Hi Wes,

Welcome to PPR! I was wondering if you have any advice on photographing children with special needs, in particular, autism.

Thanks!

PD

Well I have a lot of experience with special needs children. I do a lot of work with my local Children's Miracle Network hospital and have photographed a few autistic children. I think the main thing is just patience. No matter what your session length is normally just extend it out. I would give yourself an hour and a half at least so that you can take your time and allow for breaks. Thats it really, just be caring and understanding. The parents will understand your challenge so just go with it and do your thing.

yup, lots of time, the child or children may not be able to sit for long, without getting up and moving around. My friend's child was up and on the move more than he sat.

If a child is wc bound, you may want to ask the parent what side is "most photogenic", and just watch and talk to him/her for awhile. also you'll need to determine from what height or angle to shoot from.

With Autism, there are so many varying degrees, that's hard to tell you what to expect without knowing any limitations.

good luck and stay relaxed. Children can pick up on the vibes you send out.
Oh, and make it fun!

Hi,

Two days ago I had a family come in with an autistic son for the first time. I did not experience any problems but the young mans behavior was definitely surprising at times so I would advise to have yourself prepared for the unexpected just so you're not caught off guard. In this particular instance, their son abruptly started hitting on my wife and made some bold comments about her breasts. He obviously didn't mean any harm by them and I took them with a grain of salt but if I wasn't ready for the unexpected my reaction could have scared the clients away.

Not sure I've ever had any children "hit on" anyone in my studio but I think that the beauty of any child is that you never know what they will say or do. I think with autistic children though it is not so much about inappropriate comments but more about their demeanor. I have had both sides of the spectrum. One girl was VERY active and another little boy was very calm and quite. These personalities made very different portraits but they were very descriptive of who the children are. If you are patient and let the sessions unfold and try not to force them the session will be great.


~Wes
_______________________
www.finelightstudios.com
www.weskroninger.com

Thanks, everyone! I think patience was key. At first the boy didn't want to cooperate at all. Later we found a toy that he liked, and pretty soon he was so engrossed in playing with the toy he didn't even notice the strobes going off. I usually don't use prop/toys but in this case it helped. I was able to capture expressions that are his "typical" self, according to the parents, expressions that they have often seen in him but never captured on sensor before.


PD