Everyone wants to capture family memories of summer in the Hamptons. That’s not so easy when it comes to photographing your children right?  The day for a photo session has arrived, and your child is not as happy about it as you are. There are many ways to get through the hurdles children might present, KDHamptons gets some advice from the expert, Lucille Khornak who takes stunning photos of families and kids that will last a lifetime.

Lucille Khornak shares: I love shooting children because they are pure, natural, and real,” says Lucille. Their movements and actions are all so transparent. Capturing those real moments is what makes my heart sing. When I am photographing an adult, I use my experience as a model, as well as a fashion and beauty photographer to make my subject look/feel beautiful. We all have beauty inside of us and I work to pull it out of them.

 Photo sessions with Lucille can be scheduled at any time of the year.  Lucille shares, “Shoots on the beach bring an undeniably bright and warm feeling to the eyes and heart, so it’s no wonder so many clients actually book their holiday card shoots in the summer. 

We all know that children can be unpredictable. Even when we think we know how they will respond, a child’s meltdown can present itself at the most inconvenient time. A professional photographer such as myself, however, should know how to handle a situation like this.

So what do you do? For the short length of time that constitutes a photo session (an hour to an hour and a half), you can incentivize the children.  You, as the parent, are the one who knows what each child is motivated by: one might want more computer time, another might desire additional playtime, and yet another might like the idea of shopping for a new toy.  If this is what it takes, then go ahead and use an incentive for that short period of time. Think of it as a secret weapon and, most importantly, as a last resort.

If you save the “bribe” for only special occasions, your child will know you mean business. Abusing this power can lead to the formation of a bad habit for you and your child. If given a reward for good behavior becomes a frequent event, the child may then learn how to get exactly what they want whenever it is desired. The important part of this incentive is to keep your word. The child will never believe you if you promise a treat but never follow through on it. This balance has great potential to become a win-win: you get stunning photos and your child gets a treat!  On top of that, this builds trust between you and your child.

Another recommendation that I often make is that you not mention the upcoming photo session too frequently, especially to younger children.  If you do bring it up, maybe you might even characterize it as a family play date. Make it an exciting event for children. If you build it up too much, it becomes something similar to going to the dentist.  They will start to feel anxiety, and dread the photo session before it even begins. Use language like “We get to go…” or ”We’re so excited to…”, you create the idea that this so-called family play date is going to be fun and occur at a really great place!

Keep it low-key by not drawing too much attention to the plans of a photography session. I like to keep our sessions stress-free and, more importantly, I like to have fun. I want children and parents to enjoy themselves and even look forward to another such session in the following year!  After all, your children are only this age once, and you can never recapture those precious years brimming with incredible moments. This timeframe will come and go so it is especially important to document your beautiful family over the course of the years.