animal or a rattle or some other prized possession—and
these can be used to attract and distract. Encourage par-
ents to bring along items that will make the child feel
comfortable and at home. This is usually not a problem
with small children as they tend to travel with their fa-
vorite blanket or stuffed animal. Often, a few flowers
make wonderful props, since small children are always fas-
cinated by the color and shapes of flowers and enjoy
holding something. Flowers can also add a little color and
spice to your composition.
Usually it takes more than a prop to engage a child for
the length of the photo session. Playing “make believe”
ABOVE—Spinning in circles is definitely a fun game, no matter how
old the child. This wonderful portrait of Vanessa by Patti Andre
captures the sheer joy of the activity. Patti used a moderately slow
shutter speed of^1 / 60 second and a moderate ISO of 200 in order to
capture some blur in the image.
RIGHT—Patti Andre, who specializes in custom storybook albums
of kids, is also great at activity-based poses. This image is called
Kiss Poster.The image was photographed in RAW mode and the
white balance adjusted to a very warm tint in RAW file processing.
The exposure was also adjusted in RAW mode to create a high-key
effect. Image made with Canon EOS 1DS and 85mm f/1.2 lens.