Photo Walks with a Toddler

Leica CL + Leica Summicron-C 40mm f2

I’ve received two very similar messages now in the course of a week, relating to pursuing photography when you have small children. Specifically: How is my toddler so well-behaved as to allow me to do it?

Ha. Well, firstly I am sorry for giving anyone the wrong impression! My 2 year old daughter absolutely does not allow me to pursue photography {or anything else that does not directly involve her!} in her presence. So I do my work photography, and everything else work-related, while my daughter is in childcare.

When my husband and I do our tableau projects together, we either pick a day when she is in childcare and we both have a day off, or try to organise photoshoots to coincide with her naps, so that she sleeps in the pram or in the car ‘on set’ while we take photos.

However, if we just want to take casual photos that don’t involve costumes, props, a tripod, or other complications, we almost always do that with our daughter in tow. Whenever we take photo walks for instance, it is usually as a family.

When our daughter was younger this was easier, as she was contained in a pram - so stopping to take photos did not involve any special machinations other than making sure that the pram’s brake was on! Now that she is mobile and energetic, it is a bit more complicated. She cannot be left unattended to wander alone obviously. So first of all we keep her tethered on a sturdy and reliable harness. As we’re walking along, we take turns who holds the harness. The other person is then free to take photos. {Sometimes it’s possible to take a quick photo while holding the harness, but it has to be quick or she gets bored and chaos ensues.}

We also, inasmuch as possible, try to involve her in the process and make a game of it. She actually knows how to operate a camera and has taken photos of the two of us before, activating the shutter on a tripod when we asked her to. She is a lovely little helper, and I hope her interest persists as she gets older!