What if my child doesn’t want their photo taken?

First things first. Before you come to the shoot, make sure your children are fed and watered and are not tired. These are the things that irritate the little ones, when we're trying to get them to do something else.

When they come to the shoot, children are often curious about the environment and the set up, so they're not usually ready straight away for a family photoshoot. They might wonder around and check things out, I'll talk to them of course and get the feeling familiar with their surroundings.

They usually ask questions about my equipment, and I'll just show them how it works.

To get the children engaged for the photoshoot, I'll just photograph them and show them what they look like. Once they see one photo, they usually want another......and another!

Kids just being themselves can often make the best photographic memories!

They might just want to play, or even hide' from me and the camera........this is all a part of them feeling comfortable with me and the new surroundings. They might dance, run around, roll around on the floor, jump up and down, who knows.

In these unfamiliar surroundings, their attention will almost certainly be on you, so use your powers of grabbing their attention when I'm shooting. Get in the shoot with them if you want to...... these types of shots are a lot of fun to look back on.

No posing, no staring at the camera saying 'cheese', no lining up perfectly. Just happy family time for a natural and relaxed family photoshoot.