How to Make Photoshoots Easier and More Fun for Kids

Have you ever done a portrait session with your family? What do you think is the hardest part?

Well, if you have kids, you'll probably agree that it's getting them to relax and smile nicely for the camera!

Kids hate being confined and a photoshoot is a very confining activity - often even more confining than being stuck in school!

Why? Because the photographer wants to not only control where they sit and what they do, but even how their body is positioned and the expression on their face! Most teachers don’t attempt to control their students faces (except "Stop sticking out your tongue!").

So as Autumn approaches (the perfect season for family portraits), we’d like to offer you three great tips to make it easier to get your kids to behave and look good in photos.

Tip 1: Plan to do the shoot when your kids are most relaxed and happy.

There are a ton of things you need to prepare for a family photoshoot, from what clothing to wear, to how to get there, and even to making sure the location is close to a restroom in case anyone needs to go.

So to make your shoot easier, we recommend scheduling it at a time when your kids are most relaxed and happy. This usually happens to be early in the morning right after waking up. 9am or 10am is a great time for a family portrait session with young children.

Try to stay away from late afternoon or evening sessions because kids get so tired and cranky that they are often MUCH harder to control for the shoot.

Suggestion: Sometimes kids like to have something familiar with them for shoots, like a teddy bear, blanket, or favorite toy. Allowing them to bring a personal item can help them feel much more amidst all the newness of the location, photographer, and numerous on-camera directions.

​Tip 2: Plan on short breaks throughout the shoot and ensure your photographer is going to work with an assistant.

Whoever you hire for the shoot should plan to work with an assistant because it’s way easier to do test shots and set things up without needing you and the kids there for that part. Additionally, having an extra set of hands to control where everyone stands and keep people in place for the shoot is hugely important.

As the photographer sets up the equipment and does her test shots, you can let your kids do what they want. Let them know that in a few minutes you’ll need just a couple minutes of their time to take the photo.

After the photographer finishes setting up, they should show you a test shot so you can see what the background and overall image will look like. Ensuring you're happy with the way the photo looks beforehand will save you time once your kids are in place.

At that point, all that matters is getting the kids to look at the camera and smile for a couple minutes. And if you're going to be shooting with a few different backdrops or locations, each time you do a new shot, the same process can happen - let the kids be free until you’re happy with the test shot, and then grab them for just a couple minutes.

This sort of catch and release, catch and release style of shooting is much less intimidating for kids and makes the session way easier.

Suggestion: Consider bringing snacks because kids will often complain that they’re hungry and refuse to do any more photos until you buy them a special treat. Bringing snacks can keep their mind focused on the shoot.

Tip 3: Practice getting your kids to smile naturally ahead of time.

One problem we deal with in family portraits is related to capturing natural smiles from kids. Its common to teach kids to say “Cheese!” for the camera, but it often results in very fake-looking smiles.

If your kids are in the habit of cheese-smiling, it becomes much more challenging to capture natural smiles.

This is why we recommend that you switch to start trying to get your kids to laugh whenever you're taking a photo of them. If they start to say "Cheese," just ask them to laugh instead. You can even explain why if they are old enough to understand.

Starting this a few days or weeks before your family portrait session can help prime your kids so it’s much easier to capture a good expression right away.

Related Article: 5 Reasons You're More Photogenic Than You Think

If you’re working with a great photographer, they should be able to coach your kids properly into nice smiles, but that’s not always a guarantee and can also sometimes eat into the time for the shoot.

In Summary

The most important thing with family portrait sessions is to plan for the unexpected and just laugh and have fun when things go wrong. The more stressed you let yourself get, the worse the photos will look and the more difficult the kids will be to control.

We like to joke around with clients and say that the first 15 minutes of the shoot is probably just going to go into the trash, so don’t worry at all if things aren’t good right away. The more calm and happy you stay, the easier it will be to get everything back on track.

Now that you know how to get your kids calm and happy in photos, have you ever wondered what to do to take better smartphone photos? Check out this related article:

3 Tips to Take Better Smartphone Pictures of Family & Friends

And if you're looking to shoot a family portrait session, we'd love to help you out! Please click the button below for pricing info:

Family Portraits Pricing