They look like typical adolescents. Two sisters who share a warm hug. A girl who shyly pats a horse. A 12-year-old boy who smiles broadly, as if the bowling ball in his hand were the whole world.

But there's something different about these kids, as visitors to this photo exhibition know. They're foster children who want to be adopted, and this may be their last opportunity to find a permanent home.

It may also be the best opportunity they've ever had.

"Some people have misperceptions that children in foster care are all problem children, and they're not," says Corina Hopkins, director of communications for the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange, which organized the show.

"We tried to capture the spirit of each child. We wanted the photos to capture what's inside them."

That approach has worked well in other cities nationwide. Each show - called a Heart Gallery - is designed to touch people's hearts with compelling portraits, rather than citing statistics. All of the children are hard to place because they are older or are part of a sibling group.

Brief descriptions below each photo hint at what the children are like: collects Pokémon cards. Loves to sing in the church choir. Wants to stay in contact with his two older brothers.

What isn't mentioned is the courage these children have. Or the profound impact they've had on many of those who have worked closely with them.

"They are my heroes," says Diane Granito, who organized the nation's first Heart Gallery four years ago in Santa Fe, N.M.. "It's scary for them to think they might be rejected [by prospective families] and won't ever have somebody to turn to with good news or a problem. Yet they put themselves out there and take a chance."

Ms. Granito, who is now foster and adoptive parent recruitment coordinator for the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department, had little funding, so she asked local photographers to volunteer their time. She also persuaded framers and the owner of the prestigious Gerald Peters Gallery to do the framing and provide the space for free.

Twelve hundred people attended the exhibition on opening night. Dozens inquired about adopting; and of those, half completed the licensing process, which makes them eligible to adopt. (Normally, says Granito, only 5 percent of people who express an interest in adopting, usually by calling the department, become licensed.)

After four days in Santa Fe, the show traveled to other towns and cities in the state. Soon, adoption professionals in other sections of the country heard about Granito's success and contacted her for help in planning their own events. (She is currently working with 60 cities.)

Results have been consistently impressive: Tulsa, Okla., placed 29 children in its first year. Hartford, Conn., placed 19. And Tampa, Fla., found homes for 20 children.

But numbers tell just part of the story. Courage is the real theme.

Just ask Liz Linder, who photographed Brian, a friendly 12-year-old, for the Boston gallery (photo at right). On the day of their shoot, she met Brian at a bowling alley, where he was also being filmed by a cable news channel doing a feature on adoption. Linder watched as he calmly bowled and interacted with the crew.

"You could see that he was a brave little kid, willing to smile and show himself," she says. "The way he talked about what he wants, I felt like, 'Wow, he's going to go places if he gets into the right situation. He has real strength of character.' "

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