Important Milestones for Capturing Children’s Portraits as a Professional Photographer

Important Milestones for Capturing Children’s Portraits as a Professional Photographer

Portrait photography is a special type of photography that comes with its own unique challenges and rewards. Children’s portraits can be especially rewarding as you get to capture a fleeting moment in time, that the kids and their parents will look back on for many years to come. But how should you sell this sort of service? Well, there are a number of different milestones that children go through, which are ideal for portraits, and we’ll be looking at that in this article.
Read on to learn about the main milestones for capturing children’s portraits.

 

Important Milestones for Capturing Children’s Portraits as a Professional Photographer

 

The Newborn Portrait

One of the earliest milestones in a child’s development is their newborn portrait. This is a great opportunity to capture your clients’ brand-new baby and capture the parents at a very special time in their lives.
Newborns photography will take some time getting comfortable with. You will need a quiet and comfortable studio space, and patience. Newborn portraits are a great opportunity to get creative with props. Ask your clients if there is a theme or style, they would like you to capture, and then choose wraps and props accordingly.

 

Important Milestones for Capturing Children’s Portraits as a Professional Photographer

 

The First Birthday

The first birthday is another milestone that parents will most often want to capture. This is often a milestone that clients will want to share with family members through birthday party invitations and as a wall print in their home. As such, make sure you create a few packages of print offerings that you can present to the parents at the photo reveal session.
While your first newborn portrait can often take place in the parent’s home, first birthday portraits are best done in a studio. This way, you’ll get the best possible lighting and avoid any issues with shadows or the light source. Make sure you carefully choose the background and props for the portrait so that it fits with the theme the parents are looking for.

 

Important Milestones for Capturing Children’s Portraits as a Professional Photographer

 

Around Age 2

This is another important milestone because it captures the child at the exciting time when they are learning to walk and talk. This is a great time to put together a few mini session ideas and reach out to the parents and see if it sparks their interest. Often clients would love to book a session, but they’re not sure what it would entail. But, if you present great themes or options to them they may just jump at the chance. These can be short 30-minute sessions where you are creating a fun environment for the child and also snapping photos.
The more often you can get your clients and their children booked for a session and in the studio, you’re fostering those long-term relationships. Also, this is a great opportunity to have children become more comfortable in front of the camera as they have participated in prior shoots.

 

Important Milestones for Capturing Children’s Portraits as a Professional Photographer

 

Starting School

At around age four or five, most children will be starting Pre-School or Kindergarten. As such, many parents will want to commemorate this big event with a portrait. If you want to create a really special portrait, invite your client and their child into the studio and set-up a old school desk, a few books, and an apple. Ask the parent to bring along a nice outfit, possibly a sweater and pants, or classic dress outfit for their child to wear for the session. This idea is sure to lead for adorable, classic school-house themed photos for the parents to look back on as they get older.

 

Important Milestones for Capturing Children’s Portraits as a Professional Photographer

 

The Eighth Birthday

At the age of 8, most children are starting to grow up and are developing more mature behaviors. They may not want to be photographed in childish clothing or with childish props anymore. They may not even want an ‘official’ photograph taken at all.
However, this can be a great milestone to capture as it shows the child at an important stage in their development. If you are looking for ideas for their session, ask their parents what their interests are and then put an elevated spin on it. Does the child dream of being a princess? Center the photo session around a beautiful and dramatic ball gown and a fancy chair. Is the child a rising basketball star? Have the session at an outdoor basketball court with dramatic lighting.
As a photographer, your intention at these sessions should be to create a fun and exciting environment where the child feels special while also capturing great photos. You want them to have a great time, and talk about how much fun they had, this way their parents are more likely to continue booking sessions through their youth.

 

Important Milestones for Capturing Children’s Portraits as a Professional Photographer

 

Entering Adolescence

On their 13th birthday the child will be entering adolescence. This is a difficult stage of life for both parents and children. At this point in their development, children are likely to be more reluctant to be photographed than they ever have been before. But this is the perfect time to capture the milestone of the child reaching their teenage years.
You can either take photos of the child posing or try to capture candid moments that show off the child’s personality. One good strategy is to ask the child how they would like to be photographed. This can make them more receptive to the idea and gives them a great photo to showcase their favorite sport, or hobby. If they seem hesitant in front of the camera, bring out a few props to help them feel more comfortable.

 

Important Milestones for Capturing Children’s Portraits as a Professional Photographer

 

High School Senior

High school senior portraits are really the culmination of all the portraits you’ve taken of the child over the years. It started when they were just born and ends with them leaving childhood behind and becoming an adult. These portraits are a great time to let their personality shine through. As a senior, most often they will have a type of location and look for their session in mind but will need their photographers help to finalize the perfect place. It’s a good idea to have a few great locations on hand to share with them, and a few recommendations for types of outfits that would look great photographed.
High school seniors portraits are a special type of portrait, and often represent the seniors final year prior to becoming an adult. With this being said, if you have been photographing the child since they were born, you will have a strong relationship with the child and their family. This is also a great opportunity to create a few print pieces that incorporate their photos from Newborn to Senior and offer this to their parents at their photo reveal session.

Conclusion

Capturing the milestones of a child’s development is a great way to build your photography business and connect with your clients. These milestones are all special times in a child’s development that they will look back on for the rest of their life, making them the perfect times to capture portraits. Through this process you will also have built a strong relationship with the family while being able to showcase your photography.
But remember, you don’t have to wait for a milestone to take a child’s portrait. Parents are always happy to have a new portrait taken of their child, so be sure to reach out to your clients often and remind them that you offer unique session themes and ideas.
Pro Prints specializes in professional photo printing for portrait photography. So, once you’ve captured the perfect shots of your client’s children, get in touch with Pro Prints for the best final product.