A Little One with a Remote Control

Two years ago I learned a little trick to having fun with young kids.  Add a remote. For those with little control over their lives…a remote control can be exhilarating instrument.  It can easily become a tool to get them engaged and even at times excited about having their photo taken.    

 

So, what is it that you get when you take one adorable little girl and hand over your remote control ...giving her reign over your camera?  Assuming you set the camera up on a steady tripod and keep the little one in focus…you can get something like this:

Something to keep in mind…kids at this age aren’t too fond of being told “no”.  So I’ll caution you now, unless you have something to distract them with when you want to switch from them controlling the shutter to you controlling the shutter, there may be a bit of flood works and some foot stomping. 

Luckily, if you can have a smooth transition (or in my case, have wonderful friends who are cool with me learning the hard way and are willing to stop for a pizza break mid-shoot) you can get a couple fun shots even without the remote. 

Lesson 1: Giving over a remote is not giving up complete control.  Among other things, you will still need to stabilize the camera and focus the lens.  ;)

Lesson 2: Have a plan for getting your remote back.  Enlist parents and family. 

Lesson 3: Go with it.  Some of the pictures are not going to come out using this method.  But the ones that do will be worth it. 

Thank you to Karen and Aniya for letting me spend the day and for letting me taking a crazy amount of photos.  ;)