This cute family was such a pleasure to photograph in this beautiful fall scene. Their little girl did so well with photos considering she is only 1. She definitely made this mini session fun with her little quirks as she points to everything and says “Ooooo” in a very intrigued way.

What we love about family sessions with young children is the candid shots that we capture as the parents play with their tiny humans. We love to capture that genuine joy and love as they giggle and kiss each other. Also what you don’t see, is that we have a container of snacks for bribing this little one to look at the camera for the occasional posed shot.

*A tip for parents who are preparing for their photo sessions with their young children, bribing with food is encouraged, candy not so much. The sugar high that children get from candy is very hard to control and it becomes a lot more difficult to get the children to cooperate and be still enough for a photo. Instead, save the candy for a reward at the end and bring their favourite cheerios snacks or something plain so that if they make a mess while eating its easy to clean for the next shot.

A couple other pointers for parents to help their session go smoothly with young children:

• Make sure the kids are well rested but don’t plan a nap on the way, they may be still sleepy when they wake up and may take a bit more time to warm up to a camera in their face

• Bringing a favourite toy that makes sounds would be helpful for the photographer to catch their attention

• Don’t have too strict expectations “You HAVE to stand and smile and look at the camera”. This will actually lead to defiant and resistant children and also really fake smiles. Instead prepare them in advance by letting them know there will be a photographer to take photos of the family while you play and have fun. The only rule should be to listen to the photographer ;) (We have mad skills!)