It’s ALMOST Christmas Day! Every year I have big dreams about my kids Christmas photos. I have SO many ideas and then the big day sneaks up on me and the moment has passed. Or my kids are in MAJOR photographer’s child mode and refuse photos. I never know what I’m going to get. So I’ve learned to relax more and just go with what I can get.
This year my oldest was game. Mainly he wanted to open up everything in the studio setup, so I went with it. Not what I was planning, but it worked! Part of getting good images with kids is just relaxin and making the most of what you get. Work with their mood, their interests, and don’t worry about being “messy.”
Thankfully my youngest is kind of in a “Bubba” mode where he wants to do what Bubba (brother) is doing. Also, he loves destroying things. It’s his specialty. So opening boxes and dumping them into a pile is right in line with his current interests. So despite not originally wanting the boxes to even be moved, or really touched, I simply let it happen. I gave a few directions here or there to create interaction and movement, but I mainly let them do their thing and captured it.
Now, when it came to individual images, there was a VERY different experience. Big brother was game immediately. Probably because it had been a while since we had been in the studio. Also, boxes are fun. He even listened to directions. It’s a miracle! I told him to wait for me to get to my camera, then open the box and pretend like something SUPER exciting was inside. He did it perfectly! I was thrilled!
His little brother, on the other hand, REFUSED to take photos alone. There was lots of crying, screaming, and anger. By him, not me. I was pretty chill, mostly. So, much like our family photos this year, I chose to be okay with documenting the back of his head this year. It has changed a lot within the year since we gave him his first hair cut this year (goodbye curls!) and his second one that went MUCH shorter. He looks so old now!
Now, I am NOT above bribery when it comes to photos. MANY people I have photographed, or simply spoken to, bribe their kids to take good photos. It’s a great tool in the toolbox of parenthood! Wield it wisely!
For the studio images above I told the boys that we could get out and play with our “new” train set once photos were done. So, we watched one episode of Pinkalicious (thanks PBS), because we were in the basement studio right by the only TV in the house, and then headed upstairs to open our train in the daylight.
We opened our train, which was actually purchased months ago, I just stashed it somewhere in the box until now, and the boys had a blast. It fell off the track a lot, so we had a lot of fun with train crashes, and fixing it again. The boys loved to pretend to be tunnels and bridges…often accidentally touching the train and knocking it off track. Which meant more activity trying to set it back up.
Now, I guess he had warmed up to my camera, or gotten over his toddler power struggle moment, and I finally got a good shot of my youngest by himself. Basically my other son had ran off to get something, and while this guy was setting up the train again, I called his name and snapped a photo in the second that he looked up and then away from me. Some times you get lucky.
My oldest just had a blast playing around, and I had a blast capturing it happening. I love when he gets really involved in something. I try not to make direct eye contact when it happens, because that would break the spell! He is a chatty Cathy that wants someone with him at every moment. I really enjoy being able to watch him in his own world creating, exploring, and problem-solving.
I also have a couple other set ups that I have in mind for my kids Christmas photos this year. They may or may not end up happening this year. If not, then so be it. Life will move forward and I can try something else!
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