You can imagine from the title of this post that our family photos this past weekend went a little less than smooth.

It started before the weekend even began with a rude wake up call around 4:30am. I was down for the count for 24 hours, and my was it ever unpleasant. It is never pleasant to have the stomach flu, obviously; I mean other than the weight loss bonus. So trying to have family photos taken no less than 24 hours after the stomach flu is a recipe for disaster, when taking photos of a toddler is a challenging activity on the best of days. They have short attention spans and even shorter patience with anything that you are hoping they will be into (i.e. that beautiful old fashioned crate that your photographer brought will be less desirable than pretty much anything in the world.). What they will be interested in is dirt, leaves, running away, and pulling at clothes.

I decided to write this post because I think that this shoot really could have gone way better, and hopefully I can help save you from making the same mistakes I did!

Here are some of my tips for trying to get nice photos of your toddler tornado.


Kim Moir Photography – Please do not use without permission

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Take the important photos first. Toddlers tend to be calmer when they first enter an environment because they are unsure. This is the time to get that family photo of the group of you. Sure they may not have the biggest smile, but I would rather have them in my arms than arching their back at a full 45 degree angle trying to get to whatever it is that catches their eye.

Wear pants. It’s probably easier for you as the mother to wear pants too, as you’ll be doing acrobatics trying to pose with your little one at that perfect angle, but it may also be helpful for your little girl to do so as well. I love dresses, but after looking at the results from the shoot on Saturday, I have realized that until my daughter is a little older, shots of her bloomers are more common then I would like. That’s okay for a baby, but I am not a fan for a toddler personally. Next time, I will put her in pants and avoid this problem.

Toys.  If you are doing a shoot with toys in it, then by all means go for it! But if you are not, then toys should be a last last last resort. Trying to keep a little one still is tough enough without trying to keep them from waving that lovable stuffed animal around their head. Using them as prop to make them smile doesn’t really work at this age and will just make them either want to run towards you to grab the toy, or become angry that they can’t have it. This is probably something best discussed with your photographer ahead of time so they, with the best intentions, don’t bring something along.

If they have had enough, they have had enough (ditto for you! ). Once you lose your little one, it is time to move on. Otherwise you are just going to end up with everyone involved being upset. I have learned the hard way that it is only going to get worse! You can bring the camera to the toddler, but you can not make her smile if she doesn’t want to.

As for us, I am thinking the dog will be on the Christmas card this year.

Have your family photoshoots gone smoothly or disastrously?