Easter Sessions Under Way, and Frowny Faces

The first lot of Easter Sessions for 2017 are here! These gorgeous little smiley faces have had lots of fun sitting in props, on props, rolling on the fluffy rug and more!! Each child is different, that seems logical, but each child reacts differently to being in the studio too. That is, a confident outspoken child can walk into the studio, and the space being new, if they haven't met me before, and the over whelming atmosphere of lighting and lots of new props, can turn them very shy. So what do we do next? Do you just go home? No way! Having worked with children for multiple years, and being a Mum of two beautiful but chalk and cheese girls, I've had most reactions from children occur to me. Of course I love a 'posy' child that smiles the instant they sit down, but when a child shy's away and won't look at me- it's like a red flag for me; bring it on! Yes, I will sound silly and make funny voices; I will introduce your children to my current 'friend' (that being a soft squeaky toy) that often sits on my head and falls off, we might sing songs, dance, place 'roll-the-easter-egg', experiment with a variety of props to see if something takes their interest. I love finding a way to bring the joy and smiles to their faces! Ok- so after all the tricks have been used, and your child still doesn't smile at the camera, then what? This is when my philosophical Mum Voice steps in....truly.

I have 'terrible' photos of my own daughters. EG- my eldest daughter went through a faze where she would pretend to be asleep in every photo, because she was being Jeff from the Wiggles. Yes, I even have those dreaded Santa photos where I had to sit in with my daughters- even when I was the photographer, and my youngest daughter knew who the Santa was!! How do I fix these situations? With love. That is the only way. To sit back, and realise that the photo still represents my daughters.... that sometimes, a grumpy face, a crying face, a shy face, a frowny face will hold more of a story in that one image, than many other photo. Can't you imagine yourself telling the story to your children, or your grandchild in thirty years time, of how you ended up in that Santa photo, in your thongs and sweat pants, because you never intended to sit in on the photo, but sweet Miss Mary wouldn't do it herself. This is what memories and families are made of. So from a Mother of a 'storm cloud' (my knick name for my youngest, more details on that another day) and a photographer who has been vomited on, farted on, pooped on, screamed at, trodden on, and most importantly hugged by children, please don't forget to embrace the frowny face, even after all the dancing has finished!! ~Kiki

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