Sometimes I get a little client that is super shy… which is totally understandable. Put yourself in their shoes…
I’m sitting there, a stranger, peering at them through a big black camera. It can be intimidating.
Sometimes in this situation the parents start to get nervous, after all they hired me to photograph their beautiful child and they want the best photos possible. The best thing to do in this situation though, is to relax. Maybe even walk off if you are the parent. Why? Because your child will pick up on your nerves and they will in return continue to shy from the stranger with a camera. The worst thing you can do is try to get your child to cooperate and become frustrated.
Let your photographer be the one to jump-through-hoops or act like a fool…. or better yet let them just watch and wait and make a connection. Sure, we all love the smiley photos of our children, but what’s even better than that are the ones in-between the big posed grins. That is where the real emotion is.
This beautiful little girl was from a session a while back, she wanted nothing to do with me, or my camera until about half way through the session, then I caught a laugh. Her parents were awesome, they let us have our space while I was shooting, there was no pressure for anyone. What I was able to capture was her real personality. Sure she was shy, but she was so darn sweet too. I loved how she clutched her little bunny rabbit through the session, it’s who she is at this moment. That’s what her parents will remember….
