Francis Wu
Hon PSA, FPSA, FRPS, FIBP, FRSA
Hon. Master of Photography.
Children are ideal subjects for the camera because they are human beings who have no worries of the universe. Their minds are free from unnecessary thoughts, what is in them is happiness and liveliness. But why is it that sometimes we find children in a bad mood? It is because they cannot obtain their happiness and therefore feel like crying. For the photographer, this problem of making a child happy before the camera and getting him into a lively mood requires skill and careful tactics. The child may have moments of uncertainty, feelings and doubt, shyness and timidity, and even discomfort in coming into a strange room called a studio. The lights and surroundings may add to this fear. This restlessness is a great problem to child portraiture. To overcome this problem the photographer must put the child at ease, and in order to do this, he must be his friend. All children and even babies are eager to be friendly. The first step in approaching this problem is not with the child without the parent. Ask the parent questions concerning the likes and dislikes of the child, because different children have different preferences. One may like sweets while another prefer a toy. The parent can be your sole advisor. Ask the parent all that you can about the child beforehand, keeping in mind what will interest the child and avoiding everything objectionable. In one case a child may like a little puppy as a pet, and in another the child may be frightened even at the presence of an animal. So you see, this is a problem not so much pertaining to photographic and lightning technique but to the psychology of the child. Then also, the finished portraits will revel in the child’s expression what you have accomplished. No parent will like a child in be in a bad mood with a crying, tearful expression, or a face marked with fear and agony. To make a child’s portrait, the photographer must not make prints for his own satisfaction but for the parents and their friends. The parent will be proud to show the photographs you made for their child to their friends, not because you took these good photographs, but because they want to show how adorable and lovely their child is. Bear this in mind, when making child photographs, and the photographer himself will also be satisfied of his own hard-earned results.
How To Be Friendly With Children
After we have gathered all the information on the child’s behavior that we can from the parents, we can use the parent as our assistant and this assistance is usually given. Most parents are very cooperative. The parent can speak the baby language that her own child can understand and appreciate. The photographer is a stranger and naturally the baby talk will not be as pleasant as the voice coming from the dear parent. The tune, the sound, the high and low pitch, all has effects on the child’s expression. If the child is older, the parent can tell him stories, and children like to hear stories of fairyland or a few nursery rhymes. The mother of the child can also be an actor in the studio to entertain her own child, by singing and dancing in such a way that will not only entertain the child but also make the child forget that he is a portrait taken.
Many photographers prefer to leave the parent outside the studio and tackle the child alone. Personally, I do not think this is a wise or practical act; children will not like strangers to be alone with them. They would rather have someone dear to them near all the time. Some child photographers have an assistant, preferably a woman who understands children, who gets acquainted with the child ten or fifteen minutes before the sitting. The photographer will only have to have a few lights set up properly, the camera focused before the child enters the room. He is then ready to capture every momentary expression on the child’s face. There is another bad mistake that I have found with many photographers in relation to their studio lights. When the child enters into the studio, only the room light is on, and as soon as the child enters the room, or as soon as he is seated on the chair, the bright photo-lights is switched on. This changing of brightness may put fear into the child’s mind. It is more advisable to turn on the photo-light before the child steps into the studio room; many little unnoticeable things like this can create unpleasantness in the child’s mind. We must be very careful with small matters.
Keep The Child Busy
To simplify a portrait sitting of children is to keep their minds occupied. And they will forget about being in a strange place and having their photo taken. One way of keeping their minds occupied with pleasant thoughts is to keep their hands busy, let them have something to do. For a little girl a doll is the best toy, especially a doll with eyes that can open and close, changing of the doll’s dresses will keep the child occupied longer. We can add more items in the entertainment program if we add a doll’s house, with furniture and fixtures, etc. Although this work well most of the time, at certain times, it will distract the child’s mind too far away from the sitting. Then we must change the topic, by issuing another type of toys, like a pair of blunt scissors, for a child to cut doll’s dresses, etc. But occasionally when we see the child is so intense with their thoughts, we must distract her with different items to arouse interest in order to have a different expression. For a boy, there is nothing that will interest him more than a toy pistol. a toy car, or anything that is mechanical. Do not let the child have a new car, or a new toy because that will not interest him as much as a broken toy. Nearly all boys are mechanical minded. Nothing is more intriguing that to repair a broken toy like an engine with a wheel or two missing. Even film spools and the black paper around the films will entertain the child for a long time, and I can assure you that this way of keeping the child’s mind occupied, is better than the most expensive toy you can think of. I have seen many parents who, when they take the child to the studio for a sitting, carries bundles of newly bought toys in order to entertain the child for the sitting. I have a strong objection to this because the child will naturally be curious and want to play with each and every one. Putting one aside and taking another till the parents gets tired of handling one toy after the other may make the parent bad-tempered and the child would either have a good spanking or a good scolding. This will naturally ruin a good sitting. In order to overcome this type of sitter. I introduce my old broken clock, with a tick-tock sound to it that will at least keep the child quiet. We must keep on hand a lot of “Junks” for the entertainment of children. It is not advisable to produce good fancy toys. Many of the children like to carry away the things they play with to their homes so a few spare film spools will do no harm and a broken car is usually refused and left back in the studio by the child. Expensive toys will create a very bad impression with the child after the sitting for the child would think that the photographer is a cruel man by refusing to let him bring the toy home. If a second sitting later on is necessary the child will naturally refuse to even step into the studio.
