Toddlers Are Tuff !
April 12, 2021Toddlers Are Tuff
Photographing toddlers is not for the faint of heart. Especially if they are par to of your own family. I have photographed babies and toddlers before and it is usually 40 % preparation and 60 % waiting for the right moment.
Here is an example. I was tasked with updating more of the family portraits to be displayed on the wall. So, following an Easter lunch get together we planned on photographing one of my son’s and his family. The pairings would be as follows;
1- two-year-old boy
1- 4 month-old boy
1 shot of the couple
1 shot of the family.
This was an ambitious plan given the fact that some of the subjects were napless toddlers. But, when Mimi (Grandma) makes the request to get ‘er done….you attempt to get ‘er done.
Since the day was getting longer we decided to attempt getting something acceptable with the toddlers first. Should we have tried the group picture first? The thought did cross my mind, but since Mimi wasn’t expecting miracles in the group pic, but preferred to have a somewhat pleasant expression in the individual pic, I opted to try individual pics first. Then, with luck, we might get a usable expression between screams during the group photo.
Well, after lugging the equipment over to the lunch and then setting up, here is how things progressed.
We started with Mr. Sammy who was busy trying to knock stuff over with one of his riding toys. I figured the Lumedynes could handle a fall while nestled safely in the softbox so I was happy to try and grab a photo while he moved around on his riding toy.
We started out with this expression.
He was making motor noises in the back corner of the set. I thought, hey not too bad. But realized he had no intention of staying anywhere in the frame. You can see below that he was on the move and was out of the set and had no intention of coming back.
That’s when Papa (that’s me) declared we needed a different plan. We didn’t have all day. So, Sammy was banished from the riding toy and placed “gently” on my folding table.
The end result was not promising. Gulp…Mimi (Grandma) did not look too happy with my decision so it was time for some quick action.
Surely I could out-think a 2-year-old…right? My son retrieved some of Sammy’s balls and the fake-out began. Son would throw the ball “gently” at Sammy and hopefully distract him from the fact that PaPa had ruined his fun and make him forget about ”revenge”.
This was the first result.
It was an improvement, but we needed to keep moving until Sammy was in a more cooperative demeanor. So, PaPa decided to play the “nah-nah” you can’t hit me game. He would catch the ball and throw it at me. I would then pretend that I was knocked backward onto the floor which is probably what he secretly wanted to see happen anyway. The tears were starting to dry a bit, but they could still be seen.
So we kept trying and eventually, after much falling backward and getting up again, we had something we could use. Thankfully, because I was getting tired and I had only managed to accomplish one part of the 4 part plan.
The last few images document that Sammy did not win the battle of wits completely. I came away with something for the wall, and Sammy had the pleasure of walloping me with his ball until he figured I had suffered enough.
May the force be with all of you guys who are photographing young children!
The included images were shot in raw on an Olympus EM5 II and processed in Perfectly Clear.