It started at 18 mo when I stopped getting pictures. It only lastest until about 3y--I think. He's been fine since. School pictures he does great. We didn't get pictures last Christmas. My oldest was really sick and only did pictures in front of the tree. No professional done. I never even sent out cards.
I think WiMomof2 has a great idea. Hire a professional that prefers to work in natural settings. They definitely cost more but I've been wanting to do this for some time.I got great pictures of Brendon for the first year but after that it was a disaster. Jacob has only has his professionally done twice...once at 3 months and once at 1 year. I now do them all myself. I may try that piece of tape on the hand thing for Chrsitmas this year. It's time for us to give it another shot. Brendon is very photogenic...great smiles. jacob just stares at the camera when its out. I think I have about 500 digital pics of Jacob on my hard drive...he's smiling in 3 of them.We've always paid the extra money for a professional photographer. When our youngest was 3, he was not at all cooperative about having his portrait done. We went to the park and the photographer followed him around and got some great shots that way.
I know hiring some one like this is way more expensive than going to one of the chain studios. However, because of how my kids are, it was well worth the money. There was no wait, the photographer took as much time as was needed, and if we weren't happy with the proofs, we could get a reshoot at no additional cost. Also, I have gorgeous pictures of my kids.
I brought lots of toys to keep him busy, and also put him in the stroller until time at Sears or JC Penneys to take the pics. Then we go into the room and turn on the portable DVD player with a favorite show and placed it on a shelf near the camera so he looked that way and smiled- worked like a charm!!!Same with mine (4.5 yr old son)...we have had numerous attempts which ended up in tears and leaving without pictures...
Does he have a favorite snack or treat that he doesn't get often? This last time, I took a special treat, cookies, which I reward him with for certain positive behaviors, and they worked long enough to get a few shots off...I just broke off small enough pieces so that he didn't have a mouthful in the pics...he still ended up getting frustrated with the process and breaking down towards the end, but we did get a few shots...:)
I told them at the time I made the appointment that V was special needs, doesn't do well with long waits, etc. and then again when we got there and checked in...I explained the situation, about not being able to wait for long periods, that the photographer needs to be low-key, not the silly, joking, loud, making noises and funny faces like they typically do (V has sensory issues), and it went pretty well...he just started getting tired after about the 3rd or 4th pose/staging....
This is one area we have not had any problems in - with one year being the exception where ds chose to grimace in all photos and we finally got him to be okay for ONE picture. But actually, JC Penney got copies made of one of his Easter pictures and hung it on their wall! We've had good luck with them - but I only go to experienced photographers.
Our big issue is how to get our kids TOGETHER for a picture and have it turn out okay. Usually it is my dd who is the issue. I'm hoping now that she is 3 that it won't be as big of a deal.
We haven't taken many pictures of her - nowhere NEAR the amount we took of ds. Unfortunately, this is because we are always so focused on ds when we are at family functions or big events that we forget to take pics.
One big thing - make sure you bring snacks. I also always dressed him RIGHT before the pictures (her too) and so you have something to change into right after that is comfortable. Bring toys and books as well in case you have to wait. You may want to tell them when you book the appointment that your child is autistic and cannot wait for long periods of time. If they ignore this - well, you probably don't want them and/or they will learn the hard way! Obviously, it probably isn't fair for you to go ahead of others but maybe they can give you a heads up that they are running behind instead.
Sorry not to be of much help here!
Our place used a hand held camera and actually took shots very quickly while we were playing. They even edited me out of a couple of shots and I tried to place myself so they could get some good shots of him.Thank you guys, all great ideas, the problem is we can't even get him to go infront of the cameraHi there again
I have a question for all of you, Are you able to have your child's picture taken by a professional? We have tried a couple of times and no go. He freaks out!!! For his 2 year old picture, we had to take a snapshot and have it blown up. Does anyone have any ideas?
We had luck at Portrait Innovations (there are several chains around here). They take their time and let the kids play with the cameras. They were very patient and took more than 100 shots and then pull them up on a big screen computer and you can then choose. I think when you get 100 photos you're going to find something good. They usually have a package for , then extra sheets and packages add up quickly.We got decent school pictures when our son was in pre-school, but the photographer was famous for being great with kids. Group pictures with his class were hard for my son, and he never looked happy and always had to sit by the teacher.
I've heard of putting a piece of tape on the child's hand, so the child looks down and starts picking at it -- can potentially get a "contemplative" picture that way.
We got amazing professional pictures from age 3 months until around age 2 and a half. Ages 3 and 4 were a disaster, couldn't get anything and used my own photos for Christmas cards. This year, at age 5 years 10 months, we got the 1st good professional portraits in years. Here's the one we used on our 2006 Christmas card.
Edited to add: The way we got this picture was bribery, plain and simple. We told them if they were good for pictures we would drive right to toys r us and let them each pick a new toy. If they weren't good for pictures we'd go right home. It worked!