Okay, first off, this post is meant to be funny and lighthearted! NO ONE knows your kid better than you do, so whatever incentive (bribe) you offer to them I’m sure is coming from a place of thinking or knowing it will motivate them to be a good listener and make sure you, the parents, get the photos you want. I just think that looking back on all the family sessions I’ve photographed, it’s a lot of fun to reflect on the things I’ve heard used to motivate kiddos while I’m behind the camera.
Most Common
- “Smile for this picture and you can have (fill in the blank) candy.”
- “If you do a good job, we can go to (your favorite restaurant) for dinner after!”
- “How does ice cream sound? Do you want to get ice cream after you smile pretty for these photos?”
- “If you give me your best smiles, we can go to the toy store tomorrow and you can pick out a new toy.”
Higher Stakes
- “Do you want to get to go to (friend’s) birthday party tomorrow? You need to be a good listener!”
- “Remember Nana invited you over for cookies tonight! If you want to go, you need to do these pictures first.”
- “You know Santa is watching, right? He needs to see you doing a good job if you want that present you asked for!”
- “We’re not going to have our slumber party if you don’t cooperate.”
Most Memorable
- “Whoever does the best job at photos today gets to name our new puppy!”
- “You can pick which chicken gets to be a house chicken for the week if you smile pretty!”
- “You know that prank you’ve been wanting to do on Papa? You can do it if we get good pictures!”
- “I’ll let you start your own YouTube channel if you show me you’re mature enough to listen to the photographer and take good photos.”