Newborn photography, looking for some tips

swingking

I've been asked, as a favour for a friend, to do a few photos of her newborn baby girl. She's less than a week old. I've made it clear to her that this is out of my comfort zone so she's not expecting amazing results but doesn't mind. She just wants something better than what's taken with a point and shoot, and knows I am into photography

That said I was looking for some tips to get the best shots I can get.

I imagine I'll be using a 50mm f1.4 for this. I also have off camera flash and shoot through and reflective umbrella available and also reflector too.

Any help is very much appreciated

Thanks

Heebie

Soft lighting. You might want to do B&W shots.. babies that young can look awful if they're over-lit, or just if they're screaming & turning red.

Remember to bring along some things that are brightly colored that you can have someone wave around.. an entertained baby will be attentive for a while, and you'll be able to use that to get the little one to look approximately where you want.

You might experiment for a while with distractions to keep the kid's attention.. then let the little one have a nap.. then when she wakes up, try doing the photos. Interesting noises will peak the baby's interest as well. You'll probably want to be quick with the shutter!

You might want to figure out what time of day will work best too.. if there's a room in the house that gets good sunlight.. the OTHER side of the room from the sunlight, coupled with your reflector, should give you some good lighting. (Use the reflector so you don't get really deep shadows.. unless you WANT really deep shadows.. then don't use it.)

A 50mm lens on a digital should work pretty well. If you've got another prime lens only a tad longer, it might be better. (80-120mm on a 35mm camera is a pretty "normal" portrait lens range.. 50mm on a digital with an APS-C sized sensor or similar should be similar to 75mm-ish on a 35mm.)

I might try not go get shots front-on.. babies tend to have funny shaped heads, especially if born the natural way.. and direct from in front of the face you tend to really notice it.

Most importantly.. HAVE FUN! Hopefully you'll get some giggles out of this photoshoot!

swingking

Heebie wrote: »

Soft lighting. You might want to do B&W shots.. babies that young can look awful if they're over-lit, or just if they're screaming & turning red.

Remember to bring along some things that are brightly colored that you can have someone wave around.. an entertained baby will be attentive for a while, and you'll be able to use that to get the little one to look approximately where you want.

You might experiment for a while with distractions to keep the kid's attention.. then let the little one have a nap.. then when she wakes up, try doing the photos. Interesting noises will peak the baby's interest as well. You'll probably want to be quick with the shutter!

You might want to figure out what time of day will work best too.. if there's a room in the house that gets good sunlight.. the OTHER side of the room from the sunlight, coupled with your reflector, should give you some good lighting. (Use the reflector so you don't get really deep shadows.. unless you WANT really deep shadows.. then don't use it.)

A 50mm lens on a digital should work pretty well. If you've got another prime lens only a tad longer, it might be better. (80-120mm on a 35mm camera is a pretty "normal" portrait lens range.. 50mm on a digital with an APS-C sized sensor or similar should be similar to 75mm-ish on a 35mm.)

I might try not go get shots front-on.. babies tend to have funny shaped heads, especially if born the natural way.. and direct from in front of the face you tend to really notice it.

Most importantly.. HAVE FUN! Hopefully you'll get some giggles out of this photoshoot!

Wow that is some great advice. Thanks a lot!!

daycent

Heebie wrote: »

Soft lighting. You might want to do B&W shots.. babies that young can look awful if they're over-lit, or just if they're screaming & turning red.

Remember to bring along some things that are brightly colored that you can have someone wave around.. an entertained baby will be attentive for a while, and you'll be able to use that to get the little one to look approximately where you want.

You might experiment for a while with distractions to keep the kid's attention.. then let the little one have a nap.. then when she wakes up, try doing the photos. Interesting noises will peak the baby's interest as well. You'll probably want to be quick with the shutter!

You might want to figure out what time of day will work best too.. if there's a room in the house that gets good sunlight.. the OTHER side of the room from the sunlight, coupled with your reflector, should give you some good lighting. (Use the reflector so you don't get really deep shadows.. unless you WANT really deep shadows.. then don't use it.)

A 50mm lens on a digital should work pretty well. If you've got another prime lens only a tad longer, it might be better. (80-120mm on a 35mm camera is a pretty "normal" portrait lens range.. 50mm on a digital with an APS-C sized sensor or similar should be similar to 75mm-ish on a 35mm.)

I might try not go get shots front-on.. babies tend to have funny shaped heads, especially if born the natural way.. and direct from in front of the face you tend to really notice it.

