Sep 6, 2022
Bill Gardner
Picture day can be a very, very stressful time if you have children. Finding the right outfit and an available date already causes you a headache. Once you have that down, though, everything is smooth sailing. You have prepared everything to be perfect, and then your worst nightmare happens – your child won’t cooperate. Even after you’ve coached him or her for the past two weeks and endured the entire car ride leading up to the session, your kiddo still just isn’t having it. You’ve tried all the usual tricks, and nothing is working. Sounds terrible, right?
Well, I’m here today to save you from this nightmare and help you prevent this from even happening. Behold the power of bribery. I know some people frown upon this; however, they probably haven’t tried to get a two, six, and 10-year-old to sit in one position together, look at the camera, and smile. It’s no easy task! As a photographer, I’m going to give you the green light and tell you that it’s OK to bribe your kids for the sake of good photos, let alone for the sake of your peace of mind.
We have a very limited amount of time to get all the photos that you need, and I don’t want you to be stressed out or feel crunched for time because little Timmy is having a meltdown, is hiding behind his hands the entire session, or sticking his tongue out at me. So, I welcome bribery with wide-open arms.
Every child is different when it comes to bribery. They all have different personalities and like different things. Some children are motivated by candy, others by cash. You just need to find out what works best for your child.
Here are some suggestions that we’ve noticed have worked:
• Candy or fruit snacks
• Dinner at their favorite restaurant after the session
• A later bedtime
• That awesome toy they’ve been drooling over
• Extra TV time
• A sleepover with a friend
• Cash
• Extended play time
• Not having to eat their vegetables that night at dinner
• Not having to do chores the next day
• Giving them back a privilege that’s been taken away recently
While these certainly aren’t the only options, we thought we’d give you a starting point to brainstorm your own ideas to help get your child to cooperate.
Do you have any personal “bribe options” that works for your child that we didn’t mention in this article? Let us know! Click here(link) to send us an email with the details. Your suggested options might be featured in a future update to this article!
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