Photographing children in studio: There’s a few words I can use to describe this experience:  Busy, hard work, tiring, great fun, hilarious and totally worth the effort!

They come in a few stages, newborns are easy, keep the studio warm and their tummies full and they will sleep right through it.  At six months they start to get more mobile.  Pushing themselves up on their arms, playing with their tongues and rolling over onto the opposite side that you want them. And they also start giving you those angelic smiles which just melt your heart.  Sitting and crawling babies are a bit harder but they can’t move that fast yet…   This is where we start introducing props like a shell full of balls or a bathtub which they can’t climb out of.  So we can keep them entertained but they stay on the backdrop and in range of the studio lights.  Toddlers are probably one of the most challenging subjects I’ve photographed in my life.  They now have a mind of their own, and are very independent.  They know what they want and will do everything themselves.  To ensure good pics, get some colourful toys and make everything a game.  Play peekaboo, have mom tickle them or let them take a horsey ride on dad’s back.  This will soon get them to relax and give you the chance to catch some beautiful natural smiles.

Photographing kids in studio requires a lot of patience and an understanding of how their minds work (which we have loads of experience with Louise having 3 kids and me watching my brothers 3 boys most days)

Some tips on photographing children in studio (or anywhere for that matter):
- Keep it fun and natural.  Get them to play with their favourite toys, sing their favourite sing along songs like ba-ba-blacksheep and old macdonald (I can’t tell you how their little faces light up on hearing a nursery rhyme or kiddie song they know and love)
- Keep shooting, digital cameras allow you to take a lot more photos than film did.  You can look at our photos and delete the ones you don’t like later.
- Switch your camera to sports mode and off you go. 
- Timing is of the essence, if it’s close to their nap time rather postpone it till after.
- Don’t expect them to look at the camera and smile the whole time as it ain’t gonna happen, you’ll only frustrate them.  Try catch the intense concentration on their little faces when discovering something new, or just them gazing into the distance can be just as spectacular.
- Take photos when theyre playing outside and just being themselves because those are the moments we want to remember…

Have fun!

Riani