Most importantly.. HAVE FUN! Hopefully you'll get some giggles out of this photoshoot!

Good advice for an older baby but you would be wasting your time trying to distract/attract the attention of a newborn. They can't see much (or at all). Either that or they are very ignorant...

Thecageyone

I would go for natural light, the flash might freak the baby out. Sure enough, a baby that young probably won't bother, but if he/she does start to roar ... not nice on you!

Set up near a large window. Your 50mm is perfect to use without flash. Reflector might be handy to use opposing side of the window. You could hand hold this and set the shutter off by remote [cam on tripod obviously]

Set it to high speed shooting so you don't miss anything.

Mono and sepia conversions work really well for kids.

This was taken indoors, in a badly lit kitchen with no flash or extra lighting -




Hand-held
Exposure 0.0125 sec (1/80)
F-Number f3.5
ISO: 400

It was originally a little darker but fill light and a little brightening in lightroom lifted it. I used the sepia preset and tweaked it to my own personal liking. The only other thing I did was brighten and clarify the eyes a little in cs5 using dodge and burn brushes.

If you view the original size on Pix you'll see it's pretty clear for those settings. A little noise in the back drop, but the child is clear and detail is good.

A wider aperture would have probably allowed me a lower ISO but it was an off the cuff shot, just switched on the cam, flicked it to a wide-ish aperture and shot. hence the need for brightening later, normally I'd take more time to adjust settings. You'll have loads doing a specific shoot, take shots at different settings, check the preview, re-adjust etc ... relax and don't worry, you'll do great

Paulw

Check out the picts at http://www.moments.ie/

Talk to squareballoon on here.

Thecageyone

And take the above advice too

There's more than one way to skin a cat.

Bosshogg

daycent wrote: »

Good advice for an older baby but you would be wasting your time trying to distract/attract the attention of a newborn. They can't see much (or at all). Either that or they are very ignorant...

+1 for me but I'd never say it with such a dry sense of humour :rolleyes:

Paulw wrote: »

Check out the picts at http://www.moments.ie/

Talk to squareballoon on here.

Nice pics on Pauls link, also google Anne Geddes for more pose ideas.


Tips:
You'll be working in an unusually warm room for naked baby so wear a T-Shirt and deo.
Bring soft fluffy fleece blankets.
Patience. Patience. Patience. Plan to spend the day there and be happy if you get your shots early. Wait and get some with eyes open.

Capture "Small".
Hand grasping Daddy's thumb / Mammy's ring finger.
Baby's foot + Daddy's big toe against black bg
Feet in hands (on Pauls link)
Add objects for perspective
Baby sleeping in Daddy's boot (if he doesn't cry from discomfort)


Plan to go back at 4-6 weeks old, the growth is staggering.

smelltheglove

I'd firstly make sure that whatever room you are using is very warm, then I'd be going for nappy only, if at all. Make sure the baby is warm or it will show in the images. I dont have images online to show you but my favourite new baby shots are in a 3 apereture frame, one of parent hand holding babys foot and one of hand in hand baby and parent then one of baby on the tummy bare bum, done in a nice angle and all in black and white with a dark background.

Very yound babies tend to have pinkish tones so I try my best to avoid pink on small babies. Some nice soft blankets, creams and beiges, yellow, green, blue and only a light pink if even, then some nice wooly hats on the baby, I dont mind normal wool hats, bright colours, slightly unusual styles etc, if done right can look amazing.

The above advice re soft lighting is a goer too, the softer the better.

pixbyjohn

All the above advice is excellent

It is almost impossible to get a good shot of a newborn's eyes. A couple of shots as the baby sleeps could be super.

3DataModem

Photographing newborns is hard. Comments I have heard is that photos that are evocative of the children at the time are very precious.

So put them in their "first" outfit, or beside a bottle, or something similar. I personally dislike pics with outdoor clothes, or teddies, or anything that the baby doesn't interact with look 'staged'...

My advice is to spend the first half of the session just snapping over the shoulder of the parents, while they eat, sleep, nappy change, etc. Then use what you see to arrange some more shots the way you think.

Newborns can't focus, but they can see things within 10 inches of their face, making close-ups of them looking into camera a possibility.

Oh... and don't use a flash (I'm sure you weren't going to).

24 hours old:


24 hours old:


10 days old:

magicbastarder

3DataModem wrote: »

anything that the baby doesn't interact with

given it's a newborn, it's not going to interact with much...

plus, you've posted links to content hosted on windows live, which isn't viewable.

