Guide to Successful Toddler Portraits by Roseville Family Photographer
I am a Roseville Family Photographer who specializes in taking pictures of young families and toddlers in Roseville and the surrounding Greater Sacramento Area. As a former elementary and preschool teacher with over 15 years of kids experience, I have a lot of knowledge and tricks under my sleeve to help even the trickiest toddler photography session go well. So whether you are a mom trying to get better pictures of your kids or a family photographer who has had one too many hectic toddler sessions, here are some of my tried, tested, and perfected tips to getting great toddler portraits no matter their personality style. So whether you have a shy toddler or a rambunctious wild toddler, this guide will help you get successful family pictures. If you live in Roseville or surrounding Sacramento area and have a young family, don’t forget to contact me here for your own family session to see me put these tips into practice first hand.
Principle #1: Include lots of Play during your Family Photo Session
No toddler is going to want to just sit or stand still and smile at a camera for 30 minutes. It’s just not going to happen. Instead, there should be a lot of play in your family session. Your toddler should be having FUN for the entire time, and that will lead to the best photos. Here are some examples you might consider to keep things fun for your toddler. These are some of the staples that I use as a Roseville Family Photographer.
Example 1: Fun Interactions with Parents
Whether you are playing airplane with your toddler and lifting them in the air, spinning them in a circle, tickling them, or giving kisses, the MAIN way that toddlers will have fun at sessions is playing with their parents one on one. Instead of focusing on the camera, get toddlers focusing and enjoying time with their parents. Simply playing with them like you would at home will result in wonderful photos every single time and will lead to wonderful memories to boot! For shy toddlers, this is also a great opportunity to cuddle to help them feel safe and warm up to the idea of the photoshoot. You can really adjust your interactions to your child with what they need in that moment, whether that is to be gentle or wild.
Example 2: Include Beloved Toys (or even random ones!)
Parents, make sure you are bringing a few beloved toys from home. Especially that favorite stuffed animal or blankie, you know, the one thats a bit ragged already from being loved on so much. Photographers, make sure you are encouraging your clients to do so. You can also have a few photography-friendly toys on hand yourself to be used for this purpose.
Kids love toys! I have had so many instances where a baby or toddler was crying and not wanting to participate, and then the whole session was turned around simply from being able to hold their favorite toy. Y’all, I’ve handed a toddler a leaf and got the sweetest smiles! It doesn’t have to be THE best toy ever. Literally getting to hold or interact with ANY item can often turn a photosession from frustrating to fun in a split second. This trick has never failed me. I like to refer to these toys and items as “Emotional Support Items”, and keep an emergency pair of Dollar Tree beads in my photography fanny pack at all times. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve simply handed those beads to a crying baby or toddler and suddenly they were all smiles!
Example 3: Incorporate Seasonal Props to play with
This one is similar to the previous example in that babies and toddlers love having items of all kinds to interact with and play with. I love to bring seasonal props to sessions, which are the most effective for engaging toddlers. Since I am a Roseville Family Photographer, I often photograph at Bishops Pumpkin Farm in the Fall or at McBurneys Christmas Tree Farm during the early winter. I always make sure to have the little kids interacting with pumpkins for the former or playing with ornaments or my giant candy canes for the latter. They LOVE getting a new item to play with and these props have saved many a photosession from tears. Shy toddlers will appreciate a comfort item to hold, and wild toddlers will love to run around with their newly acquired treasure. Every season will have something you can use. In spring, I like to use huge flowers, Easter props etc.
Principle #2: Incorporate Lots of Movement
Even adults aren’t going to enjoy sitting in the same spot for 30 minutes, but babies, toddlers and young children are going to be even less tolerant of it. That is why as a Roseville Family Photographer, I make sure to incorporate lots and lots of movement into my sessions. There are two main ways this can be accomplished:
Example 1: Move from spot to spot within the photo location you are at.
I love to keep families moving during a photo session and usually have several sublocations picked out at any given park. For instance, in Roseville, two of my favorite photo locations are Adam Baquera Park and Coyote Pond Park. We will never spend the full photo session in the same spot at either of these locations (or any of the others I use). Instead, I will photograph your family for 5-10 minutes in one spot, and then we will all walk 1-3 minutes to the next location within the park. I also vary up the poses, and will make sure that there are always some standing photos, some sitting photos and some movement photos. This is a GREAT way for toddlers to reset and burn off some energy. Young kids do not have a long attention span so letting them get up and move to a new spot will reset that attention span and entertain them.
