Tips and tricks when working with young children...

I'm posting this in the business section because I wanted tips focused more towards the pro photographer working with large numbers of young kids (between 2 and 5, like in pre-school photos). I would love to hear your tips and tricks when it comes to getting the photos when the time available for each child is very tight. How do you put them at ease? How do you get them looking the right direction? What do you use to get those natural smiles? So lets have it....please share your tips

bring puppets.

Carry a big stick?

Sorry. I have nothing constructive to add.

If your going to shoot children from a class, arrange a show and tell, for the most part they are curious about the gear. All be it a bit scared of it too.

Be a kid. Know the cartoons they watch and discuss them. To us it's a bit ahh, to them it has cliff hangers, villains, hero's.

I have a few toy critters from a novelty shop, that have a air bulb attached to them. You squeeze the bulb and they open there eyes wide, or my mouse squeaks and sticks out it's tongue, my lil bird chirps and fluffs it wings.
There maybe 3 inches tall, I have Velcro glued to there feet and sit them on top of my lens hood.

It may take an extra minute or so but, you get a nice relaxed smile from them, during the shoot.

The trick is to arrange to deal with one at a time till the group shot.
Then it's another game to get them all to relax, breath and blink at the same time so all eyes are open.

Watch the Key Stone Cops, that kind of scratch your head, why didn't this work, puts you on there level in there eyes.

I also cheat. I take one of the youngest members of the family with me all the time. Me!

Romper Room, Mr. Green Jeans, PBS, the moment you treat them like the age they are your lost.

One on one with the parents near by is a game of it self.

Get them near a group of there age range and they have already started the who likes who and why.

Don't ever lose your temper, or even look like your on the virge. They will test just how far they can go and if you let the teacher run the show you will get there game face.

You have to learn your own route, young children are scared to death of strange new adults entering there game zone, learn there game.

If you ever sit down and talk to a 4,5,6 year old at there level, it would scare you with what they have learned from TV, there is no one way.

If this seems a bit too much, you wait, they will school you fast on what they will or will not tolerate.

You can go in like a trident missile and get cookie cutter or take a few extra seconds in creating a group of happy faces.

Always have a helper or three, someone has to be the butt of the joke.

When you walk into a class room or the daycare and they all go, Ya! You know it's gonna be a good shoot.

It's really hard to explain and one of those things you will know short order, if you can or can not handle.

I have 4 sisters, from that 8 Nieces, 3 Nephews, 4 grand nephews and 2 grand nieces.
I was always the goto Uncle, for that matter the only uncle as it worked out, so I hade help in learning what there likes and dislikes are. I have a Grand Niece that is now 7, heaven forbid I forget and say she is six. She keeps me well up on current events of their world and I had better listen!

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To cover this subject would take volumes and then it just may be things that work for me.
Everyone is different and that the deal, you have to remember there all different but, there is a common ground

A friend of mine in commercial photography has made a specialty out of photographing kids. "Kids R Us" is one of his major accounts, as a matter of fact.

His method is simple: Get out from behind the camera and get physically close to them, within three or four feet. I tried it, and it's miraculous in effect.

This is the point: Small children are extremely attuned to the human face--they do as much or more communication through facial expression as through words. You can't say, "Be happy"--they have to see "happy" on your face. As well, children are accustomed by their parents to interact best with people physically close to them, often down at their level.

When your face is behind a camera six or ten feet away, you've removed much of your ability to communicate with small children.

He puts his camera on a tripod or stand and focuses on a particular spot where he'll place the child. Then he uses a remote release and moves to a spot just out of camera view as close to the child as possible. He now also uses an iPhone app that allows him to view and focus through his iPhone. Because he's close to the child and directly interactive, it actually rivets the child to the spot and keeps them bubbling.

Thanks for the great info
I was thinking a remote for the camera would be invaluable. That way I would be free to interact with the kids on their level without the need to be stuck behind the camera.
In case you can't tell, I'll be doing pre-school portraits this week for the first time. I've done large groups (of older kids) and I've worked with very young kids but I've never done large groups of very young kids....guess I'm in for a learning experience with approx. 100 kids between the ages of 2 and 5 I've got it figured out that I'll have an average of 2 1/2 minutes with each child in front of the camera. I'll have someone assisting so I won't be wrangling kids between shots....they should have each child ready to go once I finish with the current kid.

Now that you have the mechanics figured out, it's time for a mind readjustment.

If you have one that is in a huff at the moment, rearrange for them to find the end of the line and move to the next one. When they show back up, Hey! I know you. If one of the 2 or 3 year olds starts crying, the other 2 and 3 maybe 4 year olds will start too.

If you Have a young one that has been crying, before you take there photograph, take a photograph of you hand. That will make it easier when you process them, to pick the ones that may need a bit of touchup.

100 children, geeze 30 or 40 is task enough.

Good Luck!

One thing I've done in the past, which almost always works, is to have a feather duster that I tickle the child with. With the youngest ones, 2 year olds, I quietly approach them before I pose them and tickle them gently on the hand with it. I never tickle their faces, as it sometimes scares them and they will often rear back to avoid it. With the older ones, I tell them that I'm going to tickle mom (or in your case, teacher) and make it seem like a conspiracy. "Hey Mom, can you come here for a minute?" When she comes over and stands by the camera as instructed, I tickle her. kids think this is hilarious. At the moment of the tickle, the child will be looking at mom, but it is easy to get the smiling face back to you. You don't want the full laughing face anyway, you want that more relaxed smile that happens a second later, so when you say, "Look at the camera, Ricky" he should have the perfect smile still. All kids are different, you just need to have a repetoire of tricks and try different ones. Also, for the older kids, there is the "How old are you?" question, followed by the "Are you married?" this always gets a smile.

suecassidy wrote in post #11935888
One thing I've done in the past, which almost always works, is to have a feather duster that I tickle the child with. With the youngest ones, 2 year olds, I quietly approach them before I pose them and tickle them gently on the hand with it. I never tickle their faces, as it sometimes scares them and they will often rear back to avoid it. With the older ones, I tell them that I'm going to tickle mom (or in your case, teacher) and make it seem like a conspiracy. "Hey Mom, can you come here for a minute?" When she comes over and stands by the camera as instructed, I tickle her. kids think this is hilarious. At the moment of the tickle, the child will be looking at mom, but it is easy to get the smiling face back to you. You don't want the full laughing face anyway, you want that more relaxed smile that happens a second later, so when you say, "Look at the camera, Ricky" he should have the perfect smile still. All kids are different, you just need to have a repetoire of tricks and try different ones. Also, for the older kids, there is the "How old are you?" question, followed by the "Are you married?" this always gets a smile.

Great advice thanks

just ask them questions till they start emoting in some interesting way.