What if your two year old doesn't like having his picture taken?

It's spring time! I am always so happy when winter nears its end. I love the bright spring green color of budding cottonwoods in the bosque. I love the flowering trees - especially when the breeze blows their scent my way as I walk past. And I especially love daffodils and spring bulbs.

I was so happy when this family wanted a photo session at the botanic gardens - one of my favorite locations for portraits in Albuquerque.


But! This session has a twist. Instead of just enjoying the signs of spring, you also get to read my thoughts on this subject: "What if Your Two Year Old Doesn't Like Having his Picture Taken?"
This happens, and my guess is that if you have a two year old, this concern may have crossed your mind too.

Guess what? It's kind of normal. Some toddlers LOVE the camera. Some of them hate it. I kinda don't blame them - this lady they don't know points this big giant black eye at them and tries to be funny. Sometimes it's just not very funny. I think usually I find that these little guys are somewhere in between, and with two year old sessions we definitely tend to do what the child wants to do, not what I necessarily had planned. :) (And that's okay!)


This darling little boy (love those curls!) was not into photo sessions. He did really like "Motts" (fruit snacks) and he liked the gardens fine, but the camera was not fun for him. For instance - we found this beautiful flowering tree and tried to see if we could get a quick family picture. Not really!


When this happens, we don't give up! We try lots of things until we finally find something that is fun for your child. Yay!


There is always something.


It may not be what you expect - maybe you didn't plan on hanging out in the farm area while your baby throws pieces of mulch, but seeing the joy in these photos is worth it!

My funniest moment - it tickled my funny bone that he got super mad while looking at the model trains. He usually gets to play with trains, and here are these awesome trains that he is not allowed to climb in and get! I see his point.

And you know when you're all done when, while taking one minute for this portrait of Mom and Dad, the baby looks like this:


If you have a two year old, and you're considering a photo session but you're at all concerned at how it might go with him or her, I'd love to talk with you about it.You can call or email me and we can chat! I also have a page with lots of tips on how to get the best possible results from your photo session here.

5 ways to have an amazing custom family photo session with young children, and 3 ways to make your experience difficult and stressful

5 ways to have an amazing custom family photo session 

1. Meet with the photographer ahead of time, or at least talk on the phone, so that he or she will know what to expect from your family. Fill them in on your family, your kids' ages, and a little bit about them, and you and your spouse. Be sure to mention any special needs or concerns you may have so that your photographer can be prepared.



2. Build up anticipation before you go. Start earlier in the week - tell your kids how fun it's going to be, tell them about where you're going (or if your kids are older, you could involve them in choosing a location). Don't make it too big of a deal, but a little pleasant anticipation can really help.



3. Have a suitable reward - I always want my sessions to be fun, but your kids don't know that ahead of time. It can help from the start if your kids know you're going out for ice cream afterwords. Especially with younger children, a reminder about the coming reward can help them refocus if something doesn't seem to be going their way.



4. For young children a snack or little candy incentive can be a good thing. But be careful not to bring anything colorful or dark that is going to get dripped on their shirt or tint  their mouth bright blue. No chocolate! (Save it for the reward when we're done!) I don't like goldfish either because of all those sticky orange crumbs. My favorites are mini marshmallows, sparingly doled out.



5. Sometimes you need to step away and let the photographer work with your child alone. This is true from baby age up through teenagers. The photographer will want to build a rapport with your child, especially if he or she is not happy, or perhaps even worse, has a fake cheesy grin. This is much easier if you give them a little space. I find that kids get stressed because of all the pressure to smile just right, sit right here, don't do that with their hands, etc. A good photographer can make them comfortable and capture their real smile, and they will ask for your help if they want it.

3 ways to make your experience stressful and get frustrating results 

1. Tell your child to "say cheese!" Very few children will have a real smile while saying cheese. Your photographer will have something in mind that will be more effective.



2. Schedule your session during nap time. Don't do it! As a photographer I would much rather have a session at a less convenient time to myself if its not going to be when your child would normally nap. Same thing goes with the 5:00 witching hour - if this is a part of your life, don't schedule a sunset session! Wait a couple of years; then it will be great.



