New to photographing people

[Foxi Lady]

I was asked by a friend to take some holiday pictures of their 2 kids (1 and 2 years old) and I am relatively new to photography and mostly take photos outdoors, i am looking for what i would need equipment wise to get good pictures, i have a Nikon D90, a tripod, and a 18-200 lens. I dont have any kind of lighting and am looking for an inexpensive way to make the best of the situation I dont know if they would want to do things out doors or indoors but i live in michigan so its going to be COLD outside by the time we organize a date for this. Also any locations background suggestions would also be helpful

Thanks, any suggestions, or tips for photographing kids would be much appreciated.

[SusanH1970]

If you don't want to invest in lighting yet, you can still take a natural light portrait using window light and a reflector. If you or they have a room in the house with a big window with lots of light coming in, position them so they're well lit, and use a reflector on the opposite side to even the lighting out. You can even just use a big piece of white foamboard from the craft store in a pinch, or one of those car windshield shades (silver side). Use the widest aperture you can while keeping them all in focus, bump up the ISO if needed, and perhaps use a tripod and a slower shutter speed - all of these will help.

Oops - ETA, a slower shutter speed won't work with kids that young - just re-read your post, LOL. Anyway, the wider aperture and higher ISO will help, as well as tons of window light and a reflector.