How to take great Christmas pictures of your toddler!

Christmas is coming up sooner than we'd like to acknowledge and that means time for holiday pictures and Christmas card photos! One of the most difficult aspects of this for me this year was learning how to get what I needed out of my one-year-old son. It's an awkward age to attempt things like photo sessions, but over the last few months, I'd like to think I learned a few helpful tips and tricks on mastering the art of photographing a subject that often cannot be reasoned with. And since it is the spirit of giving, I thought I's share!

Making Christmas photos fun for all!

1.) Know and respect your child's routine and schedule.  No child will ever enjoy a photo session when they are tired, cranky, hungry or wet. You've already lost the battle before you even step on the field. The best time for me was always, hands down, right after eating lunch after an afternoon nap. We wake up, we eat some lunch, we have some snacks, we drink some juice and then we change into our outfit when we change our diaper. Now he's awake, energetic, full and ready to have some fun with you!

You'd never know his shirt is on backwards!

2.) Get as much ready as you can BEFORE you even think about bringing a child into the mix. Do you want a backdrop in your photo? Do you want props, decor or a theme? Do you have a specific outfit you want your child to wear? Get EVERYTHING ready while your child is happily distracted with play, sleep or food. Never try to set things up while your are getting your child into the photo. It will become frustrating for both of you. It doesn't have to be anything crazy and you'd be surprised what you can turn into a precious photo. A black bed sheet works as an awesome backdrop (I even used duct tape to attach it to my island). An old grass skirt turned into a pile of 'hay' for our autumn shoot. A small blue baby blanket became a blue background for our Easter pictures. Some pink acrylic paint became a pink bunny nose and a dry erase marker became a make-up stick for the moustache for our birthday pictures. Use what you have in new and creative ways and you'll be surprised what you can come up with. Always think (and shoot) on your feet. An impromptu photo session in a field would have been much less visually appealing because of my toddler's graphic comic tee. So I real quick put his shirt on backwards. No more graphics and it took less than 10 seconds!

A fun sun flare gave this picture it's wow-factor!

 3.) Light, light and more light! I don't have a fancy camera...not many people do. But in order to get good shots, I turn every light in my house on, take the curtains off the windows and move a lamp without a lamp shade right in front of my set-up. Take photos outside and play with the light. Put the sun behind him, in front of him, shoot under the dappled sun of a tree or next to the reflected light of a pool of water. The light is your friend when your shooting photos.

Cute kid, but total creeper in the background!

 4.) Always pay attention to the background of your pictures! When not using a controlled environment or a back drop, always pay close attention to the back ground of your photos. You have NO idea how many cute snapshots I have that are completely unusable because of the background. Either my house was trashed, or I didn't realise just how close my son was sitting next to some doggie doo or there was a giant electrical wire hanging across the pristine blue sky. Always be mindful of what is AROUND your subject and not just the subject.

Tiny flowers make for tiny props and adorable photos!

5.) I cannot stress it enough; PROPS! When working with young subjects who are easily distracted, play on their natural curiosity and wonder with props! I wanted some cute photos to use for our Christmas card. My son wanted to crawl after the dog. How'd I keep him engaged? Red glittery Christmas ornaments (the unbreakable plastic ones, fyi.) He'd never played with the ornaments, so I plopped him into the set-up and before he decided to escape, I put a shiny bright red bulb in each hand and had his attention for a solid fifteen minutes, which is more than enough time to score the perfect shot! If you are outside, hand your child a leaf, stick or flower and watch the exploration and wonder through your camera's view screen. A plastic Easter egg, a stuffed animal, a tiny pumpkin or a fun costume prop can all be fun attention grabbers that compliment your theme.

As well as making for a cute shot, that pumpkin kept him from escaping!

6.) Corral your little mover! Toddlers are eager to move! Crawling, scooting and walking are a lot more fun than sitting still, especially in front of the camera, so make it -easier- to stay in one place by making visual and physical boundaries. A faux pine lighted garland looped around in a circle made it hard for my little guy to crawl away. A pumpkin placed between his legs made it harder for him to stand up or roll away. Take head shots and close-up portraits while he's sitting in his high chair.

Teething became an adorable photo op!

7.) Embrace your toddler's traits. Toddlers love to move, explore, test boundaries and play with new things. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! Photos of a little guy wandering through a field, smirking because he's doing what you told him not to or 'running away' from you show off your child's spirit far better than any staged and restrictive setting ever could.

This was the last...of 53 shots.

8.) Shoot for quantity, not quality. The benefit of a digital world is that you are no longer restricted by the 20 or so photos available on a roll of film, so go click-crazy! Once you start a photo session, do not stop clicking the shutter button, even if your toddler is tearing down the back drop or running away from the scene. Shoot, shoot and then shoot some more! You'll be able to weed out the usable shots during the editing process later and the more shots you have, the higher your chances of finding that 'diamond in the rough' shot. So don't worry about your final money-shot while your shooting, just worry about getting as many shots as you can while you have the opportunity. You'll be surprised what you come up with after the fact.

(Hint: Without photo editing, his make-up would still be blue!)

9.) Photoshop is your friend!! Never, ever, ever leave a photo raw. Even if you don't have Photoshop, there are hundreds of free programs available on the internet that mimic the abilities of Photoshop and even simple programs can help make your picture that much better. A simple crop can turn your photo from blah to BAM in 10 seconds or less. Even something as simple as a red-eye removal can turn a previously painful photo into something worth framing. A simple level balance, color correction or brightness modification can make your point-and-shoot photo look like a studio print. And if you are shooting with a theme, go crazy with it! Filters, actions and textures can accent your photo greatly! I've had so many photos I thought were ruined because there was spit running down my son's chin of his hair was in his eyes. A little bit of cloning can eliminate those little distractions and turn your shot back into a perfect shot.

Alas...the elusive money-shot!!

10.) Don't be afraid to let loose and have fun! If it's not fun for you, it's not going to be fun for him, plain and simple. Get crazy, go loopy and move around! Your child is trying to crawl away? A quick tickle or a silly noise will distract him and bring his attention back to you. He's not looking at the camera? Whoop, cheer, sing, yell and make silly faces. He keeps looking at the ground? Get down even lower and shoot up toward his face. He's crawling away? Go after him, and shoot the whole process! And never ever be afraid to call it quits when you, he or both of you are getting frustrated. You can always try again later and it's a lot easier to step back, re-evaluate and re-approach than get into a battle of wills with your toddler. You'll always lose, I promise.

Our Christmas cards...a success!

Practice makes perfect and if you have fun taking photos this Christmas, you'll end up with happier shots in the end. These are just a few fun little tricks I've picked up over the last year and with these tips, perseverance, a positive attitude and some preemptive planning, the fates will align and give you those Christmas card worthy shots without losing half your gift budget in a studio session!