No judgement here. Feel free to bribe your children at our session!
Picture day can be a very, very stressful time if you have children. Finding the right outfit and a date that everyone is available on already causes you a headache. Once you have that down, though, everything is smooth sailing. You have prepared everything to be perfect, and then your worst nightmare happens – your child won’t cooperate. Even after you’ve coached them for the past two weeks and the entire car ride leading up to the session, your kiddo still just isn’t having it. You’ve tried all of the usual tricks and nothing is working. Sounds terrible, right? But this happens all the time.
So how do we get from this crying grumpy kid to this smiling precious angel?
Well, I’m here today to save you from this nightmare, and help you prevent this from even happening. Behold the power of bribery.
I know some people frown upon this, however, they probably haven’t tried to get a two, six, and 10-year-old to sit in one position together, look at the camera, AND smile. It’s no easy task! As a photographer, I’m going to give you the green light and tell you that it’s OK to bribe your kids for the sake of good photos.
We have a very limited amount of time to get all of the photos that you need, and I don’t want you to be stressed out or feel crunched for time because little Aria is having a meltdown, is hiding behind her hands the entire session, or sticking her tongue out at me. So, I welcome bribery with arms wide open.
Every child is different when it comes to bribery. They all have different personalities and like different things. Some children are motivated by candy, others cash. You just have to find out what works best for your child.
Here are some suggestions that we’ve noticed have worked.
Candy or fruit snacks (seriously fruit snacks work like a charm!)
Dinner (their pick!)
Ice Cream after the session ( I vote for Mandys in Brownsburg! PS tell the staff I said Hello! I am there weekly for my ice cream addiction and they are 10 minutes from my studio!)
Staying up late
That awesome toy they’ve been begging for
Extra TV or Video Game time
Cash
No Chores
While these aren’t the only options, I thought I’d give you a starting point to brainstorm your own ideas to help get your child to cooperate.