Babies and Toddlers

An old friend, Jacquelyn Dalton, brought some of her kids, grandkids, and foster kids over last week for some portraits.  It was my first time trying to do something semi-formal with little kids that weren’t my own.  I discovered that is more fun being on the camera end than when I’m a parent worrying about how my kids are acting while their picture is taken (thinking back to experiences of having pictures taken of my kids – oh the pain!).  My lesson learned here is that I can tell parents that we’ll try to coach the kids, but sometimes they are just going to do what they are going to do.  So, we might as well step back, enjoy the moment, and get the best pictures we can of whatever they want to be doing.  Jacquelyn and her daughter, Caitlin, played the “cool under pressure” parents while the kids and I roamed around our backyard seeing what adventure was next.  I can see where a photo shoot with high energy kids could have been very stressful, but, lucky for me, I got a great family for my first experience.  I think we ended up with some great photos too. 

Anyways, on to the show!  I started out with a group shot thinking that we could capitalize on the attention span up front.  I think that is the right approach, but I may need some better attention grabbers for next time.  Any suggestions?  I’ve used whistles, whoops, and funny faces.  None of those worked for me to get everyone’s attention all at once.  From left to right we have Jayden, Maria, Aiden, and Mason.

The Dalton are a saintly family for bringing in so many foster children.  Especially for targeting special needs children who may of come from a distressed background.  Maria is one of those, and you could really see the love she now has for Jacquelyn and the other kids.

Jayden was champion.  He had oral surgery earlier in the day and I’m sure he didn’t feel up to someone trying to get him to smile.  To help get his attention, I showed him some picture of himself on the camera.  After that he came over and gave me a hug even though he was the one who didn’t feel like being there :)

Mason brought the energy of an entire football team.  He was anxious to show me his Kung Fu and then have me chase them around the yard from one place to another.  He wasn’t shy of the camera.  I just had to be fast enough to capture the picture.

Aiden was right there with Mason in all the fun.  I can’t help but think he should be out modeling clothes for the Gymboree or some place like that.

Thanks Jacquelyn and Caitlin for letting me practice taking pictures of your children.

One last thought….  I’ve always been a bit introverted or at least non talkative, and this photo shoot was another learning experience for me that people photography will be a great opportunity to improve my social skills.  I started out thinking wildlife photography was going to be my main game, but you get a lot more smiles and people connect a lot better with pictures of people.  It’s very rewarding to have people tell me how much they like a picture or to see how they react to it.  I’m afraid I find the instant gratification a little too rewarding though and have to stop myself from trying to show my pictures to every person I meet.  I think this is common for other photographers too.  As soon as one of us mentions it, we have to show each other some work we’ve done.  My wife and family have been troopers.  I review almost everything with Christi and sit with anticipation to see what she thinks of each shot.  I like that she doesn’t necessarily like the same photos that I do.  It’s interesting to hear why she likes this one or that one or what she noticed first in a picture.  Photography is FUN!