Some adults find this week’s prompt completely impossible to do. No matter how you try to stop them. They just can’t help themselves… and they’re only trying to help, so can we really hold it against them?
(Yes. Yes, we can. Because our photos turn out looking like this.)
Well, never fear. Here’s a way you can coax the adults in your group photo to please, please, look at the camera.
Look at the camera: how to capture photos of toddlers looking at the camera
This prompt is an essential skill for working with small children and adults in a group. It’s simple, but really helped me cut down on how long I was spending head-swapping to get a single family group photo with everyone looking at the camera.
This is the scenario: you’ve got Mum, Dad, little Jack, and baby Jill together for their photoshoot. You’ve captured beautiful candids, played some games, and just have one photo left to capture: the one Grandma really, really wants, a classic portrait with everyone smiling at the camera.
“Ok, everyone look here!” you call out. Mum and Dad smile. Jack smiles. But Jill’s looking down, wondering what the heck this green grass stuff is. “Jill, look at me!” you call.
And then it happens. Mum chips in: “Jill, look at the camera!” and she looks at Jill, pointing at you.
Jill looks at you for a split-second. Hooray! But now Mum isn’t looking.
Mum looks up. Jill looks down.
Argh. “Jill, look at me!”
Mum, again: “Look at the camera, Jill!” She points. She looks at Jill.
Jill looks at you. Then back at the ground.
Mum looks up. Argh again.
And on and on it goes. A well-meaning parent tells the baby or toddler to look, or they point at the camera, so they’re not ready during the split-second that the kid glances at the camera.
This prompt is how to avoid that: how to get everyone else ready, so you can snap that split-second glance, and lock in your classic family portrait.
How to use this photo pose prompt
When aiming for a shot of everyone looking at the camera, if it involves babies and toddlers, prepare the adults and older kids for the shot first. Ask them to stare at the camera, and to let you (and only you) work on getting the youngest ones to look.
In other words, everyone who can understand the instruction needs to be ready for the photo, when the baby looks up.
This feels unnatural to many adults. It’s difficult to resist the urge to be helpful and try to get the child doing what the photographer has asked. It triggers every instinctive behave-in-public, don’t-waste-the-photographer’s-time reaction all at once. You’ll probably need to repeat the instruction to the adults. Sooth their jangling nerves by reassuring that the most helpful thing they can do is look and smile, so you can catch the baby’s fleeting glance.
Once you have asked all the adults to watch the camera, playfully work on the baby or toddler, and be ready to shoot fast.
Step 1: Prepare the adults
- Ask adults / older kids to look only at the camera.
- Say that you will get the toddler to look.
- Repeat this, reassuringly, as many times as necessary.
Step 2: Playfully work with the toddler or baby
- Be ready to shoot fast. Playfully interact with the toddler and whip the camera up to catch when they glance.
- Ask: Can you see the fairy / elf / dinosaur in my lens? What’s that on my head? Can you see it?
- For a baby, use non-verbal interaction to get their attention: pull faces, sing, make fart noises, play a kazoo. Shake a rattle, wave flashing light toy, etc.
- Get a spare adult to stand above you / behind your shoulder to entice them to look.
- Caution: adults will often stand off to the side of you (and baby looks that way): ask them to get right about your head, really close! E.g. crouch down and have the helper lean over you.
Creative extension
- Turn all the bloopers into a GIF for the family. They’ll love it.
Do you use a strategy like this in your photography? Tag @promptographerguide and use the hashtag #promptographerguide to share with the tribe.
Want this prompt in your Field Cards set?
All the info in this prompt post is summarised onto a single card in the Promptographer Guide Field Cards, with the details given in the accompanying Guidebook. All the ideas are given on the one card so you have a rich, comprehensive tool for sparking ideas. I’ve designed it this way so you only need five to ten cards to build a whole photoshoot.
If you want this prompt in your set, make sure you include Set 6: Family Essentials in your Field Cards.
