Getting close to your subject, and limiting the focus to just her eyes, helps make this a simple but elegant portrait.

courtesy of Laura Stoecker Photography LTD

Proving that lighting is a key element of good photography, Laura was able to use the sunlight shining through the trees almost like a spotlight. And having one older subject to help the younger one certainly helps for a picture like this.

courtesy of Laura Stoecker Photography LTD

Once your kids are old enough to pose for you, the options for backgrounds become endless. In this case, Laura used a telephoto lens and minimal depth of field to keep the focus on the subject, even while adding the color and texture of the barn in the background.

courtesy of Laura Stoecker Photography LTD

On the first day of school, I once again went to the longer lens to keep the focus on the girls and let the background fade out behind. But I did ask them to stand near their bus stop where I could see the sunrise peeking through the trees farther up our street.

COURTESY OF CHRISTOPHER HANKINS

Sometimes you just have to envision what's going to happen and be in the right place to capture the moment. With his daughter, Natalie, running at him and using a telephoto lens, John framed this picture vertically to emphasize the kite as well as his excited daughter.

courtesy of John Starks

While most cameras would try to activate a flash in this scene, John's lack thereof made this picture of his daughter, Cece, much more dramatic. He set the camera to expose for the sunlight (not the darker foreground) and let Cece play in the surf instead of directing her to pose.

courtesy of John Starks

In a great example of getting on your subject's level, John and his daughter, Natalie, stopped to check out a tiny snake while riding their bikes in Leelanau County, Mich. By getting down on her level with the snake, the picture works much better than simply pointing it down at her on the ground.

courtesy of John Starks