Up until 1 year ago all i photographed was fashion, If a model smiled... I would say " Darling this is fashion , we dont smile " . Then I met with my current agent Marek & Associates in New York, and they loved the little lifestyle , kids and portraits i had on my website.So my mission was to work my ass off and photograph as much new lifestyle work as possible and finally say good bye to fashion.
I'm Loving it ! I have just shot my first big advertising shoot in New York for a Australian kids clothing brand.
In the past when I would photograph kids for advertising, it was really difficult , as I would have to photograph , get the kids attention and entertain them and try and keep the mothers away from me . It was a tricky business. They say photographing kids and animals are the most difficult subjects to shoot... i agree .
Although on my latest shoot I worked with a fucking talented Kid Rangler . she was incredible!
She made the kids do wierd and wonderful things and made them laugh naturally. When shooting kids its very difficult to make them do stuff naturally , if it isn't natural. Like the simplest action of smiling, can look so cheesy and fake on a kid if its not real ! So you have to make them laugh at fun things. this is where a kid rangler comes in handy, especially when you lying on the concrete floor in wierd positions to get good angles.
Patience and calmness are two other key elements. Dont freak out and lose your cool otherwise the kids will do the same.
i think it also really helps to have your own kids. When I was kid-less I had no idea how to communicate with a child, and even a kid staring at me would freak me out. But having a kid has taught me many things and one things for sure, i know how to photograph them.
When shooting kids outdoors, shoot wide or long, get interesting angles and be fast to capture that moment. Shooting kids is not for the slow person, you need to run and jump around. Be prepared to get dirty as well, lying in the mud and on the dirty streets is just the beginning.
good luck
Here are a few of my kids shoots I have done.
