Marcy and a Le Top model
The Le Top brand is known for working with vendors for years – one person we adore working with is our fashion photographer extraordinaire, Marcy Maloy. She photographs our seasonal campaigns but is also now part of the “Le Top family.” Marcy was on her way to Paris and we were able to squeeze out some of her time to interview her and give you and inside look from a photographer’s eyes on her passion for her career and photographing children. Read below for Part #1 of the interview. Tomorrow will be Part 2!
What advice can you offer parents for the top 3-5 tips on how to photograph a child? Portrait and snapshot.
Marcy:
- Always be ready!!! i.e. parents should keep their camera very accessible at all times. Most digital cameras are small so no excuses…Keep it in your purse or in the kitchen or just always nearby…and make sure the batteries are charged. Special moments come and go quickly.
- Don’t direct your child. They will probably start hamming it up anyway, ruining a perfectly great moment…but if you just ignore them, they will usually go back to doing what they were doing.
- Never ask your child’s permission to take his or photo. Just start snapping without making a big deal of it and if they complain ignore them. The idea is to try to get them to forget you and go back into their world so you can get something special. If you take enough photos it will be like a reality show and they will eventually forget that you are documenting their lives…and remember, some of the most priceless moments are when they are crying or have a dirty face or are mad at you. I used to shoot my daughters when they were mad at me or at something, and that would make them Really Mad!! I got some priceless moments.
What do you find challenging at a children’s photo shoot?
Marcy: The thing I find most challenging at a photo shoot is taking the energy of the room and the parents down so that I can get the child calm enough to capture a magical moment. Many times the parents are so nervous that their child won’t do “good” that they have ironically created a “no win” situation. Sometimes I will catch a parent off camera hissing at their kid to do “what the lady says.”
Tell us your most funny “stage mom” moment (a.k.a. crazy mom or parent trying to get their child to pose or do something funny).
Marcy: The most hysterical funny moment I remember is when I looked just behind me and a determined Dad was actually doing a somersault on the concrete floor to get his daughter to laugh! It was incredible! I asked him to please stop, the child is terrified, and has no idea why or what’s going on or why their parents are acting so weird. I can’t ban a parent from the set especially if a child is young. Because the presence of their mom or dad is a calming factor, even though the parent is actually the nervous one.
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