Help with a shoot...

I was asked to take some shots of a 7 year old girl, in some Dance Dress that she has...

I have never really had the chance to take some shots of somone in the age range of 7. I was wondering if there was any good positions to put the subject in? Any examples of things that work well.

Most likely it will be in their home or back yard...or something...

I've never taken pictures of a 7-year old either but I would suggest not posing her at all. Give her a prop of some sort that relates to whatever type of dancing she's in, let her warm up, and then just let her do her thing.

I dunno. I'll be checking back to see what others say though. For future reference. About 6.5 years future.

Yeah I was thinking that, I'm not sure they want her dancing, or even what type of dance it is...

It could be a dress for some kind of dance formal for all I know. They saw some pictures I did for some friends and now they want pics...

I was just thinking along the lines of letting her play with whatever the prop is, not necessarily dance, and see what candid shots you can get from that.

No one else has any suggestions yet? I want to hear them!!

I know...let's go people!

Hmmm, someone wants pictures of a 7 year old in a dance dress but not dancing? You may have some trouble satisfying these folks. I would suggest giving her something appropriate to do/play with and shoot away. It will depend a lot on what sort of lighting you are planning on using. Studio lights will confine the activity a bit, speedlight on camera a lot better, built in - try not to do it - use natural light and crank up the ISO. I would use your 580EX with a diffuser to soften the light if necessary after investigating natural light possibilities.

And I would get down to her level or below rather than shooting down.