Any tips for 5 year olds?

divamum

Doing a Mommy + Daughter shoot later today - good location, weather (fingers crossed!) looks to be nice later as long as we don't get showers.

Any special tips for this age group? I remember somebody posting the "twinkle twinkle little pizza" technique (which I will ruthlessly be borrowing!) but anything else? I plan to get the semi-posed shots early on in one location, than some with her and mommy afterwards; plan is about an hour of shooting time.

All suggestions and tips welcomed!

Bryce Wilson

Something I like to do with little girls and a realistic looking fake rose.

Show her the rose, make a bit of a production of smelling it and then have her hold it with one hand on the stem. I then place a penny inside the folds of the rose and tell the little girl she gets to keep the penny and take it home if she can find it by putting her finger in the flower.

Works most of the time and I tend to get a few nice candid shots out of this little game.

troopers

Bring a little toy, like a stuffed animal, for the little one to look at...hide in your bag and bring it out if the little one doesn't cooperate. A lollipop (get permission from mom first) does wonders too. Good luck.

divamum

Ooo.. the penny is briliant! AND her mom told me she already picked out her roses to bring to the shoot, so that one's covered We also have bubbles, and I'll bring some chalk with me (if I can find it!).

Keep those suggestions coming - these are great!!

divamum

Dear Bryce,

Thank you.

VayCayMom

I ask if they can see my nose thru the front of the lens.. be ready they will look right away.! And I tell them the magic word when I want them to look my way is... and I make a big production of this , is using my fake silly opera voice..... memememememeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

Bryce Wilson

My pleasure, my Lady!

Let's see some more!

divamum

I'm working like a stevedore here to get this set prepped, so more as soon as they're in some kind of shape. Mom wants them as a Father's Day gift, but we couldn't shoot before yesterday due to conflicting schedules, so I'm trying to turn at least some of them around fast. . I'm doing WAY more editing than I'd like - they're ok in camera, but because she was moving at lightning speed I wound up taking WAY too many shots (I figured spray and pray wasn't such a bad philosophy with this little firecracker!), plus it was cloudy by the time we shot - beautiful soft light, but rather flat and dull so I'm having to work more in post!!

More soon, and thanks again - that penny trick was great (and worth it for the shot above alone, which I think may be one of my favorites of the day, just for that soft little expression )

BrettDeutsch

Does a penny work with a 5-year-old? Seems like all the 5-years-olds I know would insist on a quarter at least for it to be worth their while

By the way, great shot, Diva.

divamum

Regional differences - NY kids are more economically sophisticated than those out here in the provinces

She's actually not quite 5 yet - her birthday is at the end of the month. I'm sure in another few months she'll want payment in full! This kid is smart as a whip and a TOTAL character (no surprise - her mom is a stunning performer onstage, so little miss thang is DEFINITELY a diva in training!!). The hardest part was shooting fast enough to keep up with her!!

sweet caroline

I'm a bit late, but I like to use finger puppets. It's still easy to steady the camera with the puppet hand and hold the character right over the lens. They are also easy to tuck in a pocket for a quick change. I have a fairy, unicorn, mermaid, prince, princess, plus lots of animals.