3DataModem

magicbastarder wrote: »

given it's a newborn, it's not going to interact with much....

I meant things that it spends it's time with.

Thanks for the comment on the pics. I'll figure out how to display properly!

pixbyjohn

magicbastarder wrote: »

plus, you've posted links to content hosted on windows live, which isn't viewable.

I can see the pics

swingking

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow

Heebie

That's why I specifically suggested brightly colored things. The more brightly colored.. the more likely they are to notice it. Definitely needs to be moving as well.

daycent wrote: »

Good advice for an older baby but you would be wasting your time trying to distract/attract the attention of a newborn. They can't see much (or at all). Either that or they are very ignorant...

hmboards

Heebie wrote: »

That's why I specifically suggested brightly colored things. The more brightly colored.. the more likely they are to notice it. Definitely needs to be moving as well.

High contrast is what is recommended in the first few weeks due to the undeveloped eyesight - such as black & white items. The number of shops I went into looking for a dalmation (toy one!) suitable for kids under 36m was unreal! I ended up buying a cow instead :-) Not sure it really worked though.

That first photo is great 3DataModem. Best of luck with the shoot swingking.

3DataModem

hmboards wrote: »

That first photo is great 3DataModem.

Thanks... taken in crappy light with an iPhone, but came out well.

The second one I cropped, blew up to 5 foot wide by 4 foot high, softened, brightened, and is now hanging on the nursery wall.

swingking

The shoot went really well today. I used both natural light and diffused flash. Gave different results. I'm very pleased with my results.

Once again thanks for the tips everyone

ihastakephoto

did a little newborn myself last night, nappy only, lying on white duvet. 50mm 1.8..came out ...ok, will try again over the weekend with some lights and maybe darker background...btw i found lower contrast worked a little better. will post soe shots tonight for C&C

cnocbui

pixbyjohn wrote: »

All the above advice is excellent

It is almost impossible to get a good shot of a newborn's eyes. A couple of shots as the baby sleeps could be super.

Then again, maybe not:



She was literally only a few hours old.

My suggestion would be a mild telephoto with a large aperture. I think I took these at 80mm f2.8. Could possibly have been 90mm f2 also, but you get the idea.



These were taking using Kodak 400 asa B&W film, without flash. Don't use a flash

cnocbui

Whoops!, to late; should have read through to the end of the thread.

swingking

some results

Ballyman

The second one is much too dark. Maybe put a vignette around it so that it brings out the centre area where the kiss is?

There is something blurry on the left hand side of the pic as well. Is it hair?

The first is nice. If you cropped it to this then I'd bring back in the top of the childs head if you can.

swingking

Ballyman wrote: »

The second one is much too dark. Maybe put a vignette around it so that it brings out the centre area where the kiss is?

There is something blurry on the left hand side of the pic as well. Is it hair?

The first is nice. If you cropped it to this then I'd bring back in the top of the childs head if you can.

Thanks for the comments.

I'll try to increase the exposure on the second one. The hair on the left hand side is blurry yeah. I'll see if I can clone it out.

I increased the size of the crop in the first shot.

Xiney

maybe try isolating the red channel in the top one before converting to b&w.

Both have very soft focus, and the bottom is very dark.

I probably would have gone with a landscape in the top one because cutting off just the top of the baby's head for a bit of empty space on top and bottom doesn't make much sense.

swingking

I applied those tips to this next shot

ihastakephoto

beautiful.
one question (the most important question)
Is mammy happy ?

swingking

ihastakephoto wrote: »

beautiful.
one question (the most important question)
Is mammy happy ?

She was very happy when I sent them to her. So much so, she put them up on her facebook account.

Xiney

yup, I like that third photo a lot more!

Thecageyone

swingking wrote: »

I applied those tips to this next shot

Beautiful

PoleStar

Following on from this topic, can anyone recommend a photographer to photograph a family of four which includes a newborn.

Have checked out on the net but while the session is reasonably priced, a lot require a minimum spend on prints and that is where the cost starts.

I totally understand this part of the cost but just at present (ie the recession), I am not flush with the cash and was hoping for a deal that would include the session and the images provided on a dvd only at the end.

Can anyone recommend someone who might do this?

daycent

PoleStar wrote: »

Following on from this topic, can anyone recommend a photographer to photograph a family of four which includes a newborn.

Have checked out on the net but while the session is reasonably priced, a lot require a minimum spend on prints and that is where the cost starts.

