Asked to take kids portraits at a day care. First time to do this.

[jmphotosa]

I have been approached by the director at the day care my son attends to take individual portraits of the kids for parents to purchase for Mother's Day.

These will be shot outside under some large oak trees. Any help or suggestions (lessons learned) would be greatly appreciated.

I have taken paid pictures of children before, but they were mostly candid and time was not a factor.

The children range from infant-5 years.

Thanks,
John

[suecassidy]

I would probably enlist the help of one of the daycare people, as the children would be more comfortable having someone they know beside them. If feasible, have the children brought out in groups of three, with a small play area or bench for the two that are "on deck". That way, they can see what is going on with the one being photographed. You could hire a teenager to wrangle the two that are waiting. The assistant can bring the subject over to the "spot", fix the hair, straighten the clothes, wipe the drool from the babies, and then stay inches out of camera range while you do your thing.

What you want to avoid is this:

The entire class watching and waiting. That will be like herding cats and with the older kids, some will be self conscious, while others are making faces at the subject and distracting them. INEVITABLY, you will have a well meaning teacher trying to "help" you get the babies and toddler to smile, and that presents a zillion of its own problems. YOU are the one who needs to take command and get the smile out of the kid or else the kid will look at you, and then the teacher, you and then the teacher, you and then the teacher, awwwwwwkkkkkkkkkkkk! Shoot me now, you will hate that.
Meltdowns are inevitable and if it happens with a kid, tell them its ok, they don't have to make a picture, and if they want to "play" again later, that's ok. Write their name down and try again after the entire class is done. Why? Because if they've melted down and you keep trying, the other kids see that someone is being "tortured" and they are next. Their eyes will be red and nose snotty. Call it, and move on. When they see that they aren't going to be forced, and that none of their classmates died from "making' pictures, they may be a brand new kid second time around.

Have each teacher explain to the class before she takes the first three outside, exactly what is going to happen. They may even be willing to give each child an animal cracker or some other little snack or better still a sticker! AFTER each picture is taken, all part of making it a FUN experience.
you will find each age group to be completely different. kids respond differently to different things at differnt ages and you will find the younger babies at all stages of development. Don't be afraid to go for the "wide eyed innocent" look for the kid with the fabulous eyes. If they don't smile right away, snap it, and then try for the smile. keep a step stool handy for high angle shots for some kids. Have a neutral colored blanket handy for kids you might want to have lay on their bellies. Don't be afraid to have some kids take off their shoes, barefoot is better than socks or shoes that have seen better days. be flexible.
as for that teenager I suggested: while they are "wrangling" the two waiting children, they can write down the class name, teachers name, and then each childs name and brief description of the clothing. Also, any meltdowns can be marked with a star for you to try at the end of each class sitting. Trying to write down the shot numbers you took of each might work for some, but Ive found that often gets messed up and the best thing is the description of the clothing. don't overthink it and don't overcomplicate it. Make it a fun experience for everyone and it will show in the pictures!

[suecassidy]

Read "Here's The Scenereo - What Would You Do?" in the general photography posts. learn from someone else's bad experience. not that it will happen to you, but...

[suecassidy]

no -- it is in "people talk", sorry

[jmphotosa]

Sue,

I'm definately going to check out that thread. Thank you so much for the insight. If you are interested, I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks,
John

[suecassidy]

Absolutely! I'm sure you will learn a ton from that shoot and we will all learn something from YOUR experience, so please post the "dirt" on it afterwards!