dle all of the technical details and posing. His assistant
hams it up with the child while Frost readies the lights
and camera. To make his studio a place children want to
return to, he keeps a small toy box in the studio, which
children always seem to remember fondly.
Posing Aids.
Posing Steps.Many children’s photographers maintain
several sets of portable posing steps or blocks that can be
used individually or in tandem for several children. These
items are usually made of wood and can be draped with
fabric, such as crushable backgrounds. Steps or blocks
provide good support and are safe for toddlers to crawl
on up. They will also work well for photographing more
than one child at a time because they instantly get the
faces on different levels—a must for good composition.
You can drape and position these items before the
child arrives so that once the lighting is set you can bring
the child over and he or she will sit naturally and fall into
a normal, believable pose. A great advantage to using
posing blocks in the studio is that they are large enough
to conceal a background light placed behind them.
Chairs.Small children may often do better when
“contained.” For this reason, little chairs make great pos-
ing devices. Place a tiny pillow in the chair and then have
Mom place the child in the chair. When all is set, cue
Mom to call the child by name.
Adult-size chairs are also effective posing tools. The
chair should be stable and visually interesting. A great
pose is to have a child standing in the chair, holding onto
the chair back and looking back over a shoulder at the
camera. Have a parent or assistant nearby in case the child
gets too adventurous. Antique stuffed or velvet chairs
work beautifully for this kind of photo.Activity-Centered Poses.
Where little ones are concerned, posing really means ma-
neuvering the child into a position in which he or she ap-POSING 61Tim Kelly is a master portrait
artist whose specialty is under-
statement. He uses simple,
almost nondescript painted
backgrounds with understated
posing furniture, which is used
only to support and display the
client, not to distract the
viewer’s eye from the subject.
And about the subject’s cloth-
ing, he says “I always subju-
gate the clothing.”