When it comes to making your kids smile, it can be an easy job for you. You know their ticklish spots, what type of jokes they like, and what kind of goofy or funny faces that’ll make them crack up in laughter. For us, it’s a different ball game. To them, we are a complete stranger and are usually nervous or scared around us. To get the best smiles out of your kids, follow these simple tips when you are in our studio:

• Let us interact with your kids first, so they can warm up to us and get used to our noises and funny faces. They also need time to get used to the new environment. Most kids may think this is a scary place (like the doctor) and not some place that’s fun.

• Please avoid talking too much and making noises. Your child will immediately respond to you and look away from the camera.

• If we need your help, we will definitely ask. When your child is just not smiling or is completely terrified of us, we will ask you to jump in and make faces, dance, or make crazy sounds. You should also stand directly behind us at the same eye level and invade our space. We don’t mind if it is going to result in a great picture.

• A small but big detail—don’t tell your kids to say “cheese”. It usually results in fake smiles. We want real smiles.

• Avoid having too many people in the room. If there’s more than a handful of people in the studio that’s talking or calling out to them, it can be extremely overwhelming for a child.

There’s no doubt we definitely have kids that smile immediately but these 5 simple tips are here to help ensure that Big Apple Portraits captures great photos of your family and to also make it a fun environment when the kids visit the studio.