markcarp

I forgot about the autism. The 7yo probably won't give you any eye contact at all. I wouldn't worry about it, and don't try to get him to by calling his name or anything. I would just let him be in his own little world. While taking pictures of him, he might get uncomfortable if you get too close or make it too obvious that you are taking pictures of him specifically. As bad as it sounds, just ignore him as a person and concentrate on the composition and "scene" overall. If you go off into your head while you are doing this, he might recognize that and you may "connect" at least on that level. It may sounds strange that two people obsessing over what they are doing would connect, that's probably a wrong way to put it. It's more a comfort level in seeing that someone else is in a similar place as you are and will probably only show up as him being comfortable around you. I'm speaking from minimal experience, though.

I'm another that uses the "just let them play" approach. For my own work, I find that letting them do their own thing is much more successful than trying to pose them. Just pay attention and shot a *lot* of images. Don't be afraid to click the shutter button if you see anything that has any kind of potential. There will be moments when they glance your way. If you time it right, they will be looking at the lens as in a formal pose, but they will be relaxed and at ease. I have one of a boy coming out of a swimming hole that looks posed, but he only happened to look up at me just as he was pushing himself out of the water.

 

I did some shots of a group of young children at a wedding reception. They had these nice white dresses on, but luckily they were picked up at a thrift shop, so their moms let them play around in the grass. I followed them around, and after only a few minutes, they completely ignored me and just played. I ended up with some of my favorite shots.

 

Good luck!

 

Kids shots: http://www.markcarpenter.com/gallery/MC-LittleWorlds

 

Plus a couple in here: http://www.markcarpenter.com/gallery/Portraits