3. Stress out over little details. I know it would be nice if everything went perfectly. Sometimes it does! But in my family, someone usually has a dirty shirt when it's time for pictures. Or someone played with markers and drew on their hands and it won't wash off. Or someone poured glitter in their hair. Or that perfect hair bow got left in the car, and it's a 10 minute walk back.


Try to relax and remember that your relationship, your love, is the important part of what your photographer is trying to capture. The little details aren't a big deal. If you stress, if your smile is clenched, your children won't be able to relax, laugh, giggle, or play. And you won't love the results. Try to enjoy your time together even if it's not perfect - often I find that parents end up loving the little quirky details the most in the end, because it's their real life. Like the picture (above) of my son taken right after he did a little hair trimming in his room. Hopefully that won't happen to you (and if it does, I hope it's just a little trimming - we will reschedule if it goes down to the scalp!), but now it's one of our favorite pictures, because it's a perfect depiction of our real life at the time.

I have a ton more ideas for how to get the best results from your family photo session here! Click and check it out!

How to choose the right photographer for you

First of all, let's start with the obvious elephant in the room. Yes, I am a photographer. I live in Albuquerque and if you are local and you'd like to talk with me about a portrait session, I'd love to hear from you. 

Now that that is out of the way - I also recognize that I am not the right photographer for everyone in Albuquerque! In the last year or so I have seen, met, or gotten to know so many photographers in the area, and as a mom (my #1 job, right?) it is easy to see that choosing a photographer here would be a daunting task.

Since the digital revolution changed everything in the photography business, moms now have options that were never available before, or at least not to the average family. Now instead of just heading off to Sears, you can choose a photographer based on your actual style and what would work best for your family. (You do know that Sears Portrait Studios have closed, right? So you can't go there anyway.)

So - what is your style? I can't answer that, but I can tell you about different styles of photography, and you can decide for yourself.

Traditional posed portraits

In the past these were almost always done in a studio with controlled lighting. This is where the photographer tries to have everyone look at the camera and smile. Nowadays you can also get traditional posed portraits outside on location, and you will be able to find a traditional posed photographer at most price points. Just because it's traditional doesn't mean it has to be boring - it's classic for a reason. A photographer who knows what they are doing with light and posing can make you look amazing. Also, with a simple background, the photographer can focus on faces and relationships. This kind of photography can range from a short appointment at a studio in the mall, to high-end custom portraits.

Lifestyle photography

Lifestyle photography is a more recent trend that is all about documenting your family the way you really are. It's not about dressing up and looking at the camera. It's about celebrating who your family really is, and the relationship you have together every day. Lifestyle photographers like to meet you at your home, or somewhere fun around town, and they want you to play together. It's fun, it's playful, it's casual, and it is perfect for some families. A good lifestyle session should involve your family's hobbies and interests, which I love because that's the kind of thing I want to remember. It is directed by the photographer, but not necessarily posed.

Photojournalism

Photojournalism is photography that is observed by the photographer, but not directed or posed, it's hands-off. It's popular for wedding photography, but it can work for family photography as well. It would take place at your home. In fact I know of photographers that camp out at your house for 24 hours so as not to miss anything. A more moderate approach would be a good four to six hour time block, chosen to capture the best part of your day together. If you want to capture a day in your life, this is a great way to do it.

Once you know what style you prefer, it's easier to make your way through the different photographers' websites you find on local google searches. Look through their galleries or portfolios, and see who has pictures that appeal to you the most. My advice is to make sure the photographer has lots of examples, so you can see that he or she is consistent in their results. Look them up on facebook and see what they're posting there. Read their blog if they have one. Pay attention to the colors and expressions you see in their photos.

