It can be such a challenge when you shoot the young because no one under the age of 18 is even remotely interested in a photo session….this is the selfie generation and any formal studio shoot with mom and pops is so cliché and old fashioned to these young ones.
As a firm believer that the camera does not lie, many a time I have looked at images of families I have shot and want to weep…these kids sometimes have hearts of stone. They do not care that mum and dad have booked a shoot, dressed them to the nines and are paying a handsome price to get the shoot done, and that my good reputation is on the line, no less. These younguns just want the shoot done as fast as possible so they can get along with their selfie activities and social media program.
The one sure fire way I have found that gets me and the parents what we want is use of props and for that repeat family, to show the same younguns what cool photography we got of them the last time they graced my studios. I take special care to stage poses that are cool, young and hip, use the props mercilessly, and to polish the images in unusual, gritty and sometimes illustrative ways, so as to produce imagery that is vastly different from what I produce for the “old” parents.
Oh, and it helps to have music pumping throughout the studio during the process!
