want to see your child as natural as possible to remember them as they are right now.
The most important thing to remember is let go of perfection for these photos. Perfect photos of kids are usually not possible and or what you really want. We all want beautiful photos of our family to hang in our home on a photo wall. Show your kids as they are silly and messy and those pictures will mean so much more than a stiff uncomfortable boring photo.
If you want to check out another fun list that I found here are 29 more tips from Clickinmoms.