Parents Objects To Broken Toys
Many parents object to having their child play with broken toys lest them be shown in the photograph. A clever photographer will naturally avoid all the pitfall of introducing the broken toy in the photograph. The broken toy is to occupy the child’s mind, and the photograph should include only head and shoulders. The hands and the broken toy will naturally not be shown in the photograph. Although in many occasions it will unavoidably be included in the negatives the photographer can omit it in the darkroom process by enlarging the head and shoulder alone.
The Photographer Must Be The Entertainer
Besides relying on the parent and the toy to amuse the child during a sitting, the photographer himself must be an entertainer also. An alert and clever photographer can do more than keep the child’s mind occupied than the pareknt and the toy put together. Many times the present and the toy divert too much of his attention from the camera and many times will be wasted. From experience, I have “Played The Fool” for many children. I peep my head out of the black cloth, or put on a funny hat and even put on a clown show. Even by hiding behind the curtains in the studio and peeping out attracts the child’s delight and with one hand in front to manipulate the camera, pictures of pure ecstasy will result. The photographer must also be prepared to be a good storyteller. Do not tell a long story or a story with a sad ending. A story well planned beforehand will include a series of incidents producing in turn a series of different expressions. A story should be told with a definite purpose, and should be prepared in advance with this purpose in mind. An unprepared story will not only be uninteresting to the child, but the photographer himself will not find an ending to it. It is general rule to be wise to introduce a story casually, so that the child does not feel it is being deliberately entertained. Tell a story that the child can follow in his mind until the climax is reached. Such a story produces complete forgetfulness of the portrait sitting. If the photographer tries to introduce sudden turns of unexpected and some ridiculous situations he will incite a large variety of expressions. Another kind of story to tell is one that has already been told to him by his parents or teacher. If you tell it in such a way that there are full of blunders and mistakes, the child will correct you and have a good laugh at your faults. In this manner you will obtain may expressions to record.
Tone Of Voice
The tone and volume of your voice has a great deal to do with in making friends with children. A voice that sinks to a whisper suggests mystery, and a voice that goes richer and stronger, indicates that the achievement or crisis is at hand. A quiet gentle voice brings confidence to a timid child and comfort to a frightened one. To get the full value from a story, which is being told, the photographer should lean to control his tone. I would also like to suggest, during the story-telling period, that all other noises in the studio should be omitted or kept low, that parents and other persons in the room should be silent. Soon, if the photographer is in a good actor and a good storyteller besides being a good photographer he can impress other grown ups to be children too.
Some Stubborn Children
Sometimes you come across some children that are very stubborn and won’t smile for anything. My next approach is to talk to them about food and sweets. Ask them what they want. Naturally, they will have the impression that you are only curious and are trying to fool them. As a child said to me once, “I prefer ice cream but you are only fooling me when you said you ‘d offer me some” In order to have the confidence of the child, I sent my assistant to buy a cup of ice cream. The child was delighted and tickled. I let him finish the ice cream first, before I pulled out my bag of other tricks. A trick or two will amuse some stubborn children. No matter what type of tricks or entertainment we use, a smile is a necessity for a child’s portrait if it is pleasing not only to the parents and their relatives and friends, but to every human being in the world. A smile is always associated with children. It is up to the photographer to find it, to register it and to produce it. A good photographer should understand, not only his technique, but also human nature.
