📷 Photography Tip — Getting real smiles out of kids
Want to know the fastest way to get a fake smile from a kid? Say “smile!”
The cheese-face is real, and every parent knows it. So at my sessions, I almost never ask kids to smile. I make them laugh instead.
Silly questions work wonders. “Does your dad snore?” “What does a giraffe sound like?” Kids light up when a grown-up is being ridiculous on purpose.
Games work too — staring contests they’re allowed to lose, racing to a tree and back, whispering a secret to mom. The photos in between those moments are pure gold.
Parents, your job is simple: relax. Kids read your energy instantly. If you’re stressed about them behaving, they feel it. If you’re playing along, they melt into it.
And if a kid needs a break, we take a break. A five-minute run-around beats twenty minutes of forced cooperation every single time.
What’s the one thing that always cracks your kid up? Tell me before your session — I’ll use it!