Child photo shoot from h#ll today!

5 years 2 months ago #626234 by MYoung
I seriously need a drink.  A client who I have had for 7 years, had me photograph their 2 year old boy today, and I just could not get that little boy to keep his eyes on my camera.  What should have been an hour shoot, turned into nearly 3.5 hours.  He was a handful who one minute had more energy than he knew what to do with, then the next he wanted a nap.  

Ahhhh.  That's it for me today.  


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5 years 2 months ago #626257 by garyrhook
Anything between 18 months and 2.5 years is almost impossible. Your challenge is setting expectations, in that you won't get him to look at the camera on cue (toys and unexpected noises can help, like with dogs). In general, that age doesn't take direction nor cooperate. And you have to get Mom to understand that from the outset.

My strategy (which I make clear) is to follow them around, try to get in front of them and let them be themselves. If you can be flexible (and get Mom to be flexible) in an outdoor location, you can get some awesome images. But it's really, really hard.


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5 years 2 months ago #626281 by Eric A
Bummer.  Have you tried one of those bright animals that go around your lens with the squeaky sound?  My wife has a panda bear one and it works great for getting attention. 

My Camera Bag:

Canon 7D | 50mm f/1.2 | 17-40mm f/4 | 70-200mm f/2.8 | 320EX | 580EXII

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5 years 2 months ago #626319 by Janet Schlage
I feel your pain!  I have a little newborn and maternity photography business going on over here.  I just PM'd you with the props that I use with newborns.  Hope this helps, this gives me a decent chance of getting them smiling and looking at my camera.  There is also Shutter huggers that will work as well. 


Keep your head up!


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