A great family photographer knows that a shoot involving a toddler requires “the three ps” – preparation, patience & prayer:

A toddler mama herself, Ziem offers a consultation to all family clients, helping with location selection & wardrobe as well as getting to know the family’s children. She knows one essential to working with a kid is to know what (if anything) will distract that particular child from the dread Toddler Tantrum. Ziem has worked with longtime clients Dana & Jay here since their little boy Matthew was in utero, so she knew just the right airplanes, cars, and books to keep Matthew smiling through his second birthday shoot:

One other toddler trick Ziem employs is keeping her young clients – and, yes, their poor parents – in motion. You can’t always outrun a tantrum, but between some quick thinking and even quicker feet, Ziem snapped some fabulous, fuss-free action shots in the fading light, complete with nearly-fall foliage (and a lot of alliteration, apparently):

Not a tantrum in sight, wow! Think we could ask (beg) Ziem the secret to that for non-photo situations too?