The Truth About Photographing My Own Children

My children suffer from Photographers Child Syndrome. Yes it’s a thing. Both of them. It makes life quite difficult getting a nice photo of them. My daughter has two poses, one is the non existent smile, staring into space or at the camera with a vacant look on her face. The other is the largest cheshire cat grin which spans from ear to ear, it’s quite remarkable and extremely cheesy. My son on the other hand just hates having his photo taken, as soon as he sees the camera it’s like a physical allergic reaction where his head automatically spins in the opposite direction eventually resting his cheek on his shoulder. But then he has moments where he turns into someone else, a child model, he behaves perfectly in front of the camera, posing and smiling, but his efforts last for a very short time therefore I have to be really quick and strike whilst the iron is hot. When he enters this zone, this is usually when the other one is not in a good place. It’s not easy.

With other people’s children, they are on their best behaviour most of the time and usually laugh when I play the fool, so it’s not a problem but my own like to push the boundaries and make me work twice as hard for it. I’m sure it will get easier as they get older, although I’m not sure how long Photographers Child Syndrome lasts. Let’s hope it’s not forever.