Sitter sessions are my favorite. (Okay, I have lots of favorites, don’t go taking me literally – my other blogs will contradict me.) Sitter sessions really are ones that I look forward to for a bunch of reasons, the highlight of which is no stranger danger here! So…what do I like about baby sitter sessions?
- Everyone likes to look at babies. They are entertaining to watch, to the point that even people who are not emotionally invested in the baby are content to stand around and be amused by them.
- They make their own fun. Babies really don’t need much to be amused. When presented with a loud, colorful toy, often the baby will choose to play with the wrapping paper the toy came in rather than the toy which is super funny – see number 1.
- No stranger danger here! Babies of this age are not fearful of strangers yet and will instead produce the most beautific, gummy, adorable smiles for a person they’ve never met before that day. How is that not totally charming!?!
The point of this blog post is to tout the words ‘no stranger danger here’ and I will do that several more times in order to fulfill Google’s SEO requirements (thank you for reading this post and fulfilling yet another of Google’s requirements, I really appreciate it) but there really is nothing I don’t like about sitter sessions…unless of course the baby cries the entire time which has never happened, by the way (and now I’ve jinxed myself). I often prepare a lot for other types of sessions, brainstorming posing and scouting out various locations in order to ensure plenty of variety for the gallery. None of those things is important for a sitter session. As a captive audience, all the parents are really concerned with is how adorably displayed their precious pumpkin is. They don’t care about locations. They don’t care about posing. They just want to see all 53 of junior’s signature expressions that he has spent the last 6-8 months developing and perfecting.
The thing that makes capturing these signature expressions possible is the fact that there is no stranger danger here. The baby has not yet learned to be anxious around strangers. At my last sitter session, I did jump-squats to make that baby smile. He was rather under-impressed by my general presence (not scared…just more interested in his environment) so in order to get his attention and score those gummy smiles I mentioned, I had to jump up and down like a squirrel. Be impressed because it’s quite a feat to jump, land, bring the camera to your face, focus and snap the shot. I was Superwoman that day (and had the sore glutes and thighs to show for it the next day). But I GOT those smiles and the gallery was precious. All because, you guessed it, no stranger danger here!
Liz Viernes Photography is based near Kensington, Maryland, and specializes in maternity, fresh 48, posed and lifestyle newborns and first year milestone portraits.
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