Julie is out of town this week (at Melissa McClure's wedding... lucky ducky!!) so Ashley & Kate decided to take the chance to talk about photographing children! We invited Chris Dowd of All Colors Photography to join in on our conversation. Tune in as we tackle subjects like working with tough kids, tricks to get kids to smile, and more! Below, we've outlined a few of our favorite tips for family and child photographers! Key Takeaways:

1. Establish expectations beforehand. We all know we work better when we are comfortable and relaxed during a shoot. Same goes for our subjects! By establishing expectations prior to the shoot, you're making sure everyone remains calm. If you're photographing 2 year olds, you should probably inform the parents that you'll try for posed photos, but a lot of the photos will be candid shots of the kids having fun. That way, when the kids don't want to sit still & look at the camera, mom & dad already know that's totally normal & you plan on getting great shots anyway! Once you tense up, the family will tense up, and you have a lesser chance of getting relaxed, fun images!
2. Have some tricks up your sleeve. When photographing children, it helps to get on their level! Not just physically, but emotionally as well! Not being afraid to be silly and goofy is a huge help! Figure out what makes each kid smile at your shoot and don't be afraid to do it over and over and over again. The three of us are fans of fart noises, funny jokes, high fives, and silly sounds!
3. Limit parental involvement & discipline. This seems like a no-brainer but oftentimes parents get very nervous & upset when their kids aren't "performing" well for the camera. They've spent a lot of money on this shoot & it makes sense that they want it to be perfect, so when their kids aren't behaving they way they want them to, they can get upset. When photographing children, be sure to tell parents ahead of time NOT to discipline their children during their shoot. Especially physically. Spanking & yelling at their kids will not get them good photos. It's better for them to just stay relaxed & let you take the reigns. Sometimes, if kids are really not giving you any good shots, ask the parents to step away for a bit. This takes the pressure off the kids & gives you a chance to get those shots you need!

We had SO much fun with Chris in the studio this week! Julie will be back next week so stay tuned for some more awesomely fun PhotoSpark episodes! Relevent Links:

• All Colors Photography on the web
• All Colors Photography on Facebook
• PhotoSpark on Facebook

Download from iTunes Here Download from iTunes Here