Little Girl Smiles

Little girl smiles are one of the purest things I have come across since I started my photography business almost 9 years ago.  The little girls I usually work with are typically pretty excited about pictures with First Blush Photography because they know that they get to be themselves, get dressed up all pretty and most of all HAVE FUN.

The philosophy of First Blush Photography is to not ask kids to smile…its to make them smile.  Pretty simple concept isn’t it?  Yet the way I have experienced my own children’s photography in the past few years is that many photographers become frustrated very quickly when they cannot get the children they are photographing to look or smile with them.  Even making eye contact with the camera can be an expectation that is really not that reasonable depending on the age of the child.

If you think about it, there is a LOT happening during a photography session.  You have a photographer that they child/ren may or may not know, you have stress, you have new clothes, parents are often yelling at the kids forcing them to smile, kids have to pee or poo…there is just lots happening that normally is not squeezed into an hour or so.  The photographer gets frustrated when the kids are not participating and that tension is felt by the parents which is definitely felt by the kid(s).  This is not good and will never produce an image that you will love and cherish forever – you will likely want your session to be finished as quick as possible and the images you will ‘maybe’ use on Facebook just until the next try later on in the year (maybe).

What a waste of time, money and energy

In my almost 9 years of business, I have had only one bad experience with children.  It was a session I did for a family with a new baby and the two brothers were NOT into having their images taken.  They pulled faces, didn’t engage, couldn’t be bribed and despite my best efforts it just didn’t work out that well.  We ended up reshooting some of the session and they still were bombarding me with poor behaviour.  Was this the children’s fault?  Not at all.  Was it the parents?  No – I don’t blame them either.  I learned a lot from those two boys and it was that day of the reshoot that I really discovered that how I did photography worked for many people, but not for all.  Those boys were bing asked to participate in something that they did not consider fun and were bored…clearly from the faces they were making.

The First Blush Philosophy

As mentioned above, First Blush Photography has it’s own philosophy when it comes to working with anyone, but really…most importantly…kids.  I don’t ask for kids to smile…I make them smile.  The quality of the image increases ten fold when you capture a genuine smile and genuine actions rather then forced.  I certainly do not blame newer photographers for this…even seasoned photographers for not using the methods I subscribe to.  It takes time and practice and figuring out what works best for you as a photographer and a person.  Long before I was a photographer I was a Social Worker and worked in the field for about 8 years before leaving as frankly I cannot afford child care for my oldest and triplets.  I understand people and always felt like I excelled at it until I had that experience with the two boys.  Taking time to craft my sessions how I have allows me to capture moments…not smiles alone and I am rewarded for this handsomely as children and families leave their sessions feeling energized, happy and relaxed.  I have countless customers contact me with cute musings from their children like when school pictures are coming up and their kids ask if I will be doing their pictures – or when mom just wants a few short pictures in a Christmas outfit and they pout because they are not going to visit Suzie.

Circus Fine Art Session

This session I captured way back last summer was beautiful from the very start.  I arrived a little late as I was on the search for sandbags and in Alberta, Canada it is REALLY hard to find sandbags in the middle of summer – much harder then I thought it would be actually.  I knew though that we were up for two good hours of light so it wasn’t a huge dilemma as far as my shooting went.   The little girl that I was photographing that night is one of my oldest son’s longest friends – she is his old babysitters daughter and there is only about 6 months between the two of them.  They don’t get much chance to visit now as she lives in the next town over and don’t attend school together but when they get together they are like old buddies that see each other daily.  They love to play together and converse in the special way that 5 year olds do – and the smiles they give each other…its adorable.

I had bought string lights way back in the spring and it was finally time to use them.  I rigged them up while she got ready with the help of her dad (mom was helping a friend move) and we got started.  Now, this little girl has been a customer of mine since she was old enough to sit up really, so she knows me fairly well and is used to Aunti Suzie asking bizarre things of her in the name of photography, which is awesome.  In fact I always sigh and cringe a little when parents tell me that their now 6 or 7 year old child has never been photographed before, except at school and the occasional cell phone picture.  If you want good pictures of your children as they age, get them used to the camera…but this is a blog post for another day.

I had this beautiful child dress up, dress down and do many different things during the course of the session that lasted about 35 minutes or so (just the right amount of time is also very important).  She was a professional as usual and seemed to enjoy every second of it…and you know how I know she did…look at the smiles she gave me.  Nothing forced, nothing boring…just a fast paced session with the child in mind and heart.

Now here is the fun part.  Often – many dads sit on the sidelines and just watch, happy to help or offer assistance, or just sit because they are bored, but this little one’s dad was involved from the very beginning, offering a hand, water, extension cords and whatever else I needed.  At the end of the session I asked him if he wanted an image with his daughter and he said yes…but he had to get something first.  The next thing I know he has returned with a wooden office chair and a model shotgun and a doll…and yes…I am sure the expression on my face was priceless.  Dad explained that he really wanted a picture of him sitting with his gun and his daughter sitting on the grass with her doll with the composition creating the idea that he was protecting her and that boys should stay away.

I loved it so we did it.

A huge thank you to both Mom and Dad as well as their Little Miss who never fails to blow me away with her beauty, charm, humor and general disposition.  She is kind, funny and always has smiles for me.  I am a very lucky lady.

Have a beautiful day –

Suzie