The one thing I hear the most from mamas (ok it’s sort of 2 things) is “My kids won’t behave, we just can’t do a photo session!” this is often quickly followed up with concerns about their babydaddy / manchild as well!
I’ve spoken about this before a few times but I’ve never quite blogged it like this and added this much detail, so here we go.
First of all, to get this out of the way, if your partner doesn’t want to be in your photos, we can do them without him. Mamas do it all the time (not just the single and solo mamas either!), and it’s Dads choice if he wants to write himself out of his own family story! He can regret it and explain it to the kids himself later. But don’t worry, I know you want him in them, and I can handle him! 😉
Right, onto the most important people: your adorable kiddos! Please rest assured, they won’t phase me. I was a teacher (since 2004) and I’m a Mum (since 2010). I don’t need them to behave in a particular way. It is really useful if they’ll interact with us, and that’s about all they need to do! Kids who stand stock still and won’t play with anyone are tricky, but I always get them in the end! Beyond that, anything goes. Seriously! If they’ll interact with me, great! If they’ll interact with you, awesome! That’s all we need to worry about it. And if they are a little sad, or shy, those make for beautiful captures too, as you’ll see below.
So, can your photo session be all fun and games? Yes it can! I swear, with your older kiddos, I can run your whole session from one game to the next! Not every kid will love every game, of course, and this isn’t all of my toolkit either. But will photos of games look good? I think so, but how about you decide…. let’s look at a few so you can see what I mean.
(Please note, this blog is one that might be easier to follow on your computer or tablet.)
Running
Running games make a fun activity that burn some nervous energy if there is any. I have several different ones to play.
Swinging
Swinging the kids up and around is fun for them and sometimes for us too, if we don’t get dizzy, haha! This one is particularly calming for kids sometimes.
Jumping
Jumping is another great activity to get out nervous energy. Some of these are location specific to logs and water of course, but we can make it work lots of places!
Upside down
Pretty self explanatory, and definitely only for kiddos who’d enjoy it. You know your babe best!
(ok that one of the clever pregnant mama doing a handstand is just for me cos I love it!)
Face Smoosh
If you’ve gotten this far, and you’re thinking, I can’t see my kid running and jumping, then there are plenty of cuddly games we can play, starting with my personal fave: face smoosh! Apparently, as I went to choose these from my web gallery, I particularly like them in black and white.
Tickly cuddles
This one features in almost every session. I personally hate tickling, so don’t worry if tickling specifically won’t work in your family, we can switch that out for gentle pokes, or making faces etc.
Funny faces
An absolute fave of mine, and a great trick to get natural smiles after, is to ask them to make their grumpiest, angriest, silliest faces first.
Ok, I get it now, and I can see how that’s fun! But what if they’re tired, sad or shy?
It happens. It happens often! Not every photo is going to be super fun and smiley, and that’s ok. That’s what lifestyle photography is about: all of the captures in between as well. Here’s a small selection, cos there’s already way too many photos in this blog, lol #sorrynotsorry
Look forward to capturing your family story soon xxx
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