When expectations meet meltdowns
Man, getting photos done (especially with young ones) can be very difficult. Add to the fact that a lot of these kiddos might be less socialized than they used to be (thanks 2020…), and having a new person, in a new location can be mega scary!
A Mama came to me wanting one thing more than anything else: a simple family photo. More specifically she wanted to have a photo with both of her boys. And I of course reassured her that we definitely could do that. Therefore, I put a lot more importance and priority on capturing family photos.
Then came the day of the session, and big brother walked into my studio and was immediately disappointed. They told him that they were going to see a girl, and he looked at me and said, “She’s not a girl, she’s a mama!” Which I thought was very sweet. But regardless, this was pretty devastating to this little guy.
When we started to take photos, he was immediately inconsolable, I’m talking in full meltdown mode and you could tell from his crying that he was very scared.
Mom was at a loss and her little boy was too frightened to look at me.
So what do you do?
You have a little one who is not fully cooperating, and a Mama who is anxious about not getting the photos she really wants. You could see the disappointment on her face, she was close to tears, and at a complete loss for what to do. He only wanted to be held by her and didn’t want to face the camera at all.
When I saw that my usual tricks weren’t working to get him into a goofy mood, I realized he needed some time. And instead of trying to calm him (which would never work, because he didn’t know or trust me) I worked on calming Mom. I told her we had time, we would give him time to get used to the space, and not put too much pressure on him. Instead, I began to capture photos of her newborn.
Eventually, we found out what the problem was. When he heard that I was going to take photos of his new baby brother, he thought that meant I was going to TAKE AWAY his baby brother. When he saw me working with his brother and that I was only taking photos, he calmed down.
And with a lot of patience from Mama and a lot of perseverance from me, we got her that dream family photo, and then SO MANY MORE!
This is a totally normal and expected situation. Heck it even happens to me haha!
Lux doesn’t always appreciate being the son of a photographer! :p
This was me trying to capture my own Mama Love Session. And oftentimes, with the young ones, these sessions can be a challenge. They don’t understand what is going on, they only want their dad that day, or they just don’t want to snuggle at that time. But with a bit of patience and perseverance, we can reach a compromise and capture those precious moments.
If you are interested in capturing those sweet moments with your little one, click on the button below to sign up for the waiting list and be the first to get a spot for our limited sessions when booking opens.
