Tips & Tricks // Photographing Jossie

I often get asked how I'm able to take such pictures of my little girl.  Many assume that my daughter is just a natural model... but I promise, this is not nearly the case ;)  So I decided to put together a little post of the tips and tricks I use to take my little girl's pictures.

1.  Find the best light.  In my home the best light is in my bedroom.  Or on the white chair placed right in front of our living room window.  So I'll typically place her in those spots when I have a specific set of images I want to get.  

2. Bribe (or Reward, however you want to call it).  When I know that I want specific posed images of Josselyn I know that SHE.WONT.HAVE.IT.  Believe it or not, Joss doesn't like her picture taken.  She'll avoid it at most costs, unless a marshmallow is involved.  So I usually have a bowl of marshmallows and ask her to pose a certain way and then I thank her with a marshmallow ;)  

3. Let their individual personality roll... I can maybe convince Jossie to do a few poses, but most of the time, I'll dress her up and do her hair then let her do her thing.  And this tends to be when I capture the moment I really want or the image I really want.  

4. Know your child.  Ultimately, the images come down to the fact that I know my daughter.  I know her personality.  I know what makes her tic.  I know what brings out a smile.  I know her facial expressions and her details.  I know her heart.  And because of that, I know how to capture it best to bring out the very essence of her in her pictures.  

*The Gear I Used in these images:

Nikon D7000

24mm 1.4 G (Rented from IE Photo Rentals)