A parent at a child care center remarked, “You’re treating them like real people.” This was many years ago and I had never thought of phrasing it exactly like that. But, yes, that described my approach well. I had evolved. It had started many years before and I can’t say exactly when.
I do remember emphasizing using a soft but normal tone of voice in my classes and in field training sometime in the 80’s. Some of the more “experienced” photographers resisted. These were the new recruits from other photography companies. The ones who had been working for me for a while had seen it work. It was different from the way many of them were trained. The way the major companies trained photographers in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s sometimes involved a lot of baby talk and high pitched tones. Frankly, it turned off a lot of kids. Some of them thought we were just plain weird and it made them more difficult to control and pose.
An example of treating them like real people might be discussing hair styles and skirt lengths with infant girls or workout methods with one year old boys. “Are you into free weights or machines? You look like a free weight guy to me.” All of this is delivered in a normal tone of voice, soft but not artificial.
With younger toddlers and infants, I don’t expect an answer, but I do wait for a response. The response may be a smile or even a gurgle, but I continue just as if I were having a conversation with a real people. Because I am.
The children respond well. They feel like they are being respected and they pay attention. They are easier to control and put into the poses that have become my style. Examples of this approach can be seen on my YouTube channel.
Announcement (a big deal)
This week I signed a short term lease on space in the Rimrock Mall in Billings, Montana. I will be testing and developing a new children’s portrait studio concept for the next three months. I will make a special effort to post on this blog more frequently in the next few weeks with a greater concentration on guiding parents. If the studio is what has brought you to this site, Welcome. To access my YouTube channel, enter “Children’s Portraiture” in the search bar of YouTube.