Does your child hate being photographed or hates the sight of a camera? Guess what Jesse, my 9 year old son does!! Well, he hates being photographed rather than the actual camera.

As a photographer that is a pretty embarrassing thing to admit to. It has got to the point where we have started a friendly challenge. If I don’t take him camping before Christmas then I have to SELL my camera and ALL my lenses. This has got him really excited because he realises he wins either way. Don’t worry there is no chance of me losing my gear as I have already penciled in potential camping weekends. I just have to hope for good weather.

So how did it get to be like this? My own child hates being photographed! What lessons can you learn from my mistakes? And if you have a similar sort of issues what is the solution to rid your child of their photo phobia?

The problem began when I was studying photography at college. As a student you are always looking for potential victims subjects to stand in front of the camera. This is where family, friends, relatives, pets and CHILDREN step in to help you out.  I would take photos of Jesse from a young age for my student work. At first it was fine but as the complexity of the photos, props and lighting increased the length of time that Jesse would have to stand in front of the camera also increased. Big Mistake. He would resist and then I would get frustrated.  I would say, “Don’t you want to help Daddy”, just to try and get one more shot out of him. I know, I know, shame on me!!

In the end I stopped but it was too late. Jesse now hated being photographed and that now included anyone taking photos of him, including his grandparents. Every time he would see a camera pointed in his direction he would put his hand up in front of his face or duck behind some furniture. It was such a shame because for a while there we missed out on some lovely natural photos of him growing up.

Does Your Child Hate Being Photographed?

So mums, dads and grandparents BEWARE. Don’t make your children camera shy. Don’t make your child hate being photographed. Here are a few Do’s and Don’ts when photographing your kids:

• Don’t condition your kids to be the center of attention whenever you pull a camera out

• Don’t always ask them to smile, say cheese or “look over here” when taking photos of them

• Do take photos of them when they are involved in activities. They will forget that you are around and the images you capture will be of their true personality.

• Let them see the photos at the back of the camera

• Let them take photos of YOU, have fun and be silly

• Sometimes leave the camera at home. Enjoy their company through your eyes and not through a lens.

So Jesse is now in camera rehab (Just Kidding!!). One of the things we have done together is to take the emphasis off taking photos.  On one occasion I set up the camera and told him that the only thing that was important was to have fun.  Being silly is Jesse’s forte.  I LOVE the images taken on that day. I have so many of them and it was hard editing them down into this one collage below. I really see his personality shining through and those gestures and facial expression that I will always associate with him just being him. There are even some shots where his original frustrations show through. But we’re working on that. 😉

Feel free to leave any comments below if you have any similar stories of your own child hating to be photographed.

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