Example 2: Take pictures of kids walking, running, and racing
This is a favorite of mine that I make sure to incorporate into every single photo session I do. If you have a toddler or child, they WILL be racing at the camera at some point during our session. First, the photos almost always turn out amazing and its a great way of adding some action shots into your photo session. But second, kids absolutely LOVE it! I can get natural smiles and laughs during a running session better and more easily than at any other moments. When there are siblings, I ask them to hold hands or race each other, and both work amazingly well. Besides making great photos, running lets kids burn off some energy, resets their attention span, and most importantly make the photo session super FUN!
Principle #3: Get Creative Behind the Camera
This is definitely the time to be warm, welcoming, and funny behind the camera, whether you are a hired photographer or just Mom taking some pictures. Personally, I like to wear a fanny pack almost exclusively to hold items for babies, toddlers and young children. Yes, it holds my extra batteries and memory cards, but beyond that it is packed full to the brim with little toys, squeakers and silly things to help entertain young kids and get them smiling and looking at the camera. Here are some things I do behind the camera to get toddlers smiling at the camera.
Example 1: Kiki the Lens Monkey
This is Kiki, my shutterbuddy monkey, which is one of my favorite photography gear items that is used at almost every young family photoshoot. For only $20 on Amazon, this is an amazing investment for professional and hobby photographers alike. Kids LOVE Kiki! If you see one of my pictures with just amazing eye contact, it’s almost always because that kiddo is looking at and engaging with Kiki. Her name is also very intentional. An extra bonus is that if I have kids yell “KIKI” it looks like they are laughing. Post below is an example. The kids were just yelling Kiki, but it sure looks like they are laughing and having the time of their life.
Example 2: Recruiting Parents and Siblings
If I’m taking solo shots of a baby or toddler, I always recruit parents or siblings to get crazy right behind me for some genuine laughs. Nobody knows how to get their kids to laugh better than their parents, so having a volunteer standing right behind you is a great way to get kids laughing. I’ve found that siblings can be even better at this, so recruiting an older sibling to get into some mischief is a great way to keep toddlers happy getting their picture taken.
Example 3: Fanny Pack of Goodies
As mentioned in my intro paragraph to this section, I wear a fanny pack to photo sessions almost exclusively for babies and toddlers. Here are some of my favorite items that I store inside of it: a dog squeaker (just the squeaker, taken from a toy), several Dollar Tree bead necklaces, a jingle bell, a baby crinkle paper toy, and a produce grocery bag. All of these things are small and portable, but either make unique noises or can be swished and swirled in unique ways which will enthrall younger kids to make better eye contact with the camera. Usually one item isn’t enough as kids can definitely get bored with the same trick, which is why I always make sure to have at least 3-4 different items to use as attention getters to look at the camera.
Principle #4: Give the Toddler control
I know this one seems scary to a parent, but if you want a successful photo session, you really need to give the toddler a lot of ownership of the photo session. That means NOT forcing them to do something they do not want to do! It’s not going to work, I promise. Scolding or forcing will simply result in tears, anger and stiff body language from the kids AND the parents, and makes for very unpleasant unappealing photos. If your toddler doesn’t want to do a particular pose, be ready to be flexible and pivot to something they DO want to do. A lot of times, you will be able to circle right back to the preferred pose later on with better results. I get a lot of my best photos simply from asking kids what they would like to do, or by giving them a choice of two options and letting them choose. This gives them ownership of the session which will also increase their enjoyment. I even sometimes let them take a few photos while I carefully hold the camera, or show them the back of my screen. The more involved they are in the process the better! And it will also lead to the best photos. For example, the photo shown above happened AFTER our session was already over. We were walking back to the car when this 5 year old asked me whether I could take his picture climbing a tree. You betcha! And look how absolutely adorable it turned out. This simply wouldn’t have been possible with scolding or forcing. I very frequently allow kids to dictate portions of our sessions, and frankly, they have great ideas! Those photos often turn out the best.
So parents, when your toddler starts crying or acting out during a photo session, I need you take a deep breath, smile, and let your kiddo choose what activity (that is part of the photo session) you will be doing together as a family next. For photo sessions we need happy and relaxed kids AND parents, and that means that rules are going to be a bit more lax and you are going to need to happily let a few things slide for the moment. And your photos will look amazing if you do! So let your toddler run, climb, and jump if that’s what they want to do. We will still get that family photo together, just maybe after a brief detour or two.
I hope you enjoyed this Successful Toddler Pictures Guide. If you are a Mom or Dad of a toddler, and live in the Greater Sacramento Area, I would love it if you contacted me to set up a family session. I’m a Roseville Family Photographer, but serve the larger Sacramento area. Toddlers are my jam! With 15+ years of experience with young children, I promise I will help your family feel comfortable in front of the camera. So bring me your wild ones and your shy ones, I will engage and entertain both in their way.
Contact me to inquire about booking a session: https://www.kristinageddertphotography.com/contact
See my Family Portfolio: https://www.kristinageddertphotography.com/work/family
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