Photographing the Toddler Set

Adam Cohen uses the Tamron 18-270mm VC PZD for capturing this unpredictable stage of a child's life.

Article by Jenn Gidman

Images by Adam Cohen

"I predominantly photograph babies and young children," he says. "I won the Tamron 18-270mm VC PZD lens at PhotoPlus East in the company's text-to-win contest, and I've been using that for my toddler sessions. I love the versatility of that lens and not having to constantly change my lenses. If I'm at the park chasing a kid around and photographing him, I can capture him from 100 yards away and still get a sharp shot, even if he's running at breakneck speed (which they usually are at this age). The Vibration Compensation feature on the 18-270 really helps me get crisp images that wow the parents."

Whether Adam and Suzanne hold their sessions in the park ("that's where at least 50 percent of our shoots take place"), a client's apartment, or a birthday party venue, the number-one goal is to get their young customers relaxed and happy so they can capture amazing images that the parents will love. Read on for Adam's tips for ensuring a smooth session.

Make sure the child is dressed appropriately.
You'd be surprised what some kids show up to sessions wearing. They'll come in the same jeans and cutoff T-shirts they wore to preschool or daycare that day, all messy and grungy, and I'm thinking, "You're paying me for these photos!"

You want to dress the kids up, but you don't want to dress them up like 40-year-old bankers - you want to dress them like 3-year-olds, in a way that matches their personality. The parents have to get into the right mindset to figure out what age-appropriate attire, what colors and so forth, will show where the child is at this particular age and stage.

Leave buffer time for your shoots.
My typical sessions with kids this age are 45 minutes to an hour of actual shooting, but I actually schedule about an hour and a half for the entire session. We leave plenty of buffer room, depending on their age. There are meltdowns we have to deal with (see further down), as well as other reasons, depending on the age of the child. When you have a newborn, for instance, you'll have a longer session, because a newborn's going to fall asleep, it's going to wake up, it's going to eat, it's going to cry. As the kids get older, however, the session naturally gets shorter, because they don't want to do it anymore. You have to be able to be flexible - there's a lot of ebb and flow with kids this age.

Stick with available lighting when possible.
Suzanne and I try to keep it very natural during sessions with young children. It's the path of least resistance with kids: When they see a flashing light, babies go nuts, and slightly older kids get distracted. We can maybe sneak some shots in when they're not looking, but once you have that flash on, they know exactly what's going on. If the lighting is really harsh, we might use a reflector, and sometimes we use an add-on flash as a fill light just to even out some of those under-the-tree spots when we're at the park. Otherwise, we try to keep it as natural as we can.

Keep the session calm and comfortable for relaxed expressions.
Probably the hardest part about photographing kids this age is getting them comfortable so you get the expressions you want and really show their true personality. My wife and I have two different styles we use to accomplish this: She approaches it more like a bird-watcher, just subtly shooting and hoping they're not paying attention, in a more photojournalistic way.

I, on the other hand, make sounds, act like a goofball, and do pratfalls for them. I also use bribery, which is the only language a 3-year-old understands at this age. I try to ham it up with them and get on their level, especially with little boys. I'll jump around and say, "You know how the Power Rangers stand - yeah, that's how they do it! Yeah, now give me a growl! Now give me a smile!" If Mommy has to hold them up for a good shot, they can pretend they're a superhero.

Little girls get it more - they want to look like Mommy or do some princess role-playing. I'll say, "You know, Princess Ariel poses like this. Can you give me a pretty face like she would do?" or "How would Minnie Mouse smile?" You get a very different, more natural smile that way than you would if you told them to say "cheese." Plus, their parents are always telling them to say "cheese" in front of their own cameras. You have to do something different as a photographer to evoke different reactions and facial expressions.

We also integrate the parents where we can. We may have segments where we ask the parents to take a couple of steps back so they're out of the frame, but we'll never say, "We're going to take your kids and go photograph them for a couple of hours - see you later!" We want them to be involved, because we want everyone to be comfortable so we get great shots.

See the world from the child’s point of view.
When you're photographing kids, try to be different from everyone else in terms of your perspective. One way to figure out the best way to capture a child is to observe carefully if you happen to visit a client's home. If you're able to see the photos the parents already have on their walls, you know right away what they like. Do they prefer face-to-face shots at eye level? Do they like to get images that are shooting up on the child? You can internalize what you see and focus your shoot on their preexisting preferences.

Generally, though, you don't want to be 6 feet high and looking down on kids - it makes them look short and isn't so flattering. You want to get on their eye level. This is especially true when you're shooting a toddler's birthday party. You want to be able to see what they're seeing. If you start with them at this age and can get them as recurring clients, you'll get to shoot many of their birthday parties over the years. As their height changes, the angle changes, the perspective varies, and you get a really interesting narrative and viewpoint of the child's life.

Know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em: dealing with the meltdown.
There's no way to avoid meltdowns when you're working with these little people with shorter fuses. It's part of what you do when you photograph toddlers. You always have to leave buffer time, like I mentioned before, and you always have to be friendly. You might have to reset when the tears start and say, "Let's go get a snack or a juice box" to calm them down.

Ultimately, though, if the child just can't come back around, you shouldn't force it. Once you get to a place where you're making them do it, they just shut down, and if you have them as a repeat customer, they're never going to be happy when their parents say, "Oh, we're going to go get our pictures taken with this person." The hardest thing about moving on from a shoot like that is handling the parents, because sometimes the parents want to force them through it. They'll say, "The sun's out, we look great, she looks great, let's do this!" I'll tell them, "No, your child doesn't look great with puffy eyes and red cheeks and screaming hysterically. What photo do you want out of this? I want to get the right image for you guys, so if your child isn't into this, let's do it some other day." You have to just let kids be kids.

For more information on Adam Cohen, go to www.dadarocks.com.