I wanted to take a minute to explain a common photo session myth. The myth that "everyone else's kids cooperate for photo sessions." I know that all we are seeing is happy, perfect smiling pictures on Facebook. But that is not the whole story. There are many sessions where the babies are cranky and not interested in the session. Sometimes during the photo session it might feel like I am not getting any good pictures because the kiddo is being uncooperative. Normally, this is not the case.
Here are some pictures of my niece, Hagan. I am going to use this cutie as my example today. I got way more pictures of her frowny face than I did a happy face. And this is totally normal! Out of the 300ish pictures I take I end up with about 20-40 pretty smiley face pictures. This is OK. I promise that you do not want me to show you 300 pictures during your viewing session. So far (knock on wood) I have always been able to give my clients (even my most difficult clients) a handful of beautiful pictures that they love. If it is an exceptionally rough session, maybe I will only show you 20 pictures instead of 40 at the viewing session.
The moral of the story is to relax during your photo session. It is OK if your kiddo is not doing the exact thing that I asked for. Try to have fun. The more fun you are having the more you will like your pictures. Also, it is OK to bribe and let your child get away with a little disobedience. I know parenting is all about consistency but we can let things slide for a 45 minute session to have happy life long pictures :)
Last but not least, if I am your photographer, know that these frowny faces do not frustrate me or make me mad. I have been told multiple times during a photo session that I am patient and I think this is my favorite compliment. It is not your job, as a client, to please me during the session. I am working for you and I am happy to work my booty off for 45 minutes to try to pull real happy smiles out of your kid. If they do not give me that it is OK. If your child does not want to do the pose I ask them to do then I will just move on to the next pose. It is not the end of the photo session. I have a lot of kid tricks up my sleeve. My goal is to minimize your photo session stress and give you a good experience. The best thing is when you leave a portrait session feeling energized and excited about your family pictures. Those good vibes will then carry on to what you think and feel every time you look at you family portraits that you hang on your wall.
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