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I have been kicked, scratched and bitten
by children in my studio. They have even sworn at me. But occupational
hazards of this kind are fortunately rare. Most children respond to
gentle persuasion.
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Firmness on the part of parents may be
necessary at times. Indeed I think that a child who is accustomed to
being told unhesitatingly what to do by his parent usually gains in
terms of security. But the photographer must use gentler methods, such
as 'Can you climb onto this stool by yourself, Johnny, or would you
like me to help you?'
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Imagine what it must feel like to be two
or three feet tall in a world in which grown-ups tower over you. Kneel,
crawl or sit on the floor — but get down nearer to their level. And
place them on a table-top or 'box' about eighteen inches high to level
things up. You are much less intimidating when your head is at their
height.
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I remember an occasion when a little girl
had to be persuaded even to enter the studio. She screamed with terror
each time her parents tried to carry her through the door. She was
about three years old and coaxing, threats, bribes — all were of no
avail. At length her father realized that she thought she was being
taken into a lift. She had had a frightening experience a year before,
he told me, when a lift in which she was travelling with her parents
had crashed to the bottom of the shaft, shaking them up badly. This was
a case for appealing to the child's sense of logic. Opening the studio
door wide I pointed to the fireplace. 'Did you ever see a fireplace in
a lift ?' I asked her. For a moment the little girl turned over this
thought in her mind. But she was convinced, came into the studio and
was soon playing happily.
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Trying to think like a child, calling on
every ounce of tact and patience you can muster — these things can keep
you young. Or they can age you prematurely. It depends upon your
temperament.
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