[Mike McCarty]

I know what you mean about the boys getting tired of the pictures. My daughter has had more pictures taken of her than Mickey Mouse at Disneyland.

Try another roll. If you're looking for a head and shoulder pose, I think the body language is enhanced if they can rest their arms on a table or bench. If they are too short you can place a phone book under their bottom. Play around with their hands either folded in front of them or one hand up to the side of the face.

The main thing is the light. I think you'll find that if the light is good you will like everything else.

I wouldn't minimize the benefits of the table or bench or an arm rest on a chair. It brings about compositional possibilities that you just can't achieve without it.

Here is a photo I took of this young lady a couple of weeks ago. Sometimes the slightest angle of the head and chin up or down can add excitement. Even with yucky old boys! Of course little boys don't need to look glamourous. Check out some of Marvin's paintings of young boys.

I hope you don't mind my including this photo in your post. Sometimes it's easier to demonstrate with a picture, dontyaknow.