When it comes to getting in photos with our kids, there’s nothing quite as ‘fun’ as attempting to get a good photo with a toddler. 😉 They’re busy, they’re curious and don’t often want to slow down to have their photo taken.
Last year a quick beach session with my then 18-month old daughter Alivia didn’t exactly go how I’d planned. I wanted some beautiful mother daughter photos on the beach at sunset. She didn’t. We ended up with a whole bunch of shots like the ones pictured above but with a little bit of effort we also managed to get a few keepers. Read on to find out some of my tips for getting in photos with your toddler.
How did I convince my toddler getting some photos with mom would be a lot funner than she thought? I didn’t, in fact, I gave up. We put the camera away, took her pretty dress off and just let her play in the sand until she’d had her fill. I quit forcing it and just let her call the shots. It took me a little while to let it go but…An hour or so later, when she was tired of playing we had a little snack, got cleaned up and put her dress back on for take two. You can’t tell in the pictures, but she still had sand all through her hair. 😉
Letting your toddler have a little bit of time to play time in the area of photos can make them a much more willing photo subject. After some play time, my daughter had seen all there was to see at the beach already and wasn’t so quick to run away from mom to go explore.
We played catch the photographer and this sure brought out the smiles. Alivia’s big sister was behind the camera and when I whispered to Alivia “let’s go get Emily” and started to run towards her it was all giggles and smiles. {See center photo in the outtakes collage above.} When you make looking at the camera a game it engages your toddler and draws out genuine smiles and interactions.
If you’re in the photos with your toddler talk to them, play games with them, ask them questions. I asked Alivia “can you see a boat in the water?” “can you count the boats? and Emily was able to capture that first shot of both of us looking away from the camera.
For another shot I asked Alivia where her hands were. I asked her where my nose was, where her nose was, etc. and we were able to capture some photos of the two of us interacting with each other. They turned out to be some of my favourite photos from the session.
Try playing a little peek-a-boo with the camera. I whispered to Alivia “can you scare Emily {the photographer}?” That little phrase CAN YOU can really work some magic when it comes to photographing young children.
As you can see, these photos didn’t come easily. Our sessions went nothing like I’d planned and we certainly had more outtakes than we did keepers in the end. But the few precious photos we did capture were so totally worth it! Toddlers can be tricky photo subjects, especially when they’re your own, but with a few little tricks up your sleeve capturing darling photos of your little one is totally doable!
For more photo tips + ideas check out my eBooks and the simple fixes action set from Ella Publishing Co:
Whipperberry
She Paperie
The Crafting Chicks
Crystal Wilkerson Design
Thirty Handmade Days
A little Tipsy
Craftaholics Anonymous
Kiki & Company
Tidy Mom
Naptime Momtog
Delia Creates
Rebecca Cooper is a 42-year-old wife and mother of four from Alberta, Canada. As a photographer, crafter, author, and blogger, she finds joy and fulfillment in celebrating everyday moments. She loves to read and eat chocolate, and is a firm believer in afternoon naps. Rebecca shares her family’s adventures, photo tips, simple craft projects + more right here at Simple as That.
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Thank you for the tips! I have two little ones and I’m always in need of new tricks! Our good photo to bad photo ratio is about 1/100. But it really only takes that 1 great shot to make it all worthwhile!
As soon as I pull out my camera, my two-year-old grins and runs the other way. He purposely turns his face so that it’s never facing me. Any suggestions for that?? 🙂
Loved these tips! Letting them play first is an amazing tip. thank you!
Beautiful Rebecca! Loving the book too. I finally got things straight with Ella & downloaded it this morning. 🙂
I seriously love your blog! Thank you for sharing these tips!
Great tips! I have the same problem photographing my 2 1/2 year old. They are just so squirrely! 🙂
Really great tips Rebecca!
I love that you shared outtakes too! I love the photos that you love with the soft light! It’s hard to wrangle those toddlers but oh so precious when you do. My fav is of you holding her and she looking into camera with those doe eyes! Tks for sharing your tips! Oh, and lucky you had an “assistant”. I tried taking selfies with a toddler. I might have gotten 1 shot ;).
You definitely got some keepers! Love these photos! This was a great post and these tips sure will come in handy! I’m going to be photographing my 2 year old niece soon ;o)