3 Tips For Getting Kids Involved So You Can Get Great Family Photos – And Photo Class Giveaway
Today we get to learn again from CWK contributor and photography teacher, Beryl Ayn Young. I am an affiliate for Beryl’s online photography class, Momtographie – she’s an expert at helping moms and dads connect through the lens with their families. Scroll to the bottom of the post for a discount code and to enter the giveaway for free tuition! ~Alissa
How can you get kids to really enjoy a photo session?
The most wonderful thing about photography is the dual purpose it can bring to our families. It’s a creative hobby that leaves us fulfilled as a moms, but it’s also one that connects us with our children and gives us an instant means to engagement with them too.
Sometimes however, it can be tricky to get our kids on board as happy willing participants in our photography sessions with them.
I know just how frustrating it can be to capture that busy baby, that wiggly toddler, or that independent tween, so today I’d like to offer 3 ideas for keeping your kids engaged and interested in that camera lens of yours.
Let them plan
Have them help you as you plan for a creative adventure or styled photo shoot! Grab a favorite story book and plan a way to re-create a scene from it with a full wardrobe, props, makeup, etc. Or, why not have them tell you their ideas for a family field trip where you can take the camera along. Go to the zoo, the ice cream parlor, or simply the park. The point is to let them choose the location so they’ll let you capture it all!
Let them look
One of my favorite photo bribes I like share with moms is letting your kiddos see the playback screen when your done. Tell your kid(s) “I’m going to take _____ (insert a number you find appropriate here…3, 5, 10?) pictures of you and then I’ll let you see what they look like. OK?” Kids love to see what you’ve done and unlike us they like to see themselves on the screen. Why not allow them to give you their approval after you work your magic behind the lens.
Let them play
Instead letting your kids simply see the pictures you’ve taken, why not let them take some of their own photos? After you get the shots you’re after, pass the camera off to your kids and let them snap a few too. You’ll gain a whole new perspective for what the world looks like through their eyes, but you’ll also have those incredible photos you’ve just snapped of them too!
These tips have helped me capture some of the classic moments that document our life as a family. And, learning to use a camera properly has been a huge part of expanding my creativity and advancing my own self-expression and exploration as well.
Beryl Ayn Young teaches parents how to use their cameras to connect with their kids and beautifully capture family memories – photography to nourish the body mind and soul. Click here to learn more about Momtographie!
Giveaway – Win Tuition to Momtographie Online Photography Class!!
Giveaway closed!
I am an affiliate of Momtographie and receive a commission for each student who registers through my links – at no extra cost to you. In fact, CWK readers can get 10% off by using the code cwk at check out!
The newest 6 week in depth Momtographie class starts May 5th – would you like to win free tuition? (worth $249!) Enter by April 29th at Midnight to Win Tuition!
A testimonial from one of Baryl’s students:
I took my camera out during Momtographie class and used it in manual mode for the first time. I was completely comfortable using manual and – WOW! Instant improvement in my photos using the technical and creative tips I learned in class.~Jamie
How to Enter:
Comment below and tell us: What does your family say to get people to smile in a photo?
Is it “Say Cheese!” or something else? Or nothing? Comment below and I will select a winner at random on April 30th. This giveaway is open to people 18 years of age and older worldwide.
Don’t forget – use the code cwk to get 10% off your tuition! If you register and wind up winning, you will receive a credit back for the cost of the course. Good Luck!!
64 Positive Things to Say to Kids
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We shout “YES” or if my 4-year-old is being cheesy, I remind her to NOT smile at the camera whatever she does. This usually results in silly smiles and then more relaxed smiles. It’s all about knowing your kids’ personalities. Thanks for the great post!
My son we tell him not to smile and then start laughing and our daughter we tell her to close her eyes until we see 3.
I tend to say ‘cheese’ or tell them to think about something they love…like puppies or trucks…I find it helps to get more natural smiles.
