Getting those little ones to smile | Guest Post by Katelyn McKay

Hey guys! Katelyn McKay from Capture the Moment here...Emma asked if I could step in and post while she's gone at Biology camp...so here I am! I'm going to be talking about children first...how to get them to cooperate, what's the best smiles, etc. but first let me introduce myself. (Sorry, Emma..I switched themes on ya! :)

My name, like I told you, is Katelyn McKay, and I'm 13 year old homeschooler with a burning passion for the Lord, as well as Photography!

I've been fascinated by the works of photographers ever since I was little...I remember my mom bringing home a print of a flower to put on our wall, and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen...I remember deciding right then and there that I wanted to be able to do that when I grew up...that was about 6 years ago, and here I am! No, I'm not a professional by any means, but I am serious about what I do, and it's not just a hobby for me. I feel like if God has blessed me with a gift/talent, then I should be able to use it for the Lord and to bless other people by it.

One of the most difficult things to do in photography is dealing with an un-cooperative child, especially when you have a certain time frame that's wasting away. I've found a few solutions to get those natural grins to shine through.

1. Happy Acres Farm

This Etsy shop is simply amazing. I used to try to bring a long stuffed animals, but then you get your camera's balance off trying to move it around, and you end up getting the child looking somewhere else, and the picture is 1. of centered, and 2. sometimes a little blurry. That's where Happy Acres Farm comes in! Just attach one of their many adorable creations to your lens and Wha-la! Smiles all around.

I'm really craving the Owl one right now :)

2. Katherine Schultz's Theory

Oh my goodness, she is a life saver!! Back in March, I had read IHF's post, "How to Capture a Child--from a teens perspective" and it was awesome...it inspired me so much, and hopefully it will you too!

"1. “Can you see the big, green dinosaur in my lens?”

I’ve used this trick so many times with my 3-year-old Godson, and it works wonders. For older children, the lens looks like a big technical device so I ask them to look deep into it and tell me what they can see. The cutest expressions are almost always a result of this handy hint." (Katherine Schultz)
 I absolutely LOVE this advice, and like she said, it's worked every time...this past week I said that to a little guy I was photographing, and the entire time after that he kept repeating, "Mommy, did you see that dinosaur?? It was in there mommy! And it was green and purple too!!" Sometimes they don't smile, they just give you a serious look.. sometimes you get the most beautiful natural smiles...it's amazing. I've told kids in the past once they find it to wave and tell the dino "hi!"...it usually works too! :)
( You can read her whole post here)

3. What I've learned..

When you get down on the kids level, it seems to put them at ease...like you're just a friend coming over to play...in fact that's what I've been telling my clients to tell them...just a friend/girl coming over to play and take some pictures...that way they're relaxed :) When you're capturing all "above" shots looking down, they're not going to feel much of a connection, you know? You can get the best pictures looking eye-to-eye.

I hope you enjoyed my post, and if you'd like to find out more about me, book a session, or just browse through my photographs, you can find me on Facebook or blog.

Katelyn McKay @ Capture the Moment