Have you ever wondered what a photographer thinks of your child being their wild selves? When they are driving you crazy and being loud, Have you wondered what is going through your photographer’s head? Worse yet, has this stopped you from booking a photo shoot?
I am a mom of three rambunctious little boys, so this question really resonates with me. I have had so many mamas apologize for their kids’ short attention spans and their inability to follow directions. I have had mamas be so embarrassed by how their kids were acting, and do you want to know what I was thinking in those moments?
“She is so adorable”
“Aw! I am so glad he is having fun!”
“I hope your mom didn’t spend a lot of money on that outfit!”
“What a genuine smile!”
“Kids will be kids!”
And that is all. I don’t believe in that old saying “Boys will be boys” even as a boy mom, but I will scream from the rooftops “kids will be kids!”
I (nor any other photographer I know) don’t expect your children to be perfectly well behaved robots, we expect them to run and be loud. I personally build extra time into my sessions with children for them to be themselves, I never rush kids. (does this mean that I want your 15 minute session turning into an hour, no. But waiting for your kids to be happy and play an extra five or ten minutes never hurt anyone, and it makes the session go so much more smoothly going at their pace.)
Before I started photographing other families, I had the same thoughts, that I would wait until my kids were older before we did family photos because they were just at a difficult age and I didn’t want to inconvenience the photographer. But now that I have been the one behind the camera, I can absolutely assure you that no decent and kind photographer will judge you based on your kids being loud, or wild, or acting out a little bit, it is something as natural and unchangeable as the breeze.
So book the session, hire the photographer, and don’t feel guilty or feel the need to apologize if your baby doesn’t smile or doesn’t listen to prompts. Just remember that kids will be kids no matter what.
