Children's photo shoot

Lyndhurst Community Centre in the New Forest hosts regular craft and gift fairs on most Sunday's through-out the year. In order to extend the attraction of the event I recently suggested that I attend and run a free photo, portrait session for children (and their parents) who attend the event.

The first session on Sunday 12th September was very well received with a number of parents asking me to photography their children.

There is always a challenge when photographing children, especially younger children, as they won't always do what you want them to, including getting them to smile at the right time. Of course, children are also shy when put into a new situation so it usually takes a few minutes to get them comfortable.

We've found that by having a bouncy ball to play with and some bubbles for them to pop, they soon come round and I can then get some good pictures of them engaging with what ever they are doing.

One thing I did find when offering these free photo shoots is that many people are quite sceptical about photo shoots and think there is a hidden cost that they are going to get stung with. This is obvioulsy an opinion of a few companies, although used as a view of the industry as a whole. When you explain that the photos are taken for free and they only buy what they want (at a decent price) their opinion changes.

I will be doing these free photo sessions at Lyndhurst Communicty Centre in the Junique Craft and Gift Fairs on the following dates. There is no need to book. Just turn up anytime between 10am and 4pm.

Sunday 28th November
Sunday 4th December