age. Somehow, most people—including parents—think
that a child should be sitting up unassisted at that point.
According to Stacy, “This is not true for 75 percent of
babies I photograph. If a parent wants a classic baby
photo at six months of age, and wants to include the baby
in a sitting-up position, I talk them into photographing
the baby at theendof the six months (right before the
seventh month date). This should ensure the baby is sit-
ting up unassisted.”
Ask the parents specific questions. “Can your baby sit
up and hold a toy in one or both hands and shake the toy
and smile at you?” “Can you tap on the baby’s shoulder
without knocking the baby over?” If the answers are no,
then baby cannot handle sitting up, seeing a large flash,
and smiling at the same time. If a baby has not achieved
true independent balance, he will usually fall backwards
when he tries to smile, move his arms, or experience the
light flash.
Stacy says of this age group, “Eight- to eleven-month-
olds are one of my favorite age groups to photograph.
They are very social, very happy, and not yet mobile.
Once you determine the right way to communicate with
a baby around this age, most are happy to sit and play—
and they do not yet have an interest in crawling away
from you to explore.”
Copycat.Mimic the baby’s noises. If a baby manages to
make a noise, any noise, they are communicating with
you. If you can mimic that noise back, you have validated
their hard work and acknowledged their attempt at com-
munication. This creates more smiles than anything.
Coax a Smile.For a younger baby who is “on the
verge” of a smile, but just does not seem to be able to do
it, just rub a burp cloth over the corners of their mouths.
Sometimes they simply need reminding where those mus-
cles are. Younger babies may require that for every smile
during a session.
Predictability.Babies of this age (and up to two years)
enjoy predicting the next thing you will do. If they pre-
dict correctly, they are usually pleased and will smile if the
physical conditions are right. Stacy will set up patterns of
behavior that she will repeat several times. Then, the baby
can start to predict what her next move might be.
Peek-a-boo is a great example of this—you hide be-
hind a blanket and they predict the blanket will drop
down and show your face. Stacy also hides behind her
light box and pops out from behind it. If she pops out
from a different side of the box, the predictability has
been broken—and this evokes either a surprised or a con-
fused look. “If a baby follows my feet under the light box,
they can then predict what side I will pop out from,” she
says. “What an accomplishment!”
Rubbing Baby’s Gums.Since babies are teething on
and off through their entire first year (and also since they
explore everything with their mouths), Stacy often rubs
their gums with a burp cloth in a fun and playful manner.
This does three main things: it focuses the baby’s atten-
tion on you and the camera; it satisfies their need to
touch things with their mouths; and, even more impor-
tantly, it pulls out some of the drool that was just waiting
to run out as soon as the baby smiled.
Wind.Try waving a piece of foam-core up and down
or side to side to create a wind effect across the baby.
Start soft and far away in order to gauge the reaction.
One- to Three-Year-Olds.While Stacy and her assis-
tant are arranging the mother near or with the child on
the set, she or her assistant will blow bubbles towards the
child. She cautions, “Do not let them hold the wand or
you will never get it back without a major battle.”80 CHILDREN’S PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY HANDBOOK
Many of Stacy’s tricks and techniques that work with very young
children also work with older ones—here, a curious three-year-old.