3 Tips to Get Kids Smiling for Photos!

I've done many photo sessions and have many many tricks for getting smiles out of kids. Today I'm going to share with you 3 of my top tips for getting kiddos to show their beautiful beaming smiles!

Pick comfy clothes! - If the clothes you picked are new with tags, remove the tags! Tags are itchy! If there is anything uncomfortable about the outfit they will be distracted and have a much shorter attention span for the shoot.
Go someplace fun! - Kids are kids. Let them be kids. Go somewhere that they are familiar with, and comfortable, like the park! Then let them have fun!
Keep things positive! - Whatever you do... do not under any circumstances give the kid an ultimatum. What do you think happens if you threaten a kid with something like, "Smile, or NO McDonalds", or "Smile, or I'll spank your rear end!". Yep... that will stop smiles for the rest of the session. Instead, lets re-direct the kids to something else - maybe they just need a breather from the camera - which is totally okay! Or, you could start a fun activity, or give them something fun to play with. I'm not saying that if the child is mis-behaving that you should drop any form of structure that you have in place - I'm just saying that an ultimatum of smile or else is going to flatten your chances of success!

There we have it! I hope these tips can help you take better photos of your kiddos!

-Tim

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