When they won't play ball? I have the answer!

What do you do when the 2 year old sibling of a newborn wants nothing to do with the photoshoot? They are unnerved by everything- the studio, the baby, even their parents trying to give them a cuddle! Just what do you do?

The answer?

You do everything!

You give them space and time to just be. To explore and relax in to things. Often I totally ignore them and focus on baby until they feel like they want to get involved, because with children this age, it has to be their idea! The more you ask, the more they resist.

It's really common for toddler siblings to be overwhelmed, distracted and disinterested in snuggling up to baby. It just takes patience and getting to the bones of what makes each particular child tick.

During a recent session, the little boy was just two and a half and really not keen on going anywhere near my shooting area. I tried everything- bribes or prizes, racing games, even a photography lesson (check out our shots of dolly below), but he just wasn't feeling it.

With patience and time, and a few little breaks, I got him in the end! We devised a colour guessing game and I got some gorgeous smiles from him and of course he won a sticker (which he then didn't want lol)!

But I'm always the real winner getting to create for beautiful families, and I always want the sticker!

What do you think of his photo of dolly? I think it's a great start!

Becca x