How to photograph a toddler..... part 4

I invited Viola's friend Lincoln over today for both a play date and to take some Valentine's Day pictures of him. 

We met Lincoln and his mom Sydney (she has a great blog called Hello Grey Boy) at a baby Halloween party I hosted through Meetup when Viola was 6 months old.  Turned out they lived a block or so away from us.  Lincoln is the sweetest boy and I absolutely love his look.... I feel that he belongs as a Gap or Urban Outfitters kid model.

I had a vision for his shoot, but with 2 toddlers in the studio it went out the window.

First, Viola decided she wanted to have her picture taken (finally).  She would stand still, smile, pose and say cheeeeeeese!  There was no way I could pass up this opportunity or make her feel like I didn't want to take any photos of her.

Then she kept photo bombing Lincoln......

I actually got some images of Lincoln without Viola stepping in the way.

My vision was to have him hold the red heart balloons with his adorable outfit (his Mom always dresses him the cutest), but Lincoln is a toddler and wanted the Elmo balloon instead..... patience and going with the flow are the keys to great images of toddlers..... in Lincoln's case, also music.  This boy loves to dance. 

I was also beyond excited that I captured some smiles of this very serious little boy.
His Mom also made the cute scarf he is wearing..... she also sells them at her Grey Boy store.

Also when working with toddlers, breaks are a must. 

These two were running, dancing, spinning, giving each other hugs and kisses and worked up an appetite.  We broke for lunch (food is always a plus while photographing toddlers) and Lincoln actually ate a sandwich.  Both continued to pseudo model for the camera while they ate.

I learned another trick today for photographing my toddler besides patience and going with the flow..... bring one of her friends along and she'll want the spotlight on her!

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