Gorgeous Playgroup Portraits and One Very Important Lesson

Each year I get the pleasure of photographing little ones at their playschool. Its not an easy age group to photograph since they are all usually rather frightened of the strange person holding a camera and flashing lights at them. But they are an age group that is full of character. Each one is different (some more challenging than others). When I am able to make a connection though, it is hugely rewarding.

This lovely young lady knew exactly what to do and I was able to capture loads of her. She gave me that beautiful serious face as well as loads of happy smiling ones. I'm actually a really big fan of the serious ones so she was a dream.

Although these portraits are different to my studio portraits I still always try to bring out the best in the children with a little of what I put into my studio work. For me posing, lighting and styling are still important elements. I just can't take the time to do as much as I would for studio portraits, nor is it possible to consult with all the parents ahead of time to learn of their preferences. For future reference though, for anyone sending their children to playgroup for portraits, please choose clothing that is more simple with less going on. Overly bright and busy patterns are often a big distraction in portraits.

Where I can I like to include things that the children like. If a child brings a favourite cuddly toy they are welcome to have that with them in their photos. In some cases I can't always convince them to leave the toy out of the photo anyway. I believe that if something is that important to the child then it will make a fantastic memory for years to come.

In the case of this young boy, he loves books and it was the perfect way to get him to sit and interact with me. This too is a wonderful memory for his parents because they said this is exactly what he is like at home too. It worked a treat when wanting the two boys to sit next to each other, a task that is difficult more often than not when working with small children.

So what is the very important lesson I speak of? The lesson is this. Please do not practice smiling with your children before photo day. This is rarely a help to me and more often than not makes it difficult for me to get natural smiles from them. They will often sit in front of me and put on a very cheesy and false smile that they believe is what they've been practicing. They think they are doing what you have asked of them but it looks very unnatural. It then takes me considerably longer to work them out of that smile, if I can at all. Some kids won't do anything but what they believe is the smile mum wants to see. Its wonderful that they want to try but not wonderful when parents are disappointed that I didn't get a natural expression. Please don't make a big deal about photo day at all. Its just another day at playschool. They don't need the worry about the unknown. And they don't need to practice smiling. With the right interaction they are pretty good at that all on their own.

I pride myself on the patience I have with these children. And its not that I have the patience of a saint. Its just that I know the more patient I am the better the results. I really do like photographing children and I want to do the best I possibly can. That's not to say though that I don't have moments when I am screaming on the inside. Its just that I've learned to never let them see me sweat. I have worked out that if I remain calm I can almost always get what I need. During playgroup sessions where there are fewer children to photograph than a full sized school I can take my time and work with them and hopefully create beautiful portraits of every child.

So please remember, don't practice smiling and don't make a big deal about photo day. They'll be fine and I will work with them to bring out their natural beauty, which may not be all smiley anyway. I spend enough time with them and I often ask the staff about the children as well so I am usually pretty good at creating portraits that reflect each child's personality. But at the end of the day, these are still school photos and not full studio sessions so please be realistic in what I can achieve in that environment.

Comments

I am Still Me: A Story about a Transgender Boy

Meet Leo. Leo is 15 and currently going through an epic transformation that has momentarily turned the lives of himself and those around him upside down. A mum who once had the daughter she always longed for is now coping with the realisation that she will be living the rest of her life with a son instead. When your child is born you have certain expectations of the typical life they will lead but most of us know and accept that it won't necessarily end up the way we imagine. Not every person wants to marry, have kids or be involved with the opposite sex. Most of us have come to accept this and can adjust to whatever comes our way relatively easily. But few of us have expected to have to deal with a change in sex. Its not that we've hoped it won't happen, but just that it never occurred to us that it might. This is a new adjustment that we as a society are being presented with today, just like so many others that have come before. When I first heard that Phoebe ...

Burbage Carnival 2009

For the past few years my husband and I have been attending the Burbage Carnival and remarking to ourselves at how much better it could be. The carnival seemed to be declining in recent years. Earlier this year I met someone (Harvey) who mentioned that he joined the committe. When I asked him why he said he had been remarking that the carnival could do with some improvements. The response he received was rather than complain why don't you join the committee and do something about it. Its hard to argue with that. The following week I found myself, along with my husband, at the Burbage Carnival meeting. And we've been attending (most meetings) ever since. With this being our first year we didn't want to dive in head first. We contributed where we felt we could but it was great to see that what little we were able to offer still made a difference on the day. We're now very much looking forward to seeing just how much of a difference we can make next year. I just hope it ...

5 Reasons you Should Consider Getting a Professional Headshot

Headshots, or profile pictures are becoming a requirement of so many tools we regularly use or reference today. From Facebook to Linked In, Instagram to Twitter and often any website that represents a company for which you work or own will have a place to include a photograph that is meant to show your audience who you are. And how you present yourself there will tell your audience so much about you. 1. A profile picture is your first opportunity for your audience to see you. Its often the first impression you make and we all know you only have one chance at a first impression. A professional photographer has the skills to show you in the best, most suitable way to give a great first impression. (These headshots were created for recruitment firm Optima UK who asked to have their logo placed behind them. I think it makes these headshots quite eye catching and they should do their job well.) 2. Using a professional to create your headshot will ...

Family Photos with Flair - Vanity Fair Style Family Portraits

This style of portrait continues to be the eye catching success I had always hoped it would be. Once again I created a beautiful family portrait that I am really proud of and I know this family loves too. Over the years I have developed this style through influences such as Vanity Fair and the many photographers I follow, though I hope that there is something in here that is entirely my own. Having my work easily identified as my own was a goal of mine from the start. Getting to the point where people will want not just a portrait but a Christina Lauder portrait is where I've always wanted to be and I'm hoping I'm on way. These portraits were created for the family of two professional photographers who wanted some portraits of their own. Family portraits isn't really something one can do of oneself, at least not easily. So they needed the services of another and I was honoured to be chosen for the job. They chose me not just for my style but also for my ab...

London in Spring, Whats Not to Love?

Well I know there is still a lot not to love but I'm choosing to see the great things about London at the moment. I am having a ball this year visiting London as often as I can. Which is unusual for me since I usually prefer the comfort of my own home, in rural old Leicestershire. Staying home and avoiding people has always been the easy option. But this year, possibly due to the wonderful weather we keep having, has me longing for venturing out. Again, just like my last trip, I headed out with my good friend Panikos Hajistilly . Living in North London he finds it easy to meet up for our shoots. This time though I had more of an idea of the sights I wanted to use as the backdrops for my portraits. With it being spring I was in search of colour, preferably flowers. Admittedly. I didn't quite get what I was looking for. The white fronted terraced houses with pink magnolia trees we did not find unfortunately. But I did make it to Peggy Porchen's which was a must see on m...

Christina Lauder Portraits

Search This Blog