Plan to provide a place for the mothers to wait... away from the sets. Mothers will have a tendency to chime in with their instructions, which will add to the confusion. A warm and friendly art director can establish a rapport with the child and get them to perform as requested. If multiple figures are needed in a single shot, it is a good idea to select siblings to appear together whenever you can. Children relate better to their brothers and sisters or to familiar playmates. You’ll be able to capture their natural and comfortable reactions in your resulting photography.
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The really small children (one year to 24 months), have a tendency to crawl or toddle off of the set about the time you are ready to shoot. This usually calls for some entertaining attempts by the photographer in order to hold their attention. Sounds (like whistling or singing) will work, as will the use of a hand puppet or stuffed animal peeking at them from behind the camera. Photographing childrens’ fashion is one of the most challenging of all the catalog shoots. While it requires patience, it can produce extraordinary results. You may have to compromise and allow some wrinkles in the garments to show, but this reality is not harmful to the
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overall effect. People know that children are active and their clothing won’t remain pristine in real life. And you may end up with a shot of the child seated, rather than standing as planned. But with the extra exposures that you’ll take, you’ll have plenty of good choices. Screening for the model selection is one of the hardest parts of planning a children’s fashion shoot. Because children’s looks change so quickly, you’ll need to schedule a “go see,” or an actual look at the models. They may have submitted a composite or head sheet that was produced six months previously, and they might look very different today.
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