is a good option. Kids have a natural inquisitiveness that
is easily tapped. Just start a sentence, “Imagine you’re a
.. .” Fill in the blank and you’ll immediately see their
imagination kick in!
Sometimes you just need to be silly with kids. Talk
about your pet rhinoceros, or your other car, which is
pink and yellow with purple seats. One photographer I
know likes to ask kids, “Are you married?” which always
gets a good chuckle. Peek-a-boo is another favorite—hide
behind the camera and peek out from either side—the
child will burst into laughter!
Overstimulation.All children need some stimulation
to get good expressions, but a good assistant knows how
to avoid overstimulating the child. Where this line in the
sand falls depends on the age of the child. Because their
attention span is so short, younger children need quite
lot of stimulation—talking, imagining, being silly, making
noise, etc. The same level of stimulation that keeps a one-
year-old happy, however, will overstimulate an older
child. This may end the session prematurely.
The Bribe.When it’s getting toward the end of the
session, many photographers use a bribe to keep the child
interested for just a few more shots. Others use a reward
system, giving the child a coloring book or other small
gift for being such a good subject. One well known chil-
dren’s photographer offers cookies midway through a
session as a means of keeping a little one’s interest. (Note:
It is important to get permission from a parent before
doling out food!)64 CHILDREN’S PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY HANDBOOK
Isolating details, either zooming in or
cropping in tighter on an image elimi-
nates unwanted and often unnecessary
details in the image. In this lovely image,
children’s portrait artist Suzette Nesire
produced a very large head size of this
youngster and by eliminating everything
but the hat and part of the baby’s face,
she created a truly excellent image.