Other things to look for

Obviously price is important. You can find a photographer for any price you want to pay. Someone who is just starting out is likely to do a whole session, and include 75 images on a CD for $150. Other photographers may charge $700 for 5 images. Some new photographers have a lot of talent and can do a great job. There is nothing wrong with being a newbie! (We all started there at one point!) But the advantage of an experienced professional is that they can do a great job in any light, even under difficult circumstances. Someone with experience has invested in more equipment, education, possibly a studio, and will cost significantly more than a part-time photographer who is just beginning. You are paying for the quality of their equipment, their skill with light, with people, and with editing tools.

Another thing to consider, especially if you have young children, is whether or not your photographer is good with kids. I have friends who used to tell me some great stories about trying to get her kids' pictures taken by photographers who obviously did not care for children. This is another reason to take a careful look through their galleries - do they have lots of pictures of children with happy, natural smiles? I think it also helps if the photographer has testimonials posted. The best, of course, is if you can get a referral from a friend who has used a photographer that worked well for their family.

Your final product is also important to consider. If you are looking for a really beautiful, high quality, wall portrait for your living room, you will need to find a photographer who sells them. So it's worth looking at the products that they sell. If you're a DIY kind of person and you want the freedom to do whatever you want with your images, you will want a photographer who will sell you copyright permission for their files. This kind of thing should be obvious from their website.

Make sure you hire someone that can communicate and answer questions for you. I never mind when a client wants to chat. I also have a pre-session consultation with my clients, either on the phone or in person, so that I can get to know them better and answer their questions. If you are emailing or calling a photographer who seems put off by your questions, that might be a red flag for you to consider.

I hope this is some help to you, as you navigate through all the photographers out there! There are lots of great ones - I'm sure you can find someone you will love.

If this was helpful to you, you can sign up for my email list, and I'll send more information about custom photography your way . 

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Or, see this page for other ideas about how to make your portrait session the best that it can be.

Anatomy of a family photography session

If you are considering custom photography for your family, but you're not sure it's really for you, maybe this post will help. Of course all photographers do things a little differently, but for me this is a pretty typical family session for a family with young children.

When a family contacts me, if they don't have a location in mind already, I send them a bunch of links with location ideas. Then they can choose an area that they love. This family decided to meet me in Old Town. (I go there a lot, you can see why below - it's beautiful year round.)

With young kids I know my window of opportunity is limited - I will need to work fast! I always do the whole family together first and get a few portraits with everyone looking. This can require some fast talking, some puppets, and lots of jokes.




Then if I am lucky, the kids will have enough attention span left that they will sit down all together for one more set. These girls did great!


Then it gets easier, because I can spend a little time with each child while the others take a break.






There is always something fun to do. (Love.)


Once those basics are out of the way, we can move on to the more casual or candid stuff that I love most.




When I do child photography, I want to capture a child being herself,


and families doing what they do best.


This involves running.


Usually there is someone willing to do some jumps for me!


Parents need pictures together too.


By the time the kiddos are d.o.n.e. we have a ton of happy, playful images to enjoy, a great mix of casual and slightly posed pictures. (I am not much for posing, and in my opinion it's a losing battle to pose young people anyway.)

If this style of photography appeals to you, I'd love to chat with you about a family session for YOUR family. I am a zero pressure kind of person - just give me a call or email, and we can talk!

Or, see this page for other ideas about how to make your portrait session the best that it can be. Sometimes it's hard to decide where to go for your photo session - for lots of other session locations, see this blog page here.

"What should we wear for our family portraits?"

I have been mentally composing this blog post for years. :) Finally I have the set of images I've been wanting to make my post complete.  Thanks to my sister in law Rebecca for helping me out.

If you are considering investing in custom family portraits, probably one of the things that's on your mind is what you should wear. I get asked this question all the time, and while there is no right or wrong answer necessarily, I would love to share my thoughts on the question.  First of all I need to specify that for this post I want to address family portraits, and the more posed family portraits specifically.  So if you would like a family portrait where your family is close together, and more or less looking at the camera, that's what I'm talking about today.  (For senior portraits, baby portraits, two cute little brothers, etc., my recommendations would be quite different.  Go crazy!)

