How to Get the Best Smiles During Your Child’s Photoshoot
my 3 best tips for getting the best pictures & the sweetest smiles
A picture is worth a thousand words and Lord knows when it comes to photos of our kids there is a story behind every silly and sweet one. We love the goofy pictures where kids are making a mess and just being themselves but what about when it is time to take a photo that will become an heirloom in our house. We want to imagine that kids are always picture perfect and ready for their close up but we all know a lot of work goes into having them sit still and smile pretty.
As a portrait artist, I know every painter wants to work with the best reference image of your child possible. The photo should show off their personality and create a happy memory as they grow up. When I create a piece my goal is to pick the best photo so that your painting will be a work of art your family will always cherish. You want the final painted portrait or favorite image to reflect their true personality while still being a beautiful and classic likeness. A lot of work goes into getting that perfect photo and kids are not always happy to sit and smile for the camera. To help you have the best photoshoot possible, I want to share with you my best tips on how to make your child’s photoshoot the easiest it can be and have the sweetest pictures come out of our shoot.
It can be easy to forget to fit in snacktime when you feel like you are running late to your photoshoot. And God forbid your kids eat in their clothes and ruin their outfit!
Don’t stress. It is so much worse for them to be hungry and cranky than for you to run late! I know I work with kids and you can’t always be on time. And if they get food or snacks on their outfit, I can promise it would never end up in the final painting. I always take my time to edit out any little marks that make their way onto their skin or clothes. We would always rather them be happy and silly than irritable and ready to run right out of here.
I made a list of some of my favorite low-mess snacks to pack or let them eat during the shoot so that they can keep their tummies full and have fun with their photos.
String Cheese - a virtual no mess treat
Apples
Grapes
Applesauce Pouches - with supervision these are very low mess
Grab and go waffles
Their favorite granola or breakfast bars - just try to stay away from messy chocolate
Smart Pop Popcorn - skip the oily and buttery microwave popcorn
For a little sugar rush I love to keep Smarties candy around! They don't have any sticky residue or messy color. A sweet little bribe is also a great way to get them smiling if we are in a pinch. I also love to carry around stickers for them to keep after our photos and a few small toy props for them to play with during our photo session so they have something to giggle with and smile about.
The biggest part of the puzzle is their sweet smile. We want to make sure that everyone is happy while we are doing our shoot, mommy and daddy included. I want to make our time all feel fun, like we are playing instead of feeling like they can’t wait to leave.
I have photographed little ones who are too scared to even step in front of the camera and rambunctious kids who are bouncing off the walls. Whatever the challenge, when Mom and Dad stay calm and act like this will be so much fun, kids find themselves interested in the camera and excited to see what their picture will look like. Start the fun on the car ride there and remind them how exciting it will be to take their photo. If it feels like a chore or a fight your little ones will never want to sit still.
We all know the smile that little kids put on when we are all yelling “CHEESE” in their face and we want to stay far away from it! Children are so naturally joyful that faking their smiles look painfully obvious. They get tired of trying to show off all their teeth and end up looking cheesy. Instead, make them laugh with the things they love to joke about like Daddy’s silly faces or their favorite character and they will give you a happy look that will not leave you cringing. And don’t worry, if they are missing some important teeth I can always paint them back in. 🙂
Especially for the image in our painted portraits, we will often opt for a classic closed mouth smile. This look will give you that effortless refined portrait style and show off their sweet disposition. And if you want to know a secret - I can always fake this! We will often have your child just look right at the camera and think of something funny and I will give them a natural looking smile in Photoshop when I get home.
I always make sure to give us a lot of time so your family never has to feel rushed to get the perfect picture. It can take kids a little while to warm up to the camera or even agree to sit in front of it! If they need to come in and get their jitters out - let them play! We would much rather spend our time getting tons of smiling pictures than having to run around after them.
Some kids are very camera shy. We never want to stress them or make them uncomfortable so I always want to introduce myself so they feel comfortable and calm. One of my favorite tips is to show them how my camera works and let them take a few pictures of Mommy or Daddy so they can see how fun the photographs can be. This will get your little one used to the idea of being the star of the show.
We want to take our time making sure all the kiddos are happy and calm so we can get their genuine smiles and make the photoshoot fun for the whole family. Parents will also go home so much happier if they know there are beautiful pictures of their child from the session. Don't be afraid to ask the photographer to see pictures as the session goes along so you have an idea of how your pictures look. I always make sure to give glimpses along the way so the parents know we have beautiful photos to create our painting from.
Now Go & Smile!
Now that you know my best tips to make your next photoshoot great before you even arrive you are ready to have gorgeous photos of your children that you will cherish forever. Make sure before you arrive that you have well-rested and well-fed kids who know that they are coming here to have fun with their photos. If you trust your photographer, you will be excited to see the outcome and your whole family will be so much happier during the shoot. And remember, you should be excited too! Whether this is the first step to creating a one-of-a-kind child portrait or you stumbled across this article looking for photoshoot advice, you have everything you need to make your portraits turn out beautiful.
For more information about my process for creating once-in-a-lifetime portraits click the icon below to download my package document and see the possibilities for your custom portrait. If you are all ready to book your portrait session with me, click the contact button below and we can plan your photo session and start your custom portrait!
