Approaching the Cranky Child | Puyallup Children's Portraits

At some point, every family is going to have the cranky child during portraits.  The one who cries, whines and won't be bribed with anything.  The parent is usually embarassed at the child's behavior, may be sweating and have a raised blood pressure.  The parent may be expressing tons of patience but it doesn't seem to go anywhere.  This may happen during portraits intended to be of the child, family portraits where everyone is cooperating but one, or maybe it's the flower girl during a wedding.  This may be unexpected for the parent, but the photographer actually expects this!

For several years I went through several studios with my "wild" child and was frustrated with our lack of time, lack of patience and ultimately the lack of satisfaction I received as a customer.  When I began learning photography it was because of these issues.  I felt certain that if I could learn the skills to take good pictures, I could capitalize on my child's comfort zone and good times of day and not be restricted to the time tables of the store studios.  Honestly, I didn't even consider custom family portraits.  I wish I had looked into the many local photographers at that time and seen what a difference it could make with my children.

The usual reasons a child is cranky for me as a photograher include: overstimulation prior to the session, sensing a parent's or sibling's stress preparing for a session, a sense that their concerns and feelings don't matter, discomfort with me as a stranger, unsure of what I will ask of them and occasionally unsure of what mom and dad will ask of them.

What can you do?  If you have a child who is easily overstimulated, you can help them out by keeping the morning or the day of the session as simple and routine as possible for them.  Sometimes they just need a nap, which is why we try to schedule your child or family session around these times.  Of course sometimes the child just won't take a nap that day! 

If you have a child that is sensitive to their emotions and the emotions of others, it can help to keep your voice calm as you talk about the session.  You can also tell them what to expect from me: I'm a mom who is calm and nice to talk to, who wants to take pictures of them and will help them feel comfortable.

Here's what I would say to my child, "honey, tonight we're going to have pictures taken.  There's a really nice lady who's going to ask you to smile, sit and maybe stand in certain places.  She's going to make funny faces and talk to you nicely.  I want you to be polite and do what she asks.  She and I have made a plan for these pictures. We will be visiting a location (describe the location if you can) and there will be time to explore but there will be time to be a good listener too."

This kind of picture (see below) is usually what we can get with this kind of preparation...

On the other hand, occasionally there is a kid who just has a really serious side.  Below is one of my favorite and most loyal clients.  I have never actually had full on toothy smile from the oldest.  But that is okay!  This is his personality, this is who he is right now.  There is nothing I could do to make him smile.  The best I can do with his age and abilities is take pictures of him at his best - being serious.

And sometimes even with the best preparation you get one who cannot or will not be able to handle this at this point.  My opinion is that we should just photograph it as it is.  This is a stage that will pass.  Someday this will only be a memory!

As your photographer, I come with a few tricks up my sleeve!  I have a few beaded necklaces, a squeaker, and usually some small candies.  I do not use any of these as bribes but as distractions.  On rare occasions, having a smartphone helps too!  I can bring up a kid's favorite show to gain their attention or to distract them from their current worries.  So far I have never needed to use all these tricks during a session, just one or two.

But really, I understand if there's nothing that can be done at the moment.  If we don't make any progress with them within 30 minutes I offer one free rescheduled session.  We can wait a few days and try again.  If you have any concerns about special accomodations or needs of your child please let me know ahead of time so I can be as prepared as possible. 

Thanks for reading and enjoying some of my favorite, priceless, "cranky kid" moments.
For more informationa about family portraits or tips you'd like to add to this blog post please email me at info@ndrobbs.com.  I look forward to hearing from you!

My fun family! | Puyallup Family Portraits

Courtesy of the wonderful Lourdes Ann Photography, I finally have family portraits of my own!   For several years our family portraits have been done by me, with me setting a timer on my camera or with a friend or family member behind the camera clicking the shutter after I choose all the settings.  And with three very active kids, these are what I was resigned to getting.  That also meant that most of my professional headshots were done without me looking through the lens, since I was in front of it.  It was adequate and it worked at the time.  But now was time for something more....

Thanks to Pinterest (and you can follow me here)  I was seeing a lot of other family photographer's work and getting really inspired.  One of my favorites involves paint. For the original link I found -  click here to see Erik Clausen's family.  This would be perfect for my busy kids and fun for our creative sides to let loose.   Lourdes Ann agreed to shoot the session!  We used bold colors (tempura paint found at Joann's), a kid size easel (Will, so sorry we got paint all over it!) and a big posterboard.  I rounded up every paintbrush in the house (no rollers!) and started talking this up with everyone in the family.

The white shirts and jeans is very classic and sort of "old school" as some people have said, but for the end result I didn't want to start with clothing any more colorful than the paint.

We were due for an all around update so everyone got a chance to make faces with Ann...

 And WE were due for a portrait, it's our 10th anniversary!

I needed some new headshots that weren't self-portraits...

Now for the fun part...

Laid out some tempura paint from the craft store, my oldest son's easel and some posterboard.

My youngest wasn't sure he was really supposed to do this...

And somehow it turned into this....

Yes, a shirt was sacrificed for this photo opportunity!

And it was worth it!

I hope you enjoyed a little visit with MY crazy family. :)  We had a great time doing it.

 

For more information on family portraits, please comment here or email me at info@ndrobbs.com.

For more fun and unique portrait ideas, follow me in Pinterest!  Let's inspire each other!

Matt and Kate | Orting Wedding Photography

I have had the privilege of being a second shooter for Lisa Lovely for two weddings this year.  This one was amazingly full of textures, colors, details everywhere you look!  I'd love to share a few of my favorites from the day with you!
The day was surprisingly warm at High Cedars Golf Club in Orting, WA.  But the sky was perfectly overcast so that we didn't have to worry about full sun and those awful shadows that go with it.   Since Matt and Kate golf, Lisa and I experimented with using the tees as a props for the rings!

The ladies were getting ready in the pro's office, which has a nice practice green.  Don't the shoes look lovely on it?

This is the most texture-full bouquet I've seen!

Lisa prepared Kate for the first look and I carefully navigated Matt over to her, while not letting him look any further than his feet!  When he got there, both were so perfectly nervous and excited the electricity was palpable.

After the portraits a few folks took a minute to relax...

As the bride was given away by her father, she also had a minute with her mother...

Here's my favorite part of the wedding!

Naturally, here's the BEST part of every wedding!

On to the reception!

Congratulations Matt & Kate!  And thank you Lisa for having me!

Help me pick a new header photo! | Graham Wedding and Family Portraits

Hey friends!

I have decided it is time to  update the header photo here on the blog.  I love this photo, still even 3 years after it was taken.  But I want to update a little and freshen up this space.  I won't be changing the background because I adore this blue & black damask pattern!

I'd love to have your help picking what to put at the top here. 

My criteria for a new photo are:

1) needs to evoke a strong emotion

2) needs to be simple in color

3) needs to communicate my focus on relationships

4) needs to connect with my fans

5) needs to be easily identified

Here are some of my picks:

So what do you think?  If you'd like to let me know, please leave a comment here or on FB, where I'll be posting these same options.

I'd love to hear from you!

The C Family Part 2 | Orting Family Portraits

I wanted to share these after the family got to see them first and a month later, they have definitely seen them first!  Not only that, but they have even hung their awesome standout prints already!!  Now when's the last time I did that for my family?  Hmmmm.... ;)

And everyone's favorite from this session....

I just love all the expressions here!



For more information on a family session leave a comment or send me an email at info@ndrobbs.com
Thanks for visiting!