5 Ways to Get Kids to Behave and Stay Still for Family Photos

When you’re a parent with children, you can personally attest to how fast they grow. And while you can’t stop them from making the transition from toddlers to young people, thankfully you can capture memories on film by scheduling a family photo shoot.

If you have family pictures coming up and you want to make sure that the shots turn out perfectly, you’re in luck. We’re going to share with you five things that you can do to get your kids to behave and even stay still until your photo shoot is over below:

Talk to them about the shoot beforehand. If your kids are older than two-years-old, they are starting to speak in complete sentences. This means that they are able to comprehend a lot of what you are saying. So, in the week leading up to the photo shoot, share with them what is about to transpire. If you have enough time, you might even want to set up a meeting between you and the photographer so that your children can get better acquainted with them. That can help your kids to be less anxious on the actual day of the shoot.

Make sure they get plenty of rest the night before. A lot of times children are antsy simply because they are restless due to the fact that they are sleepy. That’s why it’s always a good idea for your kids to get a full night’s rest, the night before. That will help to keep them calm and focused—at least for most of the shoot, anyway.

Schedule the shoot when they’re “at their best”. No one wants to sit and pose when they are sleepy or hungry; especially children. Therefore, make sure that you schedule the shoot during the times when your children are the most alert and not too long after they’ve had a meal. If you wait until an hour or so into their nap or meal times, they are probably going to be pretty irritable.

Provide props that can keep them preoccupied. Say that you have young children and you have a shoot that’s scheduled at the Nadine Nasby Photography studio. If you’re nervous because you’re not sure how to get children to behave , here’s another cool tip: bring some props along. By bringing things like your kids’ favorite toys, not only will it help to keep them preoccupied, but it also can help to make the pictures appear more personal too. Just try and avoid toys that make noise or electronic ones. You don’t want anything that will totally distract your children. You want toys that will simply keep a smile on their face while enhancing the photo.

Give them something to look forward to afterwards. No matter how well-behaved or still your children are, after about 20-30 minutes, they are going to want to do something else. Something that you can do to keep them happy is to promise a reward once the shoot is over. It could be some ice cream or some pizza or a movie date. By knowing that they have something to look forward to, that can make the shoot easier for the photographer which makes it a quicker process for everyone. Enjoy your family photo shoot!