Just recently I had the pleasure of photographing two beautiful boys. They are brothers, one of which is 8 years old and the other is 3 months old. They were so cute together! Big brother was so protective & loving of his little brother, which made the images even more precious.
In my years of photographing children & being a mother, I have noticed that up until a certain age, children really don’t know how to smile. I’ve had to come up with various ways to get children, including my son, to give a nature smile. One way is to make them laugh. Some kids laugh easier than others. If that doesn’t work, I have them say something that produces a smile. I try to stay away from “cheese”. Well in this session the 8 year old was having a difficult time giving me a natural smile so I tried having him say “weeeeeeee!” His “weeeeeeee” was rather lackluster, so he came up with saying “cheeseball”. Every time he would say that, it always made him smile as if it were an inside joke. I say do whatever works & that was working that day!
Unfortunately I was unable to get the mom in the pictures because she said she wasn’t prepared that day, but I’ll get her next time. I am so looking forward to the next time, not just because of the mother, but because the younger one will be more mobile, which will probably lead to a bit of chasing. Chasing can be fun & I can get some excellent peeks into their personality and some wonderful shots, as long as I’m quick on the trigger & my feet!
