A magical session is two shoots stacked on top of each other. There is the half hour in the studio with your child, and there is the week afterwards at the desk, building the world they end up standing in. The second half is mine to worry about. The first half goes better with a little preparation.
Pick the world first
Before anything else, ask your child where they want to be. Not what they want to wear, where they want to be. A frozen castle, a fairy waterfall, the deck of a ship, the moon.
Children give better expressions when they know what they are looking at, and I can describe the finished scene to them all the way through the shoot. A four year old told to smile will produce something strange with their mouth. A four year old told there is a dragon behind the camera will give you the real thing.
Costumes
The studio has a wardrobe, and you are welcome to use it. If you would rather bring your own, a few notes.
- Solid colours and real fabric photograph far better than printed polyester.
- Skip anything with a visible character logo. It dates the image and it fights the scene.
- Bring the wings, crown or wand even if you think it is too much. It is not too much.
- Pack a spare outfit. Something will get spilled on.
Timing is most of the job
Book the session for the part of the day your child is at their best, and be honest about when that is. For most children under six it is the first two hours after they wake up, and no amount of enthusiasm survives a missed nap.
Sessions run about forty five minutes. We will not need all of it if things go well, and we will not push past it if they do not.
| Age | Best time of day | Realistic shooting window |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 | Mid morning | 15 to 20 minutes |
| 2 to 5 | Mid morning | 20 to 30 minutes |
| 6 and up | Any time before dinner | 45 minutes |
What to bring
Keep it small. A drink bottle, a snack that is not going to end up on the costume, and one familiar toy. That is genuinely the whole list.
Leave the bribe chart at home. Children can tell when a photograph has become a transaction, and it shows in the eyes.
The one that matters
Your job on the day is not to help.
That sounds harsh, so here is what it means in practice. When a parent stands behind me calling their child's name, asking for a smile, adjusting a strap, the child looks at the parent. Every time. The photograph goes to whoever is talking.
Sit down. Get a coffee. Let it be a bit chaotic for ten minutes. The best frame of the day is almost always the one taken thirty seconds after everyone stopped trying.
Children are not difficult to photograph. They are difficult to photograph while being managed.
After the session
Composite work takes two to three weeks, because the background, the light on your child and the small details are all built by hand rather than dropped in. You will see the finished scenes at a viewing appointment, and they are worth printing large. These are the images that end up above a bed for the next fifteen years.
