"Getting Kids to Smile Sweetly in the Sun"

We visited Albany, NY's Washington Park this week. Albany is preparing for its annual Tulip Festival which will be held this coming weekend. We decided to beat the crowds (we won't be here for the festival anyway) and enjoy the beauty. It was the perfect photo op. The only problem: it was one of those days that was actually overcast but the UV rays were hard on the eyes. Let me interject here that in nearly all the Bixby family photos that still exist from when I was a kid, Timmy is either squinting or holding his hand over his eyes. However, I was convinced I could do better with my kids than my parents did with me. But before I held my first "Getting Kids to Smile Sweetly in the Sun" seminar, I decided to produce a few examples to use as teaching aids. Here's what I got.

First, you lie to the children, telling them the sun
isn't really that bright, they just think it is.










If that doesn't work, you isolate the children. Peer pressure tends to work against a good photo shoot. If you can get the children alone, you can normally convince them that the sun is really not bright.











If that doesn't work, bring in the children's mother. Mothers are a natural calming influence on the children and if they don't believe you when you say the sun is really not bright, they're much more likely to believe their mother.








If that doesn't work, tell the children that their mother is actually there to provide shade for their eyes. At this point, you acknowledge that the sun could be a problem, but insist that the shade provided by the mother more than compensates for any brightness in the sun.







If that doesn't work, there is always the option of forgetting about the children and focusing on the mother. She is normally willing to produce a beautiful smile, and I have found from my vast experience that the mother's smile fills the children with such joy (even in the presence of bright sunlight) that they irresistibly smile themselves. However, the results are often short-lived so the photographer must be quick to catch the candid moment.


Finally, if that doesn't work, there is the ultimate "look-up-with-your-eyes-closed-until-I-count-to-three" technique. (Boy, I wish I had known about this one when I was a kid!) To effectively use this technique, you must teach the children to pose facing the camera, yet with their eyes closed. Tell them that on the count of three, they are to open their eyes, allowing you to snap the picture. Assure them that the whole process will be over before they know it. Warning: with some children you will have to specify that both eyes are to open on the count of three, and with others that the head is to remain facing the camera. If you can master this technique, you are guaranteed a picture worth posting on the internet.


Oh, I almost forgot. If a complete stranger walks by and offers to take a family photo, jump at the opportunity. Kids, oddly enough, tend to smile better for total strangers.