Objective: Find new ways to get your subjects excited about being photographed.

People ask me all the time whether or not my kids get tired of being photographed. While I wish I could say "NO! They love it every time!", That just wouldn't be true. They do get tired of having their picture taken so I do my best to make the picture taking a fun thing or something they don't really notice. One of the sure fire ways to get my kids excited about having their picture taken is to get some new costumes and take pictures in those.

It's not just my kids either. I have a dress up box at my studio filled with funky hats and tutus. Sometimes when a session is almost over and the child is getting a little bored with it all, I'll try to break out something new and fun like the costumes. Girls, especially, are all over the costume idea. I tell that they we're going to play dress-up and they love it.

My boys love superhero costumes and animal costumes.  What do your kids like?

Here' how it works for us...would you like to meet the baby bats?

The tips that I have for making the costume idea work out well are as follows...

- let the kids pick the costume

- let the kids pose however they want

- let them be weird, silly and totally crazy

- shoot fast and keep the session short

- have fun and try and just let if flow stress-free

I'd love to hear your idea for how you keep photography fun with your children and subjects. Any other great ideas, please comment!

Hope you guys all have a great holiday and enjoy some time with your family.