other can concentrate on the lighting, composition, and
background.
Safety First.With small children or infants, safety is
always the first consideration. A child who cannot sit up
by himself cannot be propped up in a chair or left alone
on posing blocks. Instead, the child should be positioned
on the floor or ground, with pillows or other soft sup-
ports nearby. Usually, the parent should be close by and
the child should never be left unattended.
Put Mom or Dad to Work.
stay put, but other times they will crawl off and have to
be brought back. Having a parent close at hand makes
things much easier, giving the baby some reassurance in
a strange environment. It also helps the photographer
evoke special emotions and expressions. The photogra-
pher can say to the child, “Look at Daddy, isn’t he silly?”
This is Dad’s cue to act goofy or in some way amuse the
child.
Do What Comes Naturally.It is important to let
children do what comes naturally. Amuse them, be silly,
offer them a toy or something that attracts their atten-
tion, but do so with a minimum of direction. Kids will
become uncooperative if they feel they are being over-
manipulated. Make a game out of it so that the child is as
natural and comfortable as possible. Generate a smile, but
don’t ask them to smile. You will probably not get what
you want.
Camera Height.Be aware of perspective and its pos-
itive and negative effects when posing children. For a
head-and-shoulders portrait, the camera should be at the
child’s nose height—too high and you will narrow the
child’s cheeks and chin; too low and you will distort the
shape of his/her head. For three-quarter length and full-
length poses, the camera height (especially with shorter
focal lengths) should be midway between the top and
bottom of the areas of the child’s body to be shown in
the frame.
Keeping the camera at the same level as the baby also
helps you relate to the child on his or her own level. Psy-
chologically, this is important. Instead of leering over a
small child with strange and unfamiliar equipment and
funny-looking lights, you are putting yourself “on the
same level” as the child.
Touching.Sometimes no matter how simply you ex-
plain what you want the child to do, he or she just won’t
understand your instructions. The best way to remedy
the situation is to gently touch the child and move the
errant curl or slide them over just a bit on the posing
block—whatever it happens to be. Be advised that touch-50 CHILDREN’S PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY HANDBOOK
In this beautiful portrait of mother and child by Judy Host, a
higher-than-normal camera position is used. Because the focal
length is longer than normal (65mm), however, there is no subject
distortion. The image was made with a Kodak DCS Pro 14n
and given a border treatment like a Polaroid transfer print in
Photoshop.
USE A CABLE RELEASE
Many expert children’s portrait photographers work with a camera
on a tripod and a long cable release. This frees them from the cam-
era position, allowing better interaction with the child. In such sit-
uations the composition must be a bit loose, in case the child
moves. Also, observe the child’s movement when focusing, to get
an idea of where your focus point should be and how far your
depth of field extends within the scene. Take your best estimate
on focus and ensure that you’ll have enough depth of field, even if
the child moves, to get a sharp image.