This is a photo of Curtis and his great uncle and a fair representation of any time we would ask Curt to pose for a picture until just recently. Notice him leaping from his uncle's lap. This one is at about age 4, Curt's prime time for "I don't care what kind of picture you want, I refuse to sit still for 5 seconds and allow you to take it." A common theme through Curtis' early childhood and even now is that desire to avoid anything that isn't standard or predictable. Like a fear of not understanding why he's being asked to do something and then instantly rebelling against it. Pictures always fell into this category so if we wanted a photo of Curtis with family or friends, we had to be quick with the camera and we only got one shot at it. And then he ends up looking like a hostage in the pictures anyway.

Recently, he's been more willing to have his picture taken though really only for quick candids. He still is not a fan of posing for a picture when asked. We haven't yet dared book a session for a family photo since we originally tried when Curtis was a toddler. We abandoned that session after a half hour when we couldn't keep him still long enough to snap one photo. I felt bad for the photographer but this is life with Curtis. Sometimes you take it on the chin.

Things that have worked getting Curtis more used to taking pictures were first, cutting deals with him. Curtis has been much more willing to take a picture if he'll be rewarded in some small way. He may not fully understand the reason behind smiling for a picture or why anyone would do it, but he does understand fulfilling the request if there's a benefit to him. For school pictures, seeing all his friends getting their pictures taken helped normalize the situation for Curtis and make him more at ease about picture taking. I think he needed to see it wasn't just happening to him. And Caron probably cut some additional deals with him on those days to get him to pose. Putting Curtis on the other side of the camera had also helped. He often carries around a resilient kids camera now in addition to snapping some photos of Nickelodeon and stuff animals with our camera.


Greg, Dad