I totally understand this part of the cost but just at present (ie the recession), I am not flush with the cash and was hoping for a deal that would include the session and the images provided on a dvd only at the end.

Can anyone recommend someone who might do this?

You should probably give a location first.

melekalikimaka

my personal fav baby shots ever. so simple and looks great
http://www.flickr.com/photos/evaguein/4263576934/in/faves-melekalikimaka/

quilmore

look for when the baby has their eyes open
I know it's just me but I try to avoid pictures of babies with their eyes closed/sleeping

few minutes old:


probably less than 2 hours old:


1 day old:


less than 2 weeks old:

mikeanywhere

I realise this baby isn't quite a week old but hopefully they will give you some ideas about angles etc. All shots were taken using natural light with either 24-70 F2.8 or 85 F1.2 lenses.

PoleStar

daycent wrote: »

You should probably give a location first.

Apologies!

I'm in Dublin

Xiney

PoleStar wrote: »

Apologies!

I'm in Dublin

squareballoon is based in Dublin, her website is here: http://www.moments.ie

I do children and family portraits as well (my signature is a link), but I am based in Galway and my standard package does not include a DVD for prints (just a watermarked one for email & facebook) but it does include 10 8x12s. Additional prints are reasonable.

Benster

Aha, a bandwagon! Ok, can't resist putting some of my little lady up :-)

1 day old... pure innocence.




4 weeks old... a bit less innocent.



Cheers,
B.

pixbyjohn

PoleStar wrote: »

Following on from this topic, can anyone recommend a photographer to photograph a family of four which includes a newborn.

Have checked out on the net but while the session is reasonably priced, a lot require a minimum spend on prints and that is where the cost starts.

I totally understand this part of the cost but just at present (ie the recession), I am not flush with the cash and was hoping for a deal that would include the session and the images provided on a dvd only at the end.

Can anyone recommend someone who might do this?

smelltheglove who is a member here on boards does this very well too
This is her website http://www.rachelfoxphotography.com/

kerryphoto

Video light is great for this type of photography! no flash cause it can upset the baby.

eas

Old thread I know - but just came across this & thought there may be some interest. It's this Saturday, not really my thing but just might go along. If you register - use FIN10 as a discount code and get €15 off.

http://bellies-babies.com/index.html

oshead

It clashes with the Photovision show in croke park. I'd definitely go to the Sarah Puc's show if I had a sure fire way of recalling the information laid out. I've a head like a sieve. The only real option is to buy her Bellies & Babies 2008 tour DVD for around €50.

hmboards

oshead wrote: »

It clashes with the Photovision show in croke park.

Is that not on Thursday ?

EDIT - no it's Saturday. Could have sworn it was on a weekday!
http://www.forwardevents.co.uk/photovision/dublin.php

eas

I'm confused - the bellies & babies thing is on the 4th - Phootvision is on the 7th...AFAIK?!?

oshead

hmboards wrote: »

Is that not on Thursday ?

EDIT - no it's Saturday. Could have sworn it was on a weekday!
http://www.forwardevents.co.uk/photovision/dublin.php

Lol, I've just had a long day... Sandy Puc is this Saturday the 4th and Photovision is next Tuesday the 7th. Still, maybe it's just me, but I don't know if I want to learn how to pose for maternity shots. Though the seminar promises to cram a lot of stuff into the 5 hours.

hmboards

I'm just adding to the confusion

I'm not sure there's much of a market this side of the Atlantic for pregnancy shoots ? Or are they popular here ?

eas

Sure Dave - you just don't want anyone else to show up so you can take all the secrets for yourself.

I'm not overly interested in the baby lecture, but it's something that can overlap into weddings quite easily, it is the next major event for most couples. The DVD may b a better option, but I don't think €55 is too much for what they're offering. On top of that, Finao will be there with all their juicy bits.

oshead

The album makers? Cool. They do nice stuff. OK, twist my rubbery arm. See, didn't take much. Besides, All going well, I have two bookings for newborn shoots coming up over the next 3 months. And Jessica is with her mother on Saturday, so I've no excuse. Now.... Where did I put that recorder..?

eas

oh no - did I just commit myself to this?

here's the invite I got from Finao -

http://www.finaoonline.com/eblasts/sam-puc-with-finao-in-europe/

Let me know if you're serious about going (sounds like you are) and I'll sign up too, can't do any harm.

oshead

LoL... You just did. I'll book it tomorrow. I need to top up my 3V card in the morning.