Immediately before every photo session, Stacy has a
chat in the front room of the studio with the parents,
grandparents, or whoever is joining the photo shoot. She
makes sure the child is in the room and getting more and
more comfortable with the sound of her voice, hearing
her speak with the parents in a positive tone. “I have this
same chat, even if the parents have been to my studio
many times before, because their child has changed in de-
velopment from prior photo sessions and the child’s ex-
pected behavior, as well as my style of ‘running the show,’
changes with every developmental stage,” says Stacy.
Having the Set Ready.For all baby sessions, Stacy
suggests that you have everything ready before the ses-
sion—and that you do a few test shots. Stacy has a “stunt
baby” who stands in for lighting tests and color balance.
Stacy’s Six Rules.
Through experience, Stacy has come up with several rules
that her studio applies to all children over the age of one.
She goes over the rules with the parents so that they can
be prepared for her different techniques, which at times
seem may seem counterintuitive. She also forewarns the
parents that some crying will be expected, but “we have
all kinds of interesting games with which we try to en-
gage the child into playing with us, and Mommy can al-
ways stay with the child during this time,” she says. In
fact, Stacy will engage Mom in all the games. Stacy
chuckles, “We all just sit around the set playing different
games until our little subject decides he or she wants to
be in the game as well.” This technique works well, ac-
cording to Stacy, and can take anywhere from one to
thirty minutes—on the average, though, it only takes
about five or ten minutes for the child to get curious
enough to join in.- Miss Stacy is the Boss.Once in the studio, kids
soon learn that this is Miss Stacy’s house and Mom and
Dad are no longer in charge. Of course, the client is in
charge of many of the aspects of the photo shoot, but the
child must not think that they can manipulate their par-
ents into getting what they want. This immediately re-
lieves the burden of the parent having to say no to
everything the child requests. Most kids respond and be-
have better for adults who are not their parents.
If a child begs his mom to let him have a sip of her
soda, Mom directs the child to ask Miss Stacy. Rarely
(one in a hundred kids, according to Stacy), does this
produce tears when she says, “No, that it is not a good
idea right now because we might get our clothes wet.”
They accept Stacy’s answer and wait until after the photo
session. Similar requests by children can be used during
the photo session when Stacy needs a little cooperation.
She’ll say, “Remember, we have to finish the photo ses-
sion before we can have some of Mommy’s soda pop—
let’s hurry.” - The Shooting Room is Off Limits.Children be-
tween the ages of one and three must be carried into the
shooting room and are not allowed to walk around and
explore until they take a break or the session is complete.
Stacy’s shooting room is off limits until the session is
about to begin. If the child is too comfortable in the pho-
tography room, they often feel they can roam around and
explore. Because the studio is filled with different back-
74 CHILDREN’S PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY HANDBOOK
This photograph by Stacy Bratton is indicative of why parents hire
professional photographers to create portraits of their children.
This is such an innovative image—and it’s made even more effec-
tive by shallow depth of field and a relatively slow shutter speed
that blurs the child’s hair. Everything about the image is original
and fresh.