Crazy Kids?

[michellegportraits]

I have a photo session tomorrow night with a family who has 3 very crazy, naughty kids. I've been to their house a few times and their mom has like NO control over these kids...a boy who's 9, a 5 yr old girl, and a 3 yr old boy. She wants an outdoor shoot and pictures of her kids as a surprise present to give to her husband for his birthday. I'm just worried about getting these kids to come together so I can get some "together" shots. I know I can chase each one down individually to get a lot of individual shots, but I could really use some tips on getting CRAZY kids to play nice so I can get a group shot...take into consideration that 2 of these kids are very young, and they DO NOT listen to their mom.

[Indigo November]

Eliminate sugar and flour from their diet for the 2 weeks prior to the shoot.
But, seriously, I have no clue! Good Luck!!!!



I hope to hear how this works out for you, I'd like to know too!

[candleman]

Originally Posted by michellegportraits

I have a photo session tomorrow night with a family who has 3 very crazy, naughty kids. I've been to their house a few times and their mom has like NO control over these kids...a boy who's 9, a 5 yr old girl, and a 3 yr old boy. She wants an outdoor shoot and pictures of her kids as a surprise present to give to her husband for his birthday. I'm just worried about getting these kids to come together so I can get some "together" shots. I know I can chase each one down individually to get a lot of individual shots, but I could really use some tips on getting CRAZY kids to play nice so I can get a group shot...take into consideration that 2 of these kids are very young, and they DO NOT listen to their mom.

yeah.. naughty kids drive me nuts
make sure you have a note of that in your contract about damage to equipment and possibly holding them liable.. as well as "if you cant control your kid dont expect us to be able to do it for you"

if its outside you're in luck...
i TWICE have had unruly children in a studio environment... little brats ended up tearing my paper backdrop, and walking into my softbox because they couldnt follow basic instructions.

you could try a mat.. get the individual shots first, and dont piss them off too soon.
let them look away and kepe it relaxed. rebelious children get WORSE when you try to get them to do what you want.

you COULD make it a competition for them.. tell them its the "funniest face competition"
make them pull a face, then show them the shot.. they will probably crack-up laughing. then trick them by waiting until after they have done a face and they start laughing... then snap a shot of them all laughing at eachothers farting noises


thats the best i can come up with
..........all the best.

[Shannon_A_S]

Sorry, I know this is a little too late, but I figured I'd give the advice anyways. I am a mother of 2 very hyper boys (3 & 1) so I've learned a few tricks. The best way is to make them WANT to do it, which means having fun. So get them playing games together, hide & seek, tag, piggy back races, that sort of thing. I personally feel that when doing portraits for others it is important to embrace their personalities. It will show through and the parents will love it even more that you are showing off their true colors. Once you've done this for a while, if you want some more posed shots take a bit of a break and explain to them that you want from them. Just a simple "lets get some less silly pictures for mommy. I know she will love that." Alot of the time that will work because they've run alot of energy down and they trust you not to be boring. Ok, I'm babbling on. Basically fun, non posed shots will work best with that type of kid.

Hope it went well!

[michellegportraits]

Thanks guys for all the advice! The session is this evening so I'll be sure to try and play silly games and hopefully I'll get some good shots. I think it'll be ok. Hopefully if I take charge and let the mom relax then the kids will relax too. The last few times I've seen them was inside and they were really crazy, but since its outside then hopefully it'll be better since they'll have room to run around. LOL I'll let you all know how it goes!!

[naeno]

So...how did it go?