Formal Portraiture

• Taking formal portraits with kindergarten age children is not difficult. From a technical standpoint, two strobes placed on either side of the chair or prop will work well. Using a neutral background is both easy and inexpensive, and will make the child the focal point of the picture. Strobes work better than continuous lights because of their tendency to freeze motion. Regardless of the child, kindergarten-age kids tend to move, and strobes solve the problem of motion blur.
  
  Taking a few minutes to play with the child before asking them to sit for a portrait is a great way to build trust. Get down on the floor at their level and play with them on their natural turf. Rolling around on the floor works well to get a child to relax before a portrait.
  
  Take a number of different shots, if you can get the child to see the portrait session as a game, the photographs will be engaging and fun.
  
  

Environmental Portraiture

• Using the classroom as a place to take kindergarten graduation portraits has an advantage over a more formal setting: The children are accustomed to the surroundings. Using a strobe is still a good idea, but be careful with the positioning and number of strobes. Unappealing shadows can form in very inconvenient locations. For location portraiture, a hotshoe strobe on a bracket moving it a foot or two away from the lens is a good idea. This will minimize shadows, while also minimizing red eye. Using a strong diffuser, like a soft box, on the hotshoe strobe is also a good way to deal with the potential of undesirable shadows.
  
  

Photographing the Ceremony

• Photographing the graduation ceremony has the possibility of giving you some wonderful photographs. However, the pre-set nature of the ceremony and the fact that the children are going to be less relaxed will give a completely different feel to the photographs. Using a hotshoe strobe with enough power to light the children at the appropriate distance is a must. Diffusion materials may reduce the effective distance of the strobe, so either use a lighter diffusion material or no diffusion at all.