I know some photographers who tell families to wear whatever they like best, and I know some photographers who tell families to wear matching long-sleeved solid dark shirts.  My preference is definitely somewhere in the middle.  To illustrate my point, here are two portraits of my family.  (Let me preface this by saying that we were on vacation here, so our outfit options were limited.)  In the first picture, we all wore our favorite outfits (from our suitcases).  99% of my son's shirts are striped; that is his favorite.  My husband prefers shirts with funny graphics (his shirt has a knuckle sandwich on it).  My daughters love sundresses, the brighter the better.  And I thought some floral would go nicely into the mix.


In the second picture we wore solid color shirts, in more or less the same hue values (or as close as we could come with the clothes we had).  The location is the same, the pose is pretty much the same, but the portraits are very different.  As you can see, having the clothing be harmonious allows the focus to be on our faces.  In the first picture, your eye bounces from shirt to shirt, never resting on the faces at all.  In the second portrait, my eyes go right to our faces.


My sisters-in-law also did a great job with this, and their families' clothing also illustrates the point that you don't necessarily need solid colors.  You just need a cohesive plan.  They each picked a color theme to use, so their clothes make sense together. 

Often it helps to pick one family member's shirt first (usually this is one of the mom's :) ) and then come up with a color plan that goes along with that.



In our family portrait below, I picked the color scheme first - purple, bright pink, and navy.  Then we (let's be honest - I - ) came up with clothes that worked together.  I had to buy my shirt and my son's, but the rest we already had.


I don't think your colors necessarily need to match, though that can work too, but it helps if you have colors in the same hue value.  (That means the same amount of lightness/darkness.)  Because this family's shirts are all bright and colorful, there isn't a big contrast between them, and your eyes can rest on their faces.


This family matched a little more - I love their combination, it fit them perfectly.  One thing that I think is important is that solid colors are perfect here.  Picture this location, with the very busy - beautiful - tile, and plaid shirts instead of solid.  Yikes.  I often recommend solid colors when I do portraits outside on location, for exactly this reason.  Even in the bosque - where there are fewer colors - there are lots of patterns already, and extra patterns on clothes can be distracting.


And here we have the outfits that many people choose - white shirts and jeans.  Obviously it works visually.  From a photographer's standpoint, the bright white shirts can reflect light strangely on your face, and the contrast with a dark background can be distracting.  So it's not my favorite to work with.  Though in this case, because the background was not dark and the path was as light as their shirts, it is perfect.


When you look at a posed family portrait, your eye is going to go first to the area of greatest contrast.  You can use this however you want to use it.  This family chose to dress in solid neutral colors, and then have their daughter stand out with a bright patterned tunic.  (They had a change of clothes for her as well, if you were wondering.)  As you can see, in the portrait your eye will go to her first, because of the contrast between her shirts.  It's a great idea and I see lots of families do exactly this with their little girls.


This family did the same thing - they are all dressed neutrally except for their new baby, whose colors look great with the others, but the contrasting pattern draws your attention.  Perfect for emphasizing the newest member of the family!


What about for larger family groups?  This extended family chose blues, and I think it worked great.  They did a good job of dispersing the darkness and lightness of their shirts across the various family members.  Their clothes don't compete with the beautiful bosque and river behind them.  There is no large contrast to distract you from their faces. 


The next 2 family groups are even larger, and they one method that I see a lot for large groups - each smaller family group is wearing matching shirt colors.  I love how this keeps the family groups together, but in a non-distracting way. 


If everyone were to wear their favorite shirt, and there are 20 of you, it's going to be very distracting and hard to focus on faces.  Solid colors are definitely helpful with large groups.


I hope these examples have been helpful in some way.  Obviously my commentary here is just my opinion, but I've looked through a lot of family portraits in the last 5 or 6 years, and I'm just calling it how I see it.  If you are interested, I have a pinterest board where I collect family clothing ideas:
http://pinterest.com/pamchristison/what-to-wear-family/

I also have a page posted with lots of other ideas about how to get the best results from your family session - check it out here! And if you are interested in booking a family session, please give me a call!