In my previous posing tutorial, I wrote about posing couples.  I pose kids much the same way.  However, since kids aren't just small adults, you have to make your poses extremely simple and you've got to shoot FAST!  Otherwise, kids - with their short attention spans - will easily lose focus and get bored.

So the bottom line is that you have to keep kids moving, keep it fun, keep it simple and don't fiddle with your camera.

This isn't photojournalism. Every image you see in this post is posed.  In other words, it would not have happened without my specific direction/instructions.

(1) 30D, 24-70mm f2.8L, ISO 160, f3.2, 1/400 sec.  This shoot was done on a perfect fall day. The adorable girl's red hair, freckles, and red sweater look great with the leaves. I wanted the leaves and grass in the background, which means I stood tall and shot down. Props work great with kids. In this case, the girl was proud of this little pumpkin she decorated. I asked her to display it to me in her hands. The great expression on her face is her sheepish pride.

(2)  5D, 70-200mm @200mm, ISO 500, f3.5, 1/500 sec. Parents love cute. Tattoo that on the palm of your hand. If it's cute, they'll open their wallets.  Having the kids peek into little openings in walls is a winner. They'll think it's fun, which will get you nice expressions.

(3) 5D, 70-200 @200mm, ISO 500, f3.5, 1/1250 sec. The child doesn't always have to be looking into the camera and smiling. A very "kid" thing to do is to stand on things and balance themselves. I asked this little girl to stand on a rock, then stepped back and shot at 200mm.  I positioned her in my favorite lighting setup: backlit sun in front of a dark background.

(4) Canon 30D, 24mm f1.4L, ISO 400, f1.8, 1/100 sec.  This is an example of "lifestyle" photography. I asked the little girl to sit on the step and told the older brother to clown around. Lifestyle images like this DO NOT get an order for that big canvas print. However, my family portrait business model is based around selling portrait albums. At least 75% of my portrait clients buy an album. Images like this work great in an album design.

(5) 30D, 24-70mm, ISO 200, f5.0, 1/250 sec. Another lifestyle image. This shot is always a winner. Have the kid play around in the leaves. Easy peasy.

(6) 30D, 17-55mm EFS @50mm, ISO 400, f2.8, 1/500 sec, a touch of Kubota X-process combo to bring out the blues.  What do you do when the child is really shy?  I was playing around with this little cutie pie, saying stuff like "I'm gonna git you!".  She was still a bit apprehensive, but she played along, pretending to hide behind dad's leg. That's when I took the shot. By the way, on the walk back to the parking lot she insisted on holding my hand!  

(7) 5D, 70-200mm @200mm, ISO 200, f4.0, 1/1250 sec. Parents love this pose. I ask the kids to lie down on the grass on their stomachs and rest their chins on their hands. When the parents see this, they go "awwwwww", then reach for their wallets. This was taken about 1pm on a sunny day. Remember to keep the sun to your subjects' backs.

(8) 5D, 70-200mm @ 125mm, ISO 400, f5.0, 1/250 sec, a touch of Kubota X-Process combo. This wall is one of my favorite backdrops for shooting small children. I simply told this little boy to go see what's behind the wall. It looks like the dragon is going after him. He squealed in delight when I showed him the images on the back of my camera. Again, this is a shot that's designed to be part of an album spread, not as a stand alone print.

(9)  5D, 70-200 @200mm, ISO 320, f4.0, 1/400 sec.  Nothing makes parents happier than seeing (1) their kids really happy and (2) their children loving each other.  That's why I always set up a pose like this. This pose always has the potential for that big canvas order. I asked the older girl to hold her little sister in her lap and tickle her. That's it. Pretty complicated, huh? As you can see, they're both delighted, happy, and showing their love for each other. Again, my favorite combo of back lighting against a dark background.

(10)  5D, 70-200 @200mm, ISO 500, f5.6, 1/100 sec.  Always try to get images of the child loving the parents. During the sales presentation, I'll say something like "this is the image you'll want when xxx is a surly teenager and fighting with you." That gets a laugh and a sale. For this shot I had mom sit on a bench. Then I told the boy to stand on the bench, wrap his arms around mom and give her a little love. They're nicely isolated against a clean background which is actually water. The water turned white because it was a cloudy day and I jacked up the exposure compensation to properly light their faces.

(11) 5D, 70-200 @200mm, ISO 500, f5.0, 1/250 sec. Another example of the same pose. Mom is kneeling on the sidewalk. I told the daughter to get behind mom and put her arms around her. One of the great things about shooting at 200mm is that I can stop down to a fairly small aperture like 5.0, get both subjects clearly in focus, yet still have the background nice and blurry.

(12)  5D, 70-200 @ 110mm, ISO 400, f4.0, 1/3200 sec.  From my pre-portrait consultation, I already knew that mom was interested in buying an album. I had this shot in my head because I knew it would make a great double-page spread.  One of my favorite techniques is to shoot upwards with my subjects on a hill. This gives an extremely clean, un-cluttered background.  The kite was really there, not photoshopped. I simply asked these kids to walk up the hill, with the older girl going first with her brother behind. And yes, the shot did end up being used as a double page spread in the final album.

(13) 5D, 35mm f1.4L, ISO 320, f2.0, 1/1600. This shoot took place in a very cluttered back yard. Lots of toys, furniture, etc. In this case, there are only 2 ways to get a clean background. Either get up high and shoot down, using the ground as a backdrop, OR get low and shoot up, using the sky as a backdrop. I chose to stand on a bench and shoot down, because I thought the fall leaves would make a nice backdrop. Since the shot required a wide-angle lens, I used a large aperture to get some nice bokeh on the leaves. As for the pose itself, I just asked the little girl to look up. Just clowning around with her got the smile.

(14)  5D, 70-200 @148mm, ISO 400, f2.8, 1/3200 sec.  I took a little more time with this one because I knew in advance that this would be the image that would get the big sale. Where was this image taken? Right in the middle of Seattle, in a neighborhood park. The back side of this hill has tall weeds, which you know I love to shoot in. I asked the older brother to sit down with his little sister in his lap. Then I told him to wrap his arms around her.  Kids are pretty perceptive. They were aware that I wanted them to be cute. I would say something like "awww" while shooting and they would laugh. Mom bought a very expensive 36" framed print.

(15)  5D, 70-200 @200mm, ISO 250, f4.5, 1/640 sec.  While it's true that parents mostly want images of their kids smiling and cute, it's not always the case.  Try to get a variety of poses, including ones with the child not smiling - more contemplative. This won't work with very small children, but can work with ones ages 5 and up. In this case, I had the child squat down in the grass. I simply told her to look serious, and this is what I got. Oh yes, gotta love that tall grass!

(16)  5D, 70-200 @200mm, ISO 320, f4.0, 1/1000 sec.  I asked the older brother to kneel down and grab his sister. I told the little girl, who was holding a long piece of grass, to tickle her brother with it. Cute, cute cute.  How easy is that?

So that's it. My formula:

• put kids in simple, easy to understand poses
• shoot fast
• clown around with them to get them smiling
• get them to show family love: have kids hug parents and siblings
• when possible, get clean backgrounds
• shoot with the product in mind (albums, large prints, etc.)