Yes, photographing older children is a thing, its not just for babies! Gone are the sleepless nights, the terrible two’s and threenager tantrums, older kids tend to follow direction a little bit more, and are a little easier to photograph.. and here is why.
1. I am interested
I am genuinely interested in your child, I love asking them questions, what school year they are in, what’s their favourite food and what are their favourite games. I don’t patronise them, I won’t treat them like babies, otherwise they wont respect me. I love all their quirks, wether that be pouty grumpiness or cheeky smiles. I really do love photographing older children.
2. I know girls are different to boys!
Ok, besides the obvious differences, girls will pose for ages and pretend they are at their very own fashion shoot, and with boys, I know I have to be very quick to get their attention as it tends to be very boring for them. Cue the paper aeroplanes below. I get your child to make them with me in the studio, and then we have so much fun throwing them around the studio. Extra ten points if you hit the chandelier lol! Of course there are exceptions, some boys love posing and some girls will sit and play with the trains. Totally up to them.
3. Listening Ears!
Children aged between 5-12 have very good listening ears, I will treat them like adults and won’t talk down to them. They take direction better, and the interaction is amazing.
3. Clothing compromise for older children.
I have 2 girls aged 8 and 10, and clothing compromise is my daily struggle! “Please wear this beautiful green dress I may £50 for” for them to turn around and say they hate it and would rather wear their Christmas jumpers in the middle of June with trousers with holes in them.
I wont force your child to wear certain outfits in the studio, I will always give them a choice so they think they are in control and there is less tears. I try and make it fun, and pretend we are at a fashion shoot and they get to choose the clothes from the rack. It doesn’t always work with the boys, but the girls love it.
4. Say Cheese!
I wont ask your child to smile, but I will chat with them and make them laugh naturally, nobody likes the wallace and grommet smile in photos! I like to say “smelly socks” instead of say cheese, that does tend to start some giggles. Although sometimes I get a tough crowd where my jokes dont work ( I really do need to get new ones), and on those occasions moody images it is.
5. The dreaded sibling shot!
If your lot are anything like my lot and I make them hold a hand or hug in public I will get the evil eye. It may take a while and promises of a pony but I gently coax them into two minutes of sibling photos. I have the hand sanitiser ready for when they are done holding hands 🙂
So to wrap it up, I LOVE photographing older children, they are so much fun! They can be as silly or as serious as they want, I will still get beautiful images for you to treasure for ever and ever. So quick, get them booked in before the only photo they will take will be a selfie lol!
To find out more about booking a session with me, you can message me here
Here are some more gorgeous images from this shoot.
Beautiful white dress can be found at www.zara.com