We try to change it up and have the kids say words that end with the “ee” sound. “froggy”, “mommy”, “bunny”, etc
We often say “monkeys”–but more often than not these days I am saying something like, “Please do a “nice” smile” –whatever that is! I do find that my best pictures are ones where I tell them nothing at all and I’m trying to get better at that! Would love love love to win this giveaway!! Thank you for the opportunity and for sharing your ideas.
We say cheese. Even my 2 year old daughter is saying cheese when the camera comes out.
I used to get my son to say cheese. Now I wish he didn’t! He gets a weird look on his face, says it while looking down, then takes off. Gotta love kids!
We say “cheese” to get our toddler to show her teeth and smile. She recently started saying “cheese” and trying to take pictures with a small headlamp she carries around 🙂
I always tell my son to show me his “mean face” first.. he makes some pretty funny faces and while I click away he cracks himself up and I end up with some great natural smile photos!
We are older parents and my husband is a Ramones fan so we say 1-2-3-4. Works!
I tell my daughter not to smile, I say dont you dare smile, please whatever you do don’t smile, she ususally cant help but give me one of big genuine smiles.
I often get the kids attention by saying “Hello Gorgeous”. Hopefully they will turn around and grin. Otherwise we use Cheeky Monkeys, or as a joke, Camembert.
I had a high end portrait studio for 25 years and the hardest portraits were of the years I tried getting that perfect photo of all 6 of my kids so I could make a really large wall portrait.
The main thing I would tell the kids to do when I counted to 3 was to yell “you’re a dummy” which usually worked like magic but, then I had to tell some of them that it was only allowed for this particular time taking pictures.
We say different things all the time – usually related to something we are doing. Ironically, my son is usually eager to smile, it is my husband that takes a little more coaxing!
Cheeseburgers!!
or I say “Whatever you do….DO NOT SMILE!!”
I say different things to my 2 girls to get them to smile. It depends on what we are doing , who is there, their moods, ect. 🙂
Cheese all the way. But it is how you say it… a high pitched silly sounding cheese does the trick every time!!!
I used to say ‘cheese’ or ‘smile,’ which worked more often than not, but lately that hasn’t worked so I say random things like ‘bananas’ or ‘monkey.’ If that fails and I really want the kids to smile I get my husband to jump around behind me like he is a monkey … guaranteed smiles (and giggles)
It has evolved from ‘cheese’ to ‘smile’ to ‘happy smiles’…the last one evolved because the smiles had turned into a teeth-baring grin with blank eyes staring off into space.
Wait, some people’s kids stop moving long enough to take pictures where you can ask them to say something?! Seriously though, we don’t say anything, so we have some happy pictures, some yawning, etc. I guess we just smile at them and hope they smile back, and we are fast enough to catch them on film. I’m sure all this will change as they get older.
Nothing too exciting for us to take pics…my kids totally love saying cheese! Although making funny faces or saying some nonsense word makes them smile too!
I usually tell my son NOT TO SMILE, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, NO! STOP SMILING! KNOCK IT OFF! NOOOOO! which works like a charm.
we say “ABACAXI” (pineapple in portuguese) !!! I get a lot of silly smiles with it 🙂
Often it is cheese but we also say silly sausagues, stinky socks or caise (Gaelic for cheese)
Befoer you hand your camera over make sure you have protected all the ones already taken quick and easy to do. My daughter almost deleted some within seconds of picking up the camera.
We say “Goon face!” most often, but occasionally say “cheese” too.
My kids all start saying “Cheeky Monkeys” as I start to click – I have no idea where they get it from… but it does make for a row of absurdly fake smiles!!!
We all say cheese. My mom tries to get us to say Cincinati because it automatically makes you smile, but usually we just say cheese.
Our family says different things depending on what’s happening. “Party!” if we’re celebrating something; “Parade!” if we’re watching or marching in a parade; etc. This class is an awesome idea!