This mama came to me with a simple request: Photograph her amazing daughter, who did not want to be photographed. I’d like to think that once people meet me, they will enjoy their session and leave feeling really good about what’s happened together. I’d like to think that even the teens who hate this the most can embrace the moment and enjoy this opportunity by the time we’re done.
That’s why I do these four simple things to make your session successful.
One, we talk through the particulars, sometimes with your teen, so they know what to expect and have a hand in making this decision. When they feel like it’s their decision and they’ve had some control in this process, they are more likely to cooperate and maybe even *gasp* enjoy themselves.
Two, when you arrive, I’m going to ignore you. Yes, I know that as parents we want to insert ourselves into this super-cool-amazing-moment and be in every second of it, but, this moment is really about your teen or tween. I’m going to focus 100% of my photographer superpowers on making them comfortable and finding out every interesting thing I can about their life. I may even ask you to step away for a few minutes while I chat one-on-one with your teen and get to know them.
Three, we are going to do some wacky, bizarre, strange poses that sound, and maybe look, like they make no sense. Yup, it’s straight up going to sound like I’m reenacting the scene from Austin Powers and ask them to “be a tiger.” When we get a little wacky, and maybe a little crazy, magic starts to happen.
Finally, I’m going to do something I almost never do and show them how things are going on the back of my camera. I want them to see how amazing they look, get excited about what we’re capturing, and fall in love with themselves.
Here’s the result when we work together to create an amazing session for your teen. Take a peek and then use that “contact me” button to get in touch to learn more.
