5 Things to Do Before Your Child’s First Photo shoot

What is a better way to capture the best moments of your child than having a professional photo shoot.

There are endless moments that you want to capture, and so you do with your phone camera and enhance them with instagram filters, but to have photos that are frame worthy, you hire a professional photographer for your munchkin’s first shoot. And at the end, there you have a treasure of captured moments.

Having enjoyed a number of child shoots that we have done, We can say that Children’s photography is different, and more difficult than other sorts of photography, because we can’t order a one year old to sit, stand, smile or pose. He is own boss andhe is taking orders from no one. So we as photographers got to take whatever comes our way and capture the little cute actions that the child does in the best way possible, and that’s the beauty of a child, there is not pretentious smile of fake poses. Everything is natural and adorably beautiful.

Even though we can’t make a kid do what we say during the shoot, as a parent you can still take some steps to ensure that your kid stays in the best mood throughout the shoot while we take memorable snapshots of your little pumpkin.

[red_button url=”#” style=”red” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_self”] Call us to consult your Family & Children Photo shoot : 217.586.1500 [/red_button]

[red_one_third] [/red_one_third] [red_one_third] [/red_one_third] [red_one_third_last] [/red_one_third_last]

Below is a list of 5 things to do to get the best photo shoot of your kid:

1- Clean up

Clean up your kid before starting the shoot. Eye boogers, messy hair, sniffy nose, anything unpleasant, get it cleaned. Within 24 hours of the shoot, Avoid colorful drinks or anything that would stain their teeth or mouths. Clean nails, clean hair and clean feet, Get your mini-model In his/her best suit/ dress. If he wears diapers, make sure they are tucked in.The cleaner the kid, the better photos he will have.

2- Wardrobe

Wardrobe plays an important role in a good shoot. For girls; nice dresses, hats, headbands work like a charm and give off the cute and innocent look we’re going for. For guys, jeans, button up shirts and nice polo shirts can be very cute. If its a siblings shoot, its not necessary to have matching clothes but rather suits that coordinate with each other, will also do. Just go with a dress/suit that goes well with their personalities. Colors that compliment the eye color of your child. Dark, monotones which are attention grabbing are always a better option than prints or loud colors.

3- Perfect timing

Make sure that the photoshoot is scheduled on the timings that your kid is wide awake and full rested in. If he likes to nap, make sure he takes a nice nap before coming to the shoot. A good photoshootcant be done in a bad mood, if he is moody and crying, he is going to give happy shots. So make sure he is relaxed.  A fully rested kid is a happy kid.

4- Treats

It is never a bad idea to bribe your kid with little treats that he will get at the end of each picture. Cereal, smarties, or anything that wont stain the teeth is ideal to go. A goody bag filled with his favorite little surprises is also a good idea. Keep something that they can munch on as a treat after each shot. You can also promise a bigger surprise like an icecream or a toy at the end of the session which will keep him motivated enough to smile at the camera throughout the shoot.

5- Your Presence

As they say, most of parenting is just ‘showing up’ , here also your presence is extremely comforting for your kid. Just stand there, smile. Don’t try hard to tell them what to do, let their natural expressions flow through the photos. If you try to boss them around with “Don’t do that” “Stand straight” they will be too conscious and nervous to do anything. Let them be their adorable, silly self.

[red_button url=”https://www.staskephotography.com/services/family-and-children/” style=”red” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_blank”] See our Children & Family Photography Section [/red_button]