A case of the Sillies

What is it about a camera that has such an effect on five year olds? It's like someone turned on a switch. While attempting to photograph my daughter the other day I was faced with the same situation that most of my clients face when they bring in their five year olds to be photographed. The dreaded silly face. All of you with a child this age knows exactly what I'm talking about.

It seems that a five year old just cannot resist the urge to make every silly face known to man kind. The puffing out of cheeks, the sucking in of cheeks, and my daughter's favorite - sticking out her tongue. But of course this only happens just as I'm about to press the shutter. This is typically the point in our sessions when the mother lets out the really big sigh of frustration and begins to lose it with her child. She knows they can behave better. After all, doesn't this kid understand that we're trying to get a "nice photo for the grandparents . . . "

Well, after becoming very frustrated with my daughter (I was in Mom mode), I remembered some of the tricks I use to get my five year old clients to cooperate. I asked her who her favorite Disney Princess was. Well that did it. I was able to get about ten very nice images while she smiled and told me about all her favorite Princesses.

Here's my tip for the day. If you are trying to get your child to stay still for a photo-op, try to remember to ask them about something they are very interested in. It really does illicit a great response.