[chickentaste]

A few things that've worked for me in the past..

i) Play a 'let's pretend' game with the kids.. "on 5, I want you to pretend that/make a face like you..". Give them plenty of chances to 'get it all out of their system', e.g. pretend that they're going down on a rollercoaster, they've just seen a ghost, etc. Throw in a few that need for them to look nice and respectable, e.g. you've just won an Oscar, you've just got a gold medal. Adn all the while you're doing this keep shooting. Chances are you'll get something nice either between faces or when you trick them into smiling nicely. Oh, and don't forget to warn the parents about what you're doing and get them to give you their best face as much as they can.

ii) Get out from behind the tripod if you're. If you can talk to the kids without them feeling like they have a moment to ruin you can often get something better than if you're busy concentrating with the camera at your face. This is very tough to do, but if you can maintain a banter with the kids while you're snapping away with your remote shutter release you can sometimes get something good.

iii) (with apologies to the neighbours) tell the kids you want to take some phtos of them shouting, the loudest kid gets to choose a candy. Thing is, they have to sit quiet and look innocent until you say go (show them this by sitting and smiling at the camera and then suddenly breaking into a guttural scream!). Snap away throughout. you might even want to give the kids a mini-'screaming' personal photo if they come out alright.

I really don't like giving kids candy as a reward for good behaviour, I know many of you probably think this is weird! IMO if you can try and make the picture taking process fun you don't need to give out candy.

I'd definitely have a long chat with the parents before taking any photos, ask them in a polite way if their kids are 'energetic', if they've done this kind of thing before, are they good at sitting still for long periods of time, etc. Warn the parents that sometimes things go wrong on the day and if they have any suggestions about how to keep their kids happy if they lose their patience. I basically like to try and involve parents early on.

Hope some of this helps...