Why I love being a Kindergarten Photographer !

So why do I photograph Children ?

Simply because it is so much fun ! 

Its all the cute little grins, discovering what makes each child laugh, its the end result, the memories created and the family joy and beautiful feedback. 

That's why ! 

To dig a little deeper goes back to why I decided to go down the kindergarten/childcare photography road. I am and have been a parent of children that attended childcare and kindergarten.  I remember vividly when my now 14 year old son was at childcare how excited I was to have his photos captured at kindy. I remember eagerly anticipating the arrival of the photos to see his beautiful smile.  After receiving his photo which I loved..... I wished for more !  I wished for activity photos, I wished for natural outdoor photos, I wished for choice as quite frankly I would have purchased them all !  

So hence the birth of my pathway into photographing at kindergartens after a long enlightening conversation with the centre director of my oldest child's centre at the time.  She knew I was a family and wedding photographer and wondered if I would photograph their kindergarten the next year.  My first thoughts were ones of Pure Panic !

My gosh , 80 Children to photograph, with a range of images,  over 2 -3 days - How on earth would I do that  ! Am I crazy ?

So being the courageous person that I am......  I developed a plan of action and along with a very healthy dose of ambition, I took it on. 

I was hooked. 

I loved it from the first day onwards.  So much cuteness, so many expressions, using beautiful natural light, photographing children enjoying climbing, exploring and interacting with the kindy/childcare environment. 

To top it off,  (thankfully) the families at the centre loved my photos, loved my unique style and the fact that I gave families the opportunity to choose and order photos online at any time of the night or day. 

I received so much positive feedback from my very first centre that it inspired me to go on - to do better the next time with all the little things that I needed to improve on, to be a little more organised during the day, and start looking for an assistant to help with this process !. 

The kindy photography side of my business then grew !  3 centres that year , 5 centres the next year, 11 the next year, 25/ year  for the last few years  and now looking to be up to 30 centres this year all around Brisbane !  This is my 8th year as a Kindy Photographer and I haven't looked back, my business is successful and I maintain personalised service to each and all of the Kindy families at every centre. 

Along with that I have now moved into mentoring other photographers on how to run a kindergarten business as well as founded supportive group of Kindergarten photographers with over 345 members in Australia and from overseas.  Contact Trina if your a photographer and may be interested !

I scarily did some rough sums as to just how many children I have photographed (just cause I like to put it into stats and analyse)  - its seriously upwards of nearly 15 thousand children in Brisbane/Gold Coast. 

I am incredibly proud of this ! 

As it is not only 1 shot only of each of those children in front of a static background - but a variety of images 10 -15 (sometimes more) images of each child.  I call it Mini Session Kindergarten Photography.  That is a lot of clicks that my little camera does !

Have I learnt a thing or two over that time which gives me the edge when it comes to photographing all sorts of personalities of children - YES indeed.  

I believe my experience SHOWS in my work, my ability to work quickly but effectively and also to relate to every child, no matter if they are super keen for a photo or not so keen. 

Each child is the love of someone's life and I want to honour that by providing them the with the very best of my ability.

I have laughed along with them, awed over their individualism, cuddled them when they are a little apprehensive of this photo lady, gushed over their cuteness, had tears in my eyes over siblings and their love for each other and especially when it comes to photographing the nursery age children - a healthy dose of cluckiness.  

Do I miss my children being this young ?  Absolutely !!  Do I wish I had a "me" when my children were at Kindy ?  Yes oh yes. 

What's my priority when it comes to photographing Children ? 

Apart from safety which is always my number 1 priority - I aim to capture that special little glint in their eye, I look for that unique expression that makes them who they are whether it be big gleaming smilies, wonderment looks, or little concentration faces whilst they arrange blocks, push a truck, dress a doll -whatever captures their interest.  Not every photo needs to be about smiling.

Bottom Line - I want magical images that Families will cherish for years to come because the time their little ones are this age will fly by in an instant and the power of photographs is not realised until 5, 10 , 15 years and beyond later.   Trust me - Look back on some of your own photos from even a couple of years ago and realise the power and emotion you feel when looking at them ! Super important to have ! 

So there is a little insight into my "why" and how by following my path and gift in children's photography I am able to contribute a skill in my lifetime that when I look back in my 90's (hopefully) I can be ever so proud of what I have created. 

Thanks for reading ! 

Trina