Photography Tutorials: 5 Tips To Make A Toddler Smile For The Camera

My kid is the mastermind of stoicism. She is pensive, doesn’t move impulsively and, in general, won’t smile much at the camera. That’s not to say she isn’t the biggest sweetheart I’ve ever known… I just do a bad job at photographing her in those moments. After reviewing insprining photography tutorials, I set out to capture the many smiles and silly faces that go unphotographed. My baby girl is a wild, silly and smiley baby. It’s my fault, as her photographer, for not capturing her personality in its entirety. With some thought and planning, I can make my toddler smile at the camera. Here are 5 tips to do just that…

Photography Tutorials to Get Those Smiles!

1.} Get comfortable in manual mode! When Alina started to lean her little face against this carrousel pole, I almost went nuts with excitement. Luckily, I had already set my settings and metering comes second nature these days {which I had to do constantly because the carousel was moving round and round}. Having confidence in what I’m doing behind the lens has allowed me to bring my focus to what is happening in front of it. And as 1a.}, lots of the “ohhh how cute are you, Alina! So happy Alina! Don’t you love that horsey, Alina!”, means I was able to get several images of this all-too-precious smile before it vanished away.

2.} Dj, play my song! My kid L.O.V.E.s music. Any kind. Here she was jamming out to a live, good ol’ fashion country band singing Willie Nelson. She had everyone around us captivated with her bootie shaking and vocals abilities. I got all sorts of great faces of her while listening to the band, but I love this shot for the movement of it. For planned kid photo shoots, I will probably start bringing an ipod player. Music is a universal soul mover; it can bring a plethora of emotions to the surface. And that’s a good thing in photography.

3.} Point out something cool! I have long given up having my toddler look and smile at the camera. But that doesn’t mean I can’t capture some silly {and stinking hilarious} faces! Daddy D showed Alina how to hold the pole and lean back, like the horse was galloping away with her. She did it once, and then couldn’t stop! So funny! She ended up staring at the top of the carrousel for awhile. I got a few great shots with her head completely flung back, but chose this one for the pretty night-time bokeh.

5.} And when nothing else works, TLC will! My beautiful little darling loves when I take my pointy chin and dig it under hers, while smothering her with kisses. Not sure why, but it tickles her into a frenzy. Since embarking on my photography journey, sightings of me have been nonexistent. Photos of me and my baby are too. But I am learning that what makes a picture perfect isn’t precision of focus, but the smile when a little girl’s momma has her arms wrapped around her shoulder and they are chin to chin in a giggle fit. Thank you Daddy D, for this perfectly imperfect snap shot. You totally got our toddler to smile for the camera… Bravo!