How do I make children behave for photographs? (I don’t)
“They caught all the wild children,
and put them in zoos,
They made them do sums
and wear sensible shoes.
They put them to bed
at the wrong time of day,
And made them sit still
when they wanted to play.
They scrubbed them with soap
and they made them eat peas.
They made them behave and
say pardon and please.
They took all their wisdom and wildness away.That’s why there are none
in the forests today.”Jeanne Willis Wild Child
This poem says it better than I ever could.
A question I get asked all the time
This poem says it better than I ever could.
One question comes up time and time again when families book a session with me:
How do I make my children behave for photographs?
And my honest answer never changes.
I don’t.
Because children aren’t meant to sit still, smile on cue, or pose like tiny adults. Instead, they’re meant to move, explore, giggle, sulk, climb, run, refuse, and change their minds five times in as many minutes.
That’s not a problem to fix.
That’s the story.
Letting children be children
During a recent family session, Mum laughed and said, “I don’t know how this is going to go,” gesturing towards her eldest. A fiercely independent, wild-hearted little girl, who was already halfway across the dunes.
She gave the camera about five seconds of attention before disappearing into her own world.
And honestly, that’s exactly how I like it.
That moment, the freedom, the confidence, the refusal to perform. That tells me far more than a posed smile ever could.
My approach to family photography
My photography is intentionally relaxed and candid. I arrive with no expectations of how things should look. Instead, I tune into your family’s rhythm.
So we let them run.
We encourage them to explore.
And we allow them to be fully themselves.
Because that’s when their real personalities shine through. And that’s what I want you to remember, not a forced smile, but the feeling of this season. The best family photos aren’t the ones where everyone is perfectly posed. They’re the ones you look back on and say, “That was them. That’s exactly who they were.”
Yes, sometimes it’s unpredictable.
Yes, sometimes it’s a little chaotic.
But it’s always real. And it’s always worth it.
Let’s embrace their fire and their freedom and create something beautiful from it. I promise, it might feel like chaos at the time… but when you see the magic we captured? You’ll get it.
Get in touch, and we’ll capture your little wildlings, just for a moment. No bribes required.
