I agree.I'm just looking at my four-year-olds pic from summer soccer
league. Every kid has cheesy unantuaral smile on their face in the group
shot and their individuals. The coach had asked me I wanted to do these
shots but I don't really want to do this end of the market. I think the
pics and the folder were five bucks or something ridiculous and of
course we bought ours. I did a bunch of action shots of my child and
others and gave the others away with my business card as a lot leader
for more formal portrait work.
JustaPawn wrote:

I find the most successful pictures (and the ones the parents enjoy the
most) are the natural, at play ones. Kids seem to develop an unnatural
approach
when they see the camera and instantly start mugging and posing.


I try and
catch them unaware.

This of course would use a few more frames and time in a price concious
job but would yeild superior results.


yes, but, as a practical business matter, lets compare the efforts to
wedding photography, you spend several hours shooting, a lot of photogs just
hand the film over, or make proofs, and nowadays burn a CD for rates ranging
from a few hundred to a few thousand bucks. how does that compare to
going to the ball park and shooting kids playing. What are the shooters
getting for candids? a couple bucks for a 3x5 or 4x6? five? more? sounds
to me like a hundred bucks would be a good take for a couple days work
(shooting, getting the prints, selling them to the parents)