How To Get Kids Laughing For Photos

photo session tipsmodern school portraits

Apr 24

Whether you are a professional photographer, or a Mom just trying to get some awesome photos of your kids, there are times that we just want them to smile for a photo. But, when anyone says ‘say cheese’ to kids, that typically backfires! Nothing is worse than a forced posed un-natural cheesy smile!

Portrait Of A Young Boy Wearing A Blue And Yellow Plaid Shirt Smiling Big With His Eyes Closed

Here are some of my favorite ways to get children to smile for photos!

Sing

Either singing myself…or asking them to sing, is a great way to get natural expressions from your young clients. Particularly if they love baby shark or some other funny song…this is a share fire way to get genuine smiles.

Portrait Of Two Sisters With Long Brown Hair And Blue Eyes Hugging And Smiling

Call yourself something silly

Nothing makes kids laugh more than calling myself something silly. Like broccoli pants or just saying something silly like “I’m a pumpkin”…the more you as the mom or photographer laugh and act silly, the kids won’t be able to help themselves and will laugh.

Monochrome Portrait Of A Young Girl With Curly Brown Hair Smiling And Looking Down At The Camera

Pretend to tickle them

This is something that you should only do when you know the kids and believe it’s safe for you to actually tickle them…or just the threat of tickling them will make them laugh. When I’m taking modern school portraits in preschools I often have a few small stuffed animals in my bag that I use to help me get the kids looking towards my camera and interacting with me. Sometimes I’ll pretend that the stuffy is going to come and tickle them, and this works as well.

Portrait Of Two Sisters Laughing With One's Arm Around The Other's Neck

Ask them to tell you a joke

Kids love to remember and tell jokes…and you’ll hear a wide variety of jokes, some of which you may not understand. But, when you ask them to tell you a joke…they invariably will start laughing! And, it’s contagious.

Portrait Of A Young Girl With Blonde Hair Smiling Big With Her Tongue Looking Up At The Camera

Ask for a high 5

This is one of my secret weapons, particularly with shy younger kiddos. When you ask for a high five, the movement gets them excited, and they always smile after they connect and give you a high 5. The more high 5’s you do, the bigger their smiles get…so you have to be ready and quick with your camera to capture those smiles between high 5’s.

Portrait Of A Young Girl Wearing A Pink Shirt And A Pink Bow Smiling Straight At The Camera With

Do something silly

Nothing makes kids laugh more than being ridiculous. One of my favorite tricks is to call one of my stuffed animals, which is a horse, a cat…and I get really adamant that it’s a cat, and the kids start laughing and telling me NO, it’s a horse! It’s quite funny and always leads to smiles.