Some young kids have a really hard time getting used to new people, and this can make a family photo session with a brand new person challenging. Some kids take longer than the hour we have together to feel comfortable around me, and some are extroverted and start having fun the moment we meet. But please don’t worry about how your kid will act during your photo session, after photographing many families I have learned some tricks to help kiddos warm up to me quicker!

Have the session at your house! Kids feel comfortable there and get excited to show me around and introduce me to all their favorite toys. Overall I have found that kids feel more comfortable with new people when they are on their own turf.

2. Get your kids prepared for the session before hand. Tell them about the session in advance so they know it’s coming before hand, but talk about it like it’s going to be the best time ever. When your kids hear how excited you are, they will hopefully be excited too. And, maybe they will automatically think I’m super awesome by how much you talk about it! Heck, you can even have a countdown on the calendar! x days until Michelle takes our pictures, yay!

3. Unpopular opinion: I don’t tell my clients to bribe their kids! I think that creates a negative mindset for the session. Think about it. When you hear “if you are good during the photo session you’ll get a treat!” do you think the photo session sounds fun? No. To the kids their hear “This will be painful and something you have to “get through” and then you can have a treat!” Instead I suggest saying “We’re going to have a super fun hour with my friend Michelle who will take pictures of us and then we are going to have ice cream!” It sounds more like two fun things instead of one not fun thing and then a prize for acting good. A simple mind shift can make all the difference!

4. I’ll spend some time chatting with the kids to let them get to know me when we start, which usually works wonders. And this is one reason why the questionnaire helps also. If I know just one thing your kid is really into I can bring it up and I’ll immediately have something to chat with them about. Sometimes this is all I need to help your child feel comfortable with me.

5. Sometimes I will resort to silly bathroom humor jokes. Or just silliness like “what is your favorite kind of ice cream, is it broccoli ice cream?” Ok I might need to work on my jokes, but if you ask my daughter the best joke is “Why was six afraid of seven? Because 7, 8, 9.” Kids get my humor most of the time! Also I like to ask them to do fun things to make the experience fun. We play music sometimes, dance, jump, and run and tackle the parents! We are mostly having fun and that helps even shy ones feel comfortable with me.

6. I am also known to show kids my camera and how it works if I really need help getting them to be comfortable. And I’ll ask the older child to be my “assistant”. This really helps them feel like they are getting to do an important job and they feel like they are part of the process. It really helps when things are fading.

7. Finally, I am always ok with kids using their lovies in the pictures if they are feeling shy! It's super cute and why not capture this phase? It only lasts so long! I’m also ok with kids being extra snuggly or hiding their face for a few images. This is the phase they are in, and that’s super sweet. 99.9% of the time they will warm up at some point and we’ll get more lively and engaged images at that point. Don’t stress about it, we will get there eventually!

Are you ready to book your family session? I’d love to chat with you! Connect with me here