Photographing a baby and parents
Discussion
Hi all,
A friend has asked me if i could take some shots of their baby (will be about 2 weeks at the time!) and him and his wife. Has anyone got any tips about technique or experience of any shots which work partucularly well? I have little experience in photographing people as i mainy do wildlife stuff.
I will probably mostly be using the 50mm 1.8 lens (camera is a 50d). I also have a large reflector and a willing assistant (my girl friend
) to hold it. Is it worth borrowing a flash gun of someone? is it not a good idea to use flash with a new born baby?
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers, James
A friend has asked me if i could take some shots of their baby (will be about 2 weeks at the time!) and him and his wife. Has anyone got any tips about technique or experience of any shots which work partucularly well? I have little experience in photographing people as i mainy do wildlife stuff.
I will probably mostly be using the 50mm 1.8 lens (camera is a 50d). I also have a large reflector and a willing assistant (my girl friend
) to hold it. Is it worth borrowing a flash gun of someone? is it not a good idea to use flash with a new born baby?Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers, James
I personally, would never attempt a "portrait" seesion without one (or more) flashes available to me. They may not be required, but if ambient light is very poor, you're otherwise left with higher ISO as your only option. The general rule is:
- ambient light first
- then ambient + reflector
- then flash.
The secret is to get the flash (if you need it), off-camera or tilted/swivelled to provide indirect lighting.
I did a bit of reading about flash and babies when I did some portrait work a while back. Consensus is that direct flash should be avoided if possible, but indirect is OK. Check with the parents first though.
- ambient light first
- then ambient + reflector
- then flash.
The secret is to get the flash (if you need it), off-camera or tilted/swivelled to provide indirect lighting.
I did a bit of reading about flash and babies when I did some portrait work a while back. Consensus is that direct flash should be avoided if possible, but indirect is OK. Check with the parents first though.
I've shot a couple of newborns and families. I prefer to use a single light as it's quicker to setup and adjust. You can do alot with a single light.
Natural light can work very well to if you use it to your advantage.
ETA:
I usually allow 3hours for such a session, get them to get the room nice and warm first so if the little one is stripping off it's not too cold. Also find out with them a good time to come over, after a feed perhaps when he/she is likely to be sleepy again. Then it's a case of patience.
Natural light can work very well to if you use it to your advantage.
ETA:
I usually allow 3hours for such a session, get them to get the room nice and warm first so if the little one is stripping off it's not too cold. Also find out with them a good time to come over, after a feed perhaps when he/she is likely to be sleepy again. Then it's a case of patience.
Edited by Muska on Tuesday 3rd August 19:25
te my wife who works in a special care baby unit says they look exactly like the pictures they take for parents if the baby dies.I found allowing alot of time and capturing everything the nipper does worked out for me, although it sounds strange, one of the last clients favourite shots was of her daughter crying.
This one infact, also get in close, parents love their little ones crinkley feet or little fat rolls and creases on the little ones legs.
This one infact, also get in close, parents love their little ones crinkley feet or little fat rolls and creases on the little ones legs.
The Smiths were unable to conceive children and decided to use a surrogate father to start their family. On the day the proxy father was to arrive, Mr. Smith kissed his wife goodbye and said, "Well, I'm off now. The man should be here soon."
Half an hour later, just by chance, a door-to-door baby photographer happened to ring the doorbell, hoping to make a sale. "Good morning, Ma'am", he said, "I've come to..."
"Oh, no need to explain," Mrs. Smith cut in, embarrassed, "I've been expecting you."
"Have you really?" said the photographer. "Well, that's good. Did you know babies are my specialty?"
"Well that's what my husband and I had hoped. Please come in and have a seat".
After a moment she asked, blushing, "Well, where do we start?"
"Leave everything to me. I usually try two in the bathtub, one on the couch, and perhaps a couple on the bed. And sometimes the living room floor is fun. You can really spread out there."
"Bathtub, living room floor? No wonder it didn't work out for Harry and me!"
"Well, Ma'am, none of us can guarantee a good one every time. But if we try several different positions and I shoot from six or seven angles, I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results."
"My, that's a lot!", gasped Mrs. Smith.
"Ma'am, in my line of work a man has to take his time. I'd love to be In and out in five minutes, but I'm sure you'd be disappointed with that."
"Don't I know it," said Mrs. Smith quietly.
The photographer opened his briefcase and pulled out a portfolio of his baby pictures. "This was done on the top of a bus," he said.
"Oh, my word!" Mrs. Smith exclaimed, grasping at her throat.
"And these twins turned out exceptionally well - when you consider their mother was so difficult to work with."
"She was difficult?" asked Mrs. Smith.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. I finally had to take her to the park to get the job done right. People were crowding around four and five deep to get a good look"
"Four and five deep?" said Mrs. Smith, her eyes wide with amazement.
"Yes", the photographer replied. "And for more than three hours, too. The mother was constantly squealing and yelling - I could hardly concentrate, and when darkness approached