won't let me take pictures

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-09-2003
won't let me take pictures
6
Mon, 09-26-2005 - 8:23am

Does your child allow you to take pictures of them? Jake will not cooperate. He won't look at me or the camera, and he'll run off and hide somewhere. He didn't use to be this bad. But he just won't look at me. Even if I try to catch him off guard. He looks away before the picture takes. anyone have this problem?

Jen

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-11-2003
Mon, 09-26-2005 - 9:09am

both my kids used to be that way. OMG, you should see dd's kindergarten school picture. Its just awlful. They have outgrown it though. DD started letting us take her picture when she was 6. Kyle is 10 now. I can't remember exactly when he started letting us take his picture. I want to say 8yrs but that's a guess.

Samantha

Samantha
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-13-2004
Mon, 09-26-2005 - 6:12pm

Just a few ideas.....

Could the 'flash' be a problem? Does he run away with outdoor photos too?

Does he understand the procedure for taking a photo? Perhaps he stands still when you ask him, but then doesn't understand that he has to wait for the 'click'.

What about the time it takes to do the photo? If you use an SLR, could it be taking too long to compose and focus?

Dress Up Games, Doll Makers and Cartoon Dolls @ The Doll Palace
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-09-2003
Mon, 09-26-2005 - 9:45pm

He used to let me take pictures all the time, he'd sit and smile for me. Now over the last few months is when this started. I thought maybe the flash too. But he does it outdoors, indoors, with the flash on or off, and for the video camera too. He actually tripped over a toy truck running from the camcorder earlier today! And it's a digital so it doesn't really take much time to snap it. I guess he's just gotten shy.

Jen

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-26-2005
Mon, 09-26-2005 - 9:48pm
Hi Jen,
I had the same problem with my Jake until I realised he just didn't understand what he was supposed to do when we would take pictures of him. When I would ask him to smile he would either throw a fit or look blankly at the camera or just look away. When I want to take a picture of him now I just say "show me your happy face" and he does it every time.I hope this helps.
Teresa
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-26-2003
Tue, 09-27-2005 - 2:56am

Hey Jen,

I call my son "my little Shaker" if that gives you any indication (Shaker tradition = no 'graven images'). It all started at about or by 18 months of age. To this day it can be problematic. He's now 7, and the night before school picture day, about 2 weeks ago, he had something of an anxiety attack over the prospect and had a series of bad dreams to boot. Glad my photo wasn't being taken the next day!!! Now that he's older, I try to pimp him for information that'll help me understand his perspective. His response this go-round was that he really hates the flash (sensory thing, no doubt) and "all those people" (and you know he just LOVVVVVVVVVES new people!.......to keep far away from him!). I sent in a note to the teacher giving her a heads-up on the situation and letting her know that I'm not one of those moms who MUST have a school portrait, so he knew he had some control....and lo and behold, he up and decided to have his picture taken on his own! A banner day. (Of course, the next day, while playing an exciting playground game of 'dinosaurs'--his current fixation--- he bit a playmate....3 steps forward, 2 steps back!) One thing that helps here at home on the photo issue is my digital camera....it's a big deal to see the picture right away. I also have invited him to be photographed with whatever his beloved collection of the moment is, whether it's Thomas the Tank trains, Magic School Bus books, or dinosaurs. I also gave him his own little photo album and promise him a copy of 'good shots' we take together, and he just loves that album.

Good luck!

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2001
Tue, 09-27-2005 - 7:37am
Bobby was a big old ham until his 2nd birthday.

 


Powered by CGISpy.com