Not my photo. Photo Source: Photo by Alex Blăjan on Unsplash
Isn’t my photographer rude? He/She doesn’t allow me to take just a few quick snapshots of my baby during its photo session. I paid for the session and photos, so what does it hurt for me to just take a couple of quick photos on my phone, so I can have something quickly to share with friends and family?
I get it! You’re so excited and seeing your baby all wrapped up in the cute fabrics, in a novelty outfit, or in the sweetest of props, you’re tempted. You want to take a photo to have right away rather than waiting on an edited gallery from your photographer.
Or, maybe you’re at a milestone session and want to take a picture to show family what you’re experiencing in real-time with your child as we capture moments in a 6 month or one year cake smash session. Your baby / toddler is the cutest, and you don’t want to miss recording any moments.
Believe me, I empathize. Wanting to take a candid shot is understandable, but when you have your phone out taking pictures it’s an awkward moment for me. I don’t want to have to explain during what is supposed to be a fun photo session why I have the rule no photos allowed other than the ones I am taking for you with my camera.
I have had people take photos right in front of me, and I don’t want to say anything when I prefer our time together with your child to not have any negativity. I’ve opted to incorporate a rule asking that no cell phones be taken out in the room where we take photos in my studio. I have other areas where families can hang out, so phones are absolutely allowed during the time you are with me, just not in the room where we are photographing your child.
I set expectations before we begin a session, but I thought it might also be a good idea to write about it in a blog as I can explain more of why I’m not trying to be rude or insensitive. When quickly going over things before we get started in my sessions, I don’t have a lot of time to give reasons to parents why I have this rule.
So here ya go…my reasons for asking my customers to refrain from taking any of their own photos while in my studio:
- It helps minimize distractions, so I can focus on tasks at hand consisting of engaging with a toddler or creating a calm environment to keep a newborn sleepy.
- Maintaining integrity of my vision for angles, resolution, color accuracy, and post-processing editing.
- It’s my investment and time in getting the results for staging and posing for your child. The pose you see or set up that I am using is possible due to money I have spent on fabrics, backdrops, props, posing aids, lighting, flooring, headbands, bonnets, hats, training, mentoring, and more to execute my vision. There is always time the night before to get things chosen, coordinated, and set up before you arrive the following day. The set ups have taken years of research and time in discussion groups to learn what I want to achieve for my clients. I understand an excited parent wanting to take a photo on a cell phone, but essentially doing that in a moment that may have taken me even more time the day of the session with quite possibly 30 minutes to achieve just in settling a baby is not fair to me as a photographer.
- Copyrights – When a client takes photos of their children posed in something I created, copyrights are being breached. The photographer is the creator of the image. To get to the point of being able to click to take a picture, takes vision. Everything I invested in comes together with my ideas that are unique to your session, and for that it is only for me as the photographer to be allowed to click the button of a camera to capture the images associated with that vision. It isn’t an intention to be rude to the clients as I will deliver these images in a proof gallery to be selected as part of what was purchased when scheduling the session.
At the same time that I understand why my clients might want to snap that photo, I would hope that my clients can also understand that if you were to take photos on your phone (even if only a few) that it would limit you buying images when you have my vision on your phone. That isn’t a good feeling for me when working so hard to achieve beautiful images for you.
I hope that helps anyone who misinterprets a photographer protecting their creative vision as being rude when a photographer asks you not to take photos of their work during a session. I know keeping your phones put away, would help me to avoid the “awkward turtle”* situation as my daughters call it. It also keeps me from having a stomach-ache as I want absolutely no confrontations or anyone feeling uncomfortable during my sessions.
Definition of “awkward turtle” quoted from the internet of course:
The “awkward turtle” is a visual and non-verbal way to signal that a situation is awkward or uncomfortable, rather than a spoken phrase. The gesture involves placing one hand on top of the other and using the thumbs to mimic turtle flippers. It’s often used playfully and ironically, acknowledging the discomfort of a moment.
Remembering this phrase makes me laugh as my daughters always did this during junior high/high school years and it would break the ice and make us laugh in uncomfortable moments. AWKWARD TURTLE..HA!
As always, thanks for the time listening to me. Luckily, I have never had anyone take issue with me since I implemented the rule a few years ago. I wanted to give a little explanation, just in case anyone that reads this has ever wondered.
I am very grateful to all of my clients who trust me with their children’s photography.
Newborn Photographer / Family Photographer / Lifestyle Photographer / Tomball, Texas / Magnolia, Texas / Spring, Texas / The Woodlands, Texas / Cypress, Texas / Katy, Texas / Houston, Texas / Friday’s Fotography / Newborn Photography / Cake Smash Photography / Baby Milestone Photography / One Year Photography / 6 Month Milestone / 6 Month Sit Sessions / Lifestyle Photography / Family Photography / Babies / Cute Babies / Child Photography / One Year Birthday / 1st Birthday / 2nd Birthday / 3rd Birthday / Mini Session Photographer
