"Stop Yelling at the kids, please" - A Boise Family Photographer's Plea
I’d seen it over and over back when I was a perfectly posed photo photographer.
The parents were stressed.
They had worked hard prepping for this session.
They had a vision in their head about what the session was going to produce for them.
They had kept their kids up past bedtime to get the golden hour sunset light.
They had stewed over which outfits to wear and who needed new clothes purchased to match the color scheme.
When the kids had decided that THEY didn’t sign up for stuffy clothes and adults ordering them around for an hour, they chose to do their own thing.
Now that was sometimes fits. Sometimes blatant disobedience. Sometimes ignoring. Sometimes being goofy to lighten the mood ruining the “perfect” photo.
That would take the parents over the edge and some would threaten, or take away the reward they had promised, or bribe them with a new reward, or yell at the kids and have an arm holding talk about how they were going to behave for the next 10 minutes.
How do you think kids do the rest of the session after a talking to like that?
Not great. They were either more defiant or their spirits were so crushed they would just go through the motions.
After session upon session like this, I learned a few tricks trying to lighten the mood, get on the kid’s good side, and keeping the parents happy too by delivering something they’d love.
I decided “perfection” wasn’t worth the fight.
I was ready to photograph what was presented to me in a place that my clients were comfortable in with no expectations on anyone’s end of how it was going to turn out.
The pure, normalcy of the sessions thrilled me.
The kids and I play and have fun while they show me their room and their cool body tricks. Mom, Dad and I enjoy chats about life, love and parenting. We hang out for the day, relaxing our expectations.
And do you know what?
The photos have more joy, more meaning, more personality, and more reality. more of what the parents ultimately want! Win, win.
