My goal with seniors it to get them comfortable in front of the camera. Usually at the expense of me, I talk about crazy goofy stuff, ask them about themselves, feel them out. Above I asked Miss Alyson if I started “twerking” if that would make her feel uncomfortable? Well, of course it would, but I also got this PERFECT smile out of her 🙂
For me, it’s a lot easier getting genuine smiles if there is more than 1 person, especially 2 kids (siblings). These girls didn’t require a whole lot of direction but what I asked them to do was KINDLY tickle each other, and then I had the little girl in the yellow whisper BOOGER in her sister’s ear. Got it!!
Have them DO something, throw something, blow something, squish something, smell something, anything. You will get a genuine reaction every time.
Weather permitting, PUT THEM IN THE WATER!! This little girl, bless her heart, is not much of a smiler. I’ve been photographing her since she was in mommies belly and have never got more genuine smiles than I did when we went to the water. She LOVED it. We splashed, we played, and I just let her be little 🙂
Boys. They tend to be a bit wilder and crazy than the girls. I encourage play. I talk lots of bugs, stinky things, and RUNNING. You need to make sure your shutter speed is HIGH to capture these very fast moments of pure joy.
Little girls LOVE to twirl. I directed her to twirl her dress like a princess.
Couples can be a little tricky at times but my go to is to get them super close, almost where they feel a bit uncomfortable, and tell them to whisper sweet nothings to each other, but to keep it PG-13. Works every time.