The number one tip to getting natural smiles

Kiddies are completely unpredictable, even the older ones that we expect to sit and smile sweetly. They can be so adorable and easy going and laughing uncontrollably one minute, and the next minute, turn that charm off completely. They will typically smile for you all day long until you put them in front of a camera, then they freeze up like a deer in headlights. We want to get the best smiles we can. Over the years I have learnt what gets those beautiful happy smiles and what most definitely does not. Here is my number one tip and it is not what you would expect.

Do not try to get your child's attention or tell them to smile (unless I ask you to)

Babies and young children are often overwhelmed when they walk into my studio space. It is large and full of all kinds of interesting things. I am also a complete stranger. So the best thing to do is to sit on the floor directly behind me and say nothing. I need a chance to build a rapport with your baby or young child and get those natural smiles where they look straight into the camera.

Picture this scenario:

You're a small kiddo and have just walked into a very big, completely new room. A lady with a big black camera is sitting facing you and pointing it at you. And then she is talking to you and making faces. But mom and dad are also frantically trying to get your attention. Mom is on one side of the room and dad is on the other. 

Then because you are just sitting there staring wide eyed at everyone Ouma and Oupa also start calling your name and trying to get your attention. Mom then starts clapping her hands above her head and dad starts promising ice cream. Where on earth do you look and is there any reason to smile? Everyone just looks crazy and making a heck of a noise!

This is the most common scenario I see and 100% of the time ends in wide eyed stares and eventually tears.

One of the first photographs of my session with this little man. He was still warming up to me and getting comfortable.

I need to get your beautiful baby or young child to smile for real at something I say or do. The calmer you are the better things will go. So taking a seat right behind me on the floor, keeping a smile on your face and not saying anything gives me the opportunity to connect with your little one and a much better chance of getting those amazing smiles and laughs.

Once he had warmed up and felt safe with me he was all smiles and happiness.

Here's to a great session!

Celebrating the small things in life

My little man is eight months old and I just adore him. We've had an eventful month. He has five teeth that we all worked very hard for. He is rather a dramatic little man and kept us up many, many nights. He is also crawling and standing up against anything that will take his weight...my leg is the best.

I need sleep but I would not change our decision to adopt for the world.

I have finally figured out how to care for David's hair and for a white girl I think I've done a pretty good job. My first two attempts were somewhat frightening and lumpy in the extreme.

Have a great weekend!

Loving someone else's child

Adoption is a topic of many of my conversations as my husband and I have recently adopted a baby boy, David Zachary. Something I hear very often is, "I cannot love somebody else's child." 

David at almost three weeks old, on the day I took him from the hospital to the children's home.

I agree. I have several good friends whose children I have come to love and enjoy over the years. However, they are not my own children and I will most probably never feel about them as I do about my own. 

I photograph a lot of babies and children and I thoroughly love it. I enjoy them so much. They climb up into my lap and I play with them and cuddle and kiss them and I'm in heaven. But they are not my children and what I feel for them is fondness. I totally get not loving somebody else's child as my own.

David two days after he came home. He was almost four weeks old.

The thing is that David is not somebody else's child. He is mine. In June 2013 when my husband and I knew we wanted to adopt we started to think about our unborn son as just that, our son. 

We did not know when we would get a baby boy but we started to prepare. We got some clothes, nappies, wipes, wipes and even more wipes and I made linen for his cot. We spoke about him often and chose names. Whenever I had a quiet moment I would think about him. I wondered all the same things that I did while I was pregnant with my daughters. I wondered what he would look like, what kind of little person he would be, when he would arrive. In my heart I was pregnant, I was just not carrying him in my womb. (Thank goodness, pregnancy is tough!)

At four months old playing on our bed with his big, big sister who adores him.

So we love and adore David just like we do our biological children. I scored in that I did not have to carry him in my womb, endure mind numbing fatigue, nausea like no other, swollen feet, having to wee every ten minutes and then the unmentionable pain of giving birth. David is our son, no one else's and it is easy loving him.

Five months old and learning to sit. He can stay upright for a moment or two before he topples over. Aren't those the most industrial eyebrows you've ever seen?

Burger Family Outdoor Photography Session

Waiting for Beth and having fun with Bea.

I so enjoy this vibrant, close-knit, passionate family. I photographed little Bea when she was a brand new baby. I got the honour to photograph them as a family unit while they are awaiting the arrival of Beth. And I will be blessed to meet Beth when she is just a few days old and capture her newness and beauty.

We headed out to Parliament Gardens for some fun in the park. 

 Feeding her dolly.

 Daddy's girls.

This is my favourite. Look at the adorable little expression on her face while she brushes her daddy's head with the flower.

Working with kiddies is always a great experience. Mom and Dad look great but little Miss Bea has her mouth wide open in preparation for her beloved dummy.

Thank you Bianca and Heinrich. It is always a pleasure working with you and thank you for choosing me to be your family's photographer.

God bless you abundantly!

Welcome Caleb | Newborn Photo Session

Little Caleb is the most huggable baby. He has rolls in all the right places and a little face that just says, "Hug me!"

A very proud big brother.

 A very beautiful mommy who is so serene. The perfect mum for two little boys.

I love this pose with dad. It is one of my favourites.

Thank you for trusting me with your new little boy. I enjoyed my time with your family and am really looking forward to seeing Caleb when he is a year old.

I hope you all have a great week.

Christmas Special Offer

Are you stuck with what to buy that special person who has everything? Get them something that will last a lifetime. A photo session is the perfect gift as it is loads of fun, makes the participants feel really special and they get to treasure their memories and photographs for the rest of their lives.

Family, couples and baby sessions from N$790
Maternity sessions from N$790
Newborn sessions from N$1980

I look forward to hearing from you.