Audrey Woulard - Professional Photographer Magazine
Audrey Woulard - Professional Photographer Magazine
Audrey Woulard - Professional Photographer Magazine
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‘‘<br />
I never coo-chee-coo at them<br />
or wave toys over my head.<br />
I just keep talking<br />
’’<br />
so they have<br />
no choice but to look at me.<br />
newborns, babies, children, tweens (children<br />
eight to 12 years old) and teens. Tweens can<br />
be self-conscious and shy, but <strong>Woulard</strong> likes<br />
photographing them most of all. “It’s one of<br />
my favorite ages because they are still young,<br />
yet old enough to relate to me,” she says.<br />
“What works well with them, especially the<br />
girls, is to show them their picture on the<br />
LCD screen. They can be stiff and uncertain<br />
about whether they should smile or not. But<br />
when they see their picture they know it’s<br />
OK and then they really get into it.”<br />
To get beyond mugging and shyness in<br />
younger children, <strong>Woulard</strong> shoos away<br />
parents and starts talking. “I never allow<br />
silence because that gives them time to pose.<br />
I don’t immediately pick up the camera. I<br />
talk to them first. And I move. The more they<br />
and I move, the less likely they are to pose. I<br />
talk and laugh with the older kids and encourage<br />
them to talk to me as I’m shooting. With<br />
the younger kids, I just act like a goofball.”<br />
She uses her non-stop talking technique<br />
with babies, too. “I never coo-chee-coo at them<br />
or wave toys over my head. I just keep talking<br />
so they have no choice but to look at me. I<br />
don’t like having parents around because<br />
kids will always look to them for approval—<br />
even babies. I try to keep it just the kids and<br />
me so they concentrate only on me.”<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY ON TOE POINT<br />
<strong>Woulard</strong> decided to get a studio in 2006<br />
when her client base grew large and travel<br />
fatigue set in. Her 2,100-square-foot studio<br />
is awash in natural light, even during the<br />
bleak Midwestern winters. In warmer<br />
months, the ratio of studio to location work<br />
is 50-50. “I still prefer location work<br />
because I like the challenge it presents,” she<br />
admits. “I never know if I’m going to a small<br />
apartment or a mansion because I never<br />
scout locations. It keeps me on my toes.”<br />
Not being able to predict shooting situations<br />
necessitated investing in many camera
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