Both photos were taken with the natural window light in my front room. In the first, since he's a boy and with an intense personality, I wanted the light to look more direct, and from the side so his features would be accentuated. This can give a more rugged look. The light is coming from the window on his right to light his face. You can also see a highlight on the left side of his hair and face coming from windows on the other side of the room. I used a white reflector to lighten the shadows on the left side of his face. I could have chosen to not use a reflector, which would have made these shadows darker and more dramatic. I asked him to pick a shirt/clothes he liked and he chose this orange shirt. I did ask that he choose something without a logo or picture on the front. With this color choice in mind, I decided to use the reddish brick background so as not to compete color-wise with his choice, and also to help the shirt not stick out by itself quite as much. However, orange always looks nice on him with his coloring, so I like it.
I love the way the light comes in from the side(s), casting shadows and showing a lot of dimensionality to his face and hair. I tried to pose him with some strength - and it is not easy to keep a six year old boy in one position for very long! I chatted with him and he talked with me about things he liked, we tried serious expressions, and his own choice of expressions. This is the photo I liked the best.
In the next photo I wanted the light to look softer, and less from the side so the whole front of her face could be lit. She chose one of her favorite dresses, and with the bold pattern I chose a backdrop to blend a little with the dress, to pick up some of the colors in it and keep the dress from taking center stage too much.
I put the background in a different position than I used with my son. Here the light is coming from the same window as it was in the above photo. Here, light is coming from upper windows directly behind her to highlight the back of her hair. The highlights on the hair really help separate her (and her brother in the photo above) from the backdrop. I also used a very large mirror behind her and to her left to help lift shadows on that side a touch and bring light in from behind. The backdrop is actually in front of some lower windows, so there is a little bit of luminosity to it.
A four year old is also tricky to pose! I had her sitting, and explained she needed to sit "like a princess", with her knees toward the window, hold her shoulders back and put her hands folded on her lap. We also tried a number of different ways to get a good expression - everything from having her tell me things she liked, to choosing her own expression, to having her brother behind me trying to make her laugh.
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