Worried About Your Kid's Privacy, But Still Want Cool Photos?
Worried About Your Kid's Privacy, But Still Want Cool Photos?
One of my fave repeat clients recently came into my studio wanting to capture some portraits with her son. He’s a lovable, friendly toddler who’s only getting bigger and she wanted to capture his personality, their relationship, and her little family but with one teensy little catch - she didn’t want to show his face.
As a full-time social media manager, this client is constantly sharing and online and she didn’t want her child’s face to just get posted anywhere. And, together, we came up with some pretty clever (but still heartwarming!) portrait ideas to get her amazing portraits, without showing her child’s face.
Even if you’re not a social media manager, we’re all sharing online more than ever. So, you too might be a little hesitant about posting photos of your kid when they don’t really have a concept of things like privacy or know how to even give you permission to share about them.
Luckily, there’s an option between never sharing your child’s existence and showing their face all over the place - and I’d love to share some of the ideas me and my client came up with!
One of my favorite ideas that we both absolutely loved was having him run up to his parents, with my camera behind him. That way, you could see his cute little self and even spot some of his personality as he ran up to them- but you still couldn’t see his face! It was also so endearing to see his parents’ faces as he ran up to them, because their joy, laughter, and love got to be front and center as they looked at him.
Another similar idea was taking photos of his parents holding him up or throwing him in the air. This was such a fun way to add a little motion and playfulness to our portraits, while still making it about them and their relationship. This would also be a super fun way to show your child getting bigger- as you go from throwing them in the air to picking them up to capturing your face as you struggle to lift up your new middle schooler or late elementary kid. And at every stage- you don’t have to show their face to still reveal their unique personality and your sweet relationship in that moment.
If you wanna skip the potential arm workout, you could always do photos with you hugging your child or all sitting on the floor talking, playing, or cuddling. Having portraits of you going to their level and maybe playing with their favorite toy right now, or just hugging or snuggling can be such a sweet way to bring in their personality without having to show their face. This would be another fun series over the years, as you could go from playing with a cloth doll to Legos to their favorite superhero figure as they grow up. And even if you’re just hugging, it can be whatever feels age-appropriate. Maybe they’re still tiny enough to fit in your lap, and we can capture them as they slowly go from lap snuggles to standing up for a hug.
These are just a few different ideas to capture your child’s growth and personality over the years, without having to sacrifice their privacy or show their face. They could also work really well for a really camera shy (or just plain shy) kid who’d rather focus on you than on the camera. My favorite thing is to capture the special moments and stories of the people I get to photograph, and I’d love to turn you and your child’s relationship into a precious photo you can share wherever you wish.



