How do you handle uncooperative kids?

[bakeram1]

We were shooting family portaits last week for a client. Kid's ages ranged from 6 to 20. All of them were pretty uncooperative, but the youngest was the biggest challenge (see attached pic).
Anyone have any successful techniques that they have used?

[gryphonslair99]

http://www.gunreports.com/media/news...8-45-GAP-1.jpg

One round in the sand next to them and they straighten right up

[waple]

Stop taking pictures for a few minutes and play with them. Put the camera down and talk. Have them do something with their toys or ask them to make faces.

[vadim]

It was not necessary to post the picture here. If they were paid clients and saw the photos on this forum in this context you could get a legal trouble or at least never rehired.
Back to the subject: I do not know. I always thought the communications skills are far more important for a photographer than his equipment/technical skills/artistic skills combined.
Apparently there is no recepy. Remember your school days ? Why you liked some teachers and hated others ?

[photojenic]

If a child is in a bad mood and having a sulk forget the photos - they will not play ball as has been said put the camera down and start to play. Other idea is to make them your assistant. Some kids would die to get their hands on your equipment so bring each one along side you let them shoot mum and dad - get mum and dad to be silly, etc. Give the child ownership or their own image but never actually let go of your camera hold it with them - shared experience could have helped you here.

[kiem]

I can understand the 6 year old, but the 20 year old?

[Songman45]

This seems like a sort of revival of a thread. Since its still getting some activity I feel obligated to open my big mouth.

Being a portrait photographer entails skill that goes far beyond the camera, lights and gear. Not only do you have to be part artist, part technition, part geometry expert but part psychologist too. One really has to know what makes people tick, what behaviors are normal and acceptable at different levels of maturity and where people's buttons are. Aside from giving pat answers about how to handle uncooperative subjects as a whole (you mentioned a wide age span) I suggest a bit of self education about human behavior and the levels of human development. Do a study of psychology both child and adult. Those skills will help you in more ways than you well know in both the creation end as in the selection/purchasing end.

You will find brats. A 9 yr old who is a brat has 9 yrs head start on you and you aren't going to turn that child into a cooperative pleasant subject in a matter of a setting or pose. There is no pleasant battle for obstinacy and if you find yourself in that battle as a phtographer you'll not get pleasant results in your images. Its so common these days for parents to lack rearing skills they don't even know behavior can be corrected or that it needs to be. Stubborn males at the age of 20 to 50 are not uncommon and because the attitude is generally rooted in imaturity, you're not going to be able to rationalize with them either.

Most important to a successful family portrait is the pre-session interview where you can meet all the players and know who you are dealing with. Another thing you can do is raise your sitting fee by 100% of what you are charging now. You'll find that people who have a serious investment tend to be less wasteful of that money. Another thing is you'll pare out the nerve wracking clients and let them be the PITA for the department store photographer.

That's not to say that affluent people don't occasionally have a brat child but at least you'll be better paid for dealing with them.

Steve