3 minutes I said “yes” {photo tip}

In person and on this blog, I am frequently asked about how I get my kids to not run from my camera or be bothered by it. I share several tips in both SnapShop courses about this topic. I thought I would post one of those tips here today. I’ve mentioned it before – I lead by example. What I mean by this is if my kids have an idea for a photo or if they ask to take one of me I try my best to say, “yes.” This scenario played out this week while I was working on building some new tables. I thought I would share with you what it looks like with my oldest daughter….

She always wants to help me build or craft. As I was taking a few tutorial shots for a future blog post I looked across the table and she was playing with my drill. I snapped this shot:

Immediately she asked to take a photo of me. I set the camera on the opposite end of the table (it was a little heavy for her to hold). She told me to pose like this:

When she saw the photo she took, she was frustrated it was blurry. My focal point was set to the center, which was too high to focus on me when I was squatting down. I moved the the focal point to the bottom center position while she demonstrated the next pose she wanted me to do, but with the nail gun and drill.

Then she gave me another pose, but she didn’t want me to hold the drill.

Finally, I asked her if we could use the timer and take one together.

The whole thing took about 3 minutes. I was in the middle of something else when she asked, so it would have been easy to say, “in a minute” or “not right now” when she asked to use my camera. Often that is how I respond. But really….3 minutes is not a big deal. 3 minutes doing something together that was her idea and grows her love for photography. 3 minutes that help her see what I enjoy when I am the one holding the camera. I need to say “yes” more often.

Enrollment for the final SnapShop courses of 2014 is currently open.

Click here for more information on my intro to photography online workshops.