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Three Tips for Working with Children

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We're professional photographers, Mr + Mrs and Mom + Dad. We like to share insights into our industry and empower other photographers to build their biz.

Hi, WE'RE ERICA+JON

PERSONAL

Sometimes we just have to pinch ourselves! When we set out two years ago with a dream of being full time photographers, we knew that realizing our dream would be an amazing experience! We knew that being able to work together and having the freedom to come and go would be everything we were longing for. We knew that getting to serve clients with love would make us feel fulfilled in every way. But one thing we didn’t anticipate? Falling in love with our clients over and over again! Whether they are a newly engaged couple, a high school senior, or a family, we leave each and every session feeling like we have made new friendships! It’s an incredibly fulfilling feeling! Especially when we are able to win over some of our littlest clients – the kids!

Working with families with young children is so satisfying, especially when we consider that the moments we are capturing will be looked back on for years to come! At the same time, working with kiddos can present unique challenges we’ve had to adapt to and learn how to manage to make sure the experience is as great for them as it is for their parents! We thought we’d share our top three tips for working with children that have proven to be a ‘winner winner chicken dinner’ every time!

Sweet Tooth

One thing we haven’t outgrown as a couple? Our love for candy! It’s a terrible craving, but every time we see a Sweet Factory or Fuzziwigs we can’t resist the urge to stop in. So we totally relate to the kids that show up to our sessions, because what kids doesn’t love candy!? Erica always has candy stashed in her purse for our kids (and for us!) so we now have a stash in her camera bag as well! We make sure it is ok with the parents in advance of course, but it’s a magic worker! Nothing helps a child work the camera quite like the promise of a piece of candy! We love being able to reward kids for their amazing participation! We’ve also had it be a life saver if one gets a little too excited and gets an owie during the session. We had a little guy fall and bump his head during a family session, but that super-sweet-straight-sugar-tablet also known as ‘Smarties’ was just the cure he needed to recover and round out a perfect session together!

Make It Fun

Our kids always want to have fun! Some of Brody’s favorite days are what he calls ‘home days’ (aka: the weekend!) We try our best to make the weekends as family centric as possible and to have fun activities to do with our kids. Sometimes, Brody will let us know if it’s not the best home day he’s ever had and let us know he just wants to have fun!

Knowing that most kids feel the same way, we try to make our sessions as fun as possible for them! We give them permission to have fun! We get them playing games like Ring Around the Rosie to get them moving and laughing. We take breaks to give high fives and knuckles and encourage them on the great job they are doing because it is fun! We talk in higher pitched voices with an exorbitant amount of enthusiasm in our voices because it’s fun! We break up a family pose with tickle fights because it’s fun! Getting the idea!? With kids, it doesn’t really matter to them what they are doing, as long as they are having fun!!

Put ‘Em To Work!

If we are working with a family with multiple kids, we usually find a lot of success in putting the oldest one to work! Older kids love feeling important and enjoy being a big helper. Brody does this all the time at home and we love seeing him feel fulfilled by being able to help Paislee. Even if he’s simply getting her a glass of water at dinner time, he does it with a smile on his face because it makes him feel good. We’ll ask older children to help with younger siblings by giving them more direct instruction like holding their sibling’s hand or asking them to help watch the younger ones when it’s time for portraits of just mom and dad. Giving them challenges works with the older kids too! ‘Hey Benji, I bet you can’t smile at my camera for 5 seconds!’ That simple challenge makes them want to succeed and prove you wrong (in a fun way!)

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