If you are honest you will have to admit to spending time scouring the pages of Facebook and Pinterest wishing you could have some of the incredible iconic images found there. The real truth is there is a lot more work and patience involved in getting those images then you might think.

When working with children it can be especially taxing on everyone’s patience. There are many new photographers who think that it is easy to shoot portraits in natural light outdoors. Feeling that they don’t have to contend with light meters,flash meters and cumbersome studio flash units. This always brings a smile to my face remembering a shoot for a fashion magazine years ago. The art director wanted the models shot out on the ice with the mountains in the background.Yes the clothing line that year was mostly white. After hours of tests and reflectors and diffusers and more tests and photographers questioning why they chose that profession. It was finally time for the models, well their feet were cold the sun on their faces was too hot. This may not sound so unusual, then it happened the flies came out it was almost like a comedy scene out of a movie.The crew just shot away,meanwhile the assistants use canned air to try and coax the flies off the models faces so the images could be captured.

This may be a long way from that kind of photo shoot, but it brings to light the difficulty of shooting outdoors. From the sun in peoples faces causing them to squint or want to wear sunglasses (never allow your subjects to wear sunglasses), to the wind constantly whipping hair in front of their faces just as you click the shutter.

Yet sometimes when everything is just perfect the children don’t really want their picture taken. My wife and I have developed a few basic rules for shooting children, the first is make sure they have just eaten no longer then 1 hour before the shoot. younger children and infants the best time for shooting is just after nap time. We also bring a treasure bag with us full of treats or toys as rewards for the children ( always check with mom and dad first ).