Our SecretsBut wait, there's more!For the best smiles(Scroll Down)Top 5 Tips
on how we get kids to smile naturally
Be Yourselves
If your children see that you’re having fun, they’re bound to jump in and have fun too. Don’t be afraid to be yourself in front of the camera. Be goofy. Dance and sing with your children as you normally would at home. The more comfortable you are in front of the camera, the more comfortable your children will be too. This is when their true personalities will shine, and we can be there to help you capture it all.
Don't Ask kids to smile
That's right, just try it in the mirror for yourself. You overthink it and kids will too! For kiddos up to about age 8-9 try telling your kids to do anything BUT smile. Before you know it they're bursting out with laughter because you told them not to. For teens and older kids tell them an embarrassing story or joke just watch their faces start to glow. And of course, if Mom and Dad have trouble smiling we'll absolutely recruit the kids to tell funny stories about them.
Just ROll With It
We want you to know that photographers have seen it all. If it hasn’t happened with our own kids, it has happened during a session. Trust us, nothing your child does during our session will surprise us. We’re not here to judge your parenting or your discipline skills. We’re here to have fun with you and document this stage in your lives. Sit back and relax. We promise that even if it seems like it’s going terribly, if you roll with it, you’ll be surprised by the beautiful photos we get.
Don't Set Expectations
Having your family photos taken is exciting and we understand that you’re probably imagining all the things you are going to do with the beautiful images that you will have of your family. This is normal, and we encourage it! However, it’s important that you don’t arrive at the session with preconceived notions of how the session will go (especially with toddlers). Sessions with little ones should be fun, enjoyable, and natural. Forcing kids to sit still for too long usually creates forced expressions and often makes children less cooperative.
Leave the cheese
Don't ask your kids to say cheese. Seriously, please don’t. We have words for whoever came up with the brilliant idea to teach every child age 1-10 to “say cheeeeeeeeese. The only thing this does is produce super fake, super forced, painful smiles that parents sigh at when having photos taken of their gorgeous, beautiful-natural-smile, children. Don’t ask your kids to say cheese during your family photos. Please and thank you