Anyone else guilty of dressing up their children and posing them or asking them to do something to get perfect pictures for a LO?

I'm a new mommy and I've got two layouts made and waiting for pictures so they can be framed and hung in my son's room. I've been trying to figure out the perfect outfit and photo perspective to take the pictures and get my project finished.

Not necessarily looking for advice. Just questioning if you've ever had to "make the picture happen" to achieve a LO.

Guilty as Charged. With having just gotten my first grandson, I especially did this w/ his monthly scrapbook. Each month had a specific theme (Easter, Valentines Day, New Years, etc) so I needed him (ok wanted) him to have certain things on for those pictures.

Yes we are bad lol. But in a good way.

I didn't start scrapbooking until my kids were in their mid to late teens, but I have engineered many photos to scrapbook. In fact, most of the pictures I take I have the idea of scrapping in the back of my mind. Scrapbooking (and a digital camera) have really changed the way I take pictures.

Oh yeah!

I have a scrapbook friend who bought an outfit for her granddaughter, because it matched some scrapbook paper she had.

I've tried it a few times but it doesn't work out the way I want. Honestly my girl makes the best smiles when she's not trying.

I've shown this pic before, but this was not posed, not dressed for and completely a surprise. Yes I was taking photos of her releasing her butterflies and yes I did put sugar water on her hands but I was not expecting this success! I was just HOPING to get a photo of her and a butterfly in the same shot! But this butterfly posed for me, he hopped around on her for like 5 minutes so I got about 20 great shots!

Butterfly Release By Penny Lane

• Bxr-Linda Said:

LMFAO it's so much cheaper to go the other way! I have bought paper because it matched an outfit so I figured it'd eventually get used...though sometimes that doesn't happen.

You're brave! What if you don't get a pic you like for those layouts?

I am more of a candid photographer. I don't like posed photos very much. I think I get the best ones when my son is just having a good time.

I dont to it exactly that way, but I do take notice to what is in my background when taking a pic. I work with the public and sometimes I will see someones shirt and think, oh , I have pp that would match that perfectly or what great colors that shirt has, it would make for a great SB pg!

I haven't, but I know that there are quite a few artists who have loads of fun playing "dress up" with their subjects.

Okay, I did try once to get DS to sit next to his friend/girl on one of those little four-wheelers. It didn't work. He kept running away screaming because it wasn't what he wanted to do.

Still, if your baby is still a baby, it shouldn't be too hard for you to get him/her to pose just right.

• Richelle Said:

A big plus for taking digital photos. I can try over and over until he quits cooperating. For the pictures I want I'm going to strip him down to a white onsie and focus on up close shots of his hands, feet, shoulders and head... I think I'm going to try out printing these pictures in sepia tones to coordinate best with my layouts.

Haha... yep.....all the time.

My lastest favs is dressing my 3 yr old kinda in a punk funky get up that has mismatched patterns that work well.....kinda like you see on the kids on the cover of like parents mag, lol. I also put her in an antique gown with a lacy collar did her hair up all in the name of pics to scrap!!!

• Quote:

Or undressing them...

Beach Bum By IzzyB

Amanda, when I had a newborn last year, I took a photo of him every month on his birthdate in a plain white onesie. I did it to document his growth. I actually used the same (size L, Carters) onesie each time. The onesie swam on him at first and it was fun to watch him grow into it.

An advantage of photographing him in the plain white onesie is that it's very very easy to scrap because it goes with everything.

I did a 6-month layout of the first 6 photos. I need to do a followup page that shows his whole first year.

At Six Months By IzzyB

Yep. The pict in my av was from a "photo shoot". I told her to run around and dance. I wanted pictures of the dress before it was ruined. It just so happens that I now scrap. I used to head to Sears when she had a dress/outfit I loved. Now, I'll just try it myself. I'll be doing it again once the leaves turn. She loves to get pictures and I've stopped trying to get her to smile. I really need to carry the camera around to see if I can get smiles.

Setting a photo up is not a little dirty secret. It's done ALL of the time. I wrote a blog about taking better photos & staging.

couple photo tips
1) Grab the moment. Immediately shot a few photos. Don’t miss that initial shot.

2) Quickly check your camera settings. Do you have the right light setting? Focus? Speed? If you have to... add the flash, make focus adjustments.

AND look at your positioning and camera angle. Is the horizontal straight? Move so that telephone pole is not sticking out of grandma’s head. Crouch down, stand up, lean over, step back. You can always crop later but you can’t add the birthday cake when it’s not in the frame.

3) Look for the action and distractions. Make physical adjustments to the setting and subject. Move distracting things out of the way, Position your subject, Ask them to smile, interact with each (or not interact). Sometimes it’s as simple as just asking. “I want to take a picture of you playing the piano” and they position themselves accordingly.

Subject still there? If you have the time…

4) Really look at composition and color. Make major changes. Examples: move a car out of the way, have a subject take off a distracting sweet shirt, move your subjects to a better background.

Wait for the action, wait for the best natural lighting, even wait for additional subjects, etc.

PS) Take a few “establishing” shots. Examples; the outside of the house, signs, the entire stage, the audience. You may or may not end up using them but at least you have them.

Now and then I get my dh and ds to pose for a photo, especially now that we've opened a new church and have lots of before and after photos of it. Plus my ds just started high school. He doesn't mind posing as much as he used to, though...

• Bxr-Linda Said:

Stop talking about me! I actually did that.

• IzzyB Said:

I made my son a huge owl rag quilt (pictured in my gallery). The day we got home from the hospital I took his picture on the quilt and I'm going to do this each month to show his growth.

Izzy I adore that page of yours...one of the cutest pages ever!

Guilty, and I only have a puppy...

My girls are too old for me to dress up....But once when I first started scrapping, I did find some cute Christmasy cookie paper...
I herded our dd's and my dh in the kitchen to bake our annual Christmas cookies..then brought out my camera...my eldest saw me and said, "I knew it, we're being scrapped! It's a set up!"
I did get to use that cute paper!