Being a parent should really prepare you for anything!
But get out a camera and even the most patient of people can get the sudden urge to scream.
I get flashback of my mother asking me to smell the tulips in our garden, whilst she would adjust her Minolta. Strategically placing my right leg behind my left and hand on hip without squinting as she only had a few shots left in the roll.
Who would of thought a couple decades later I would be behind the camera making silly faces and attempting to keep cool whilst reminding my daughter to not punch her brother or pick her nose.
Sometimes we look at a photo and never realise what it took to get there.
School photos were probably most peoples first experience with a real photographer and the perplex look we would give them when they asked us to say "sausages!"
We'd wait anxiously for the sample photo to arrive, asking us to part with our money and my mother always says "I can make it cheaper at home" ( Shout out to Goodness Gracious Me).
Some photos were better than other but it just felt so amazing to receive the printed image with the cardboard frame.
My mother would proudly place the frames in her display cabinet and distribute the additional photos to close family members.
It never really occurred to me at the time that these moments be would so precious to her and now as an adult I can laugh at the vibrant jumper or cheesy grin I once cringed at.
What do you do to keep kids focussed ?
I'd say the most important thing is ensuring you are ready to shoot before you ask them to get in front of the camera, nothing can make a shoot go downhill faster than a bored child waiting for you to replace a battery or memory card.
Tip:
Check out the lighting and camera settings prior to shooting.
Don't try to over pose kids, play around and keep talking to them and don't be afraid to moo like a cow or pull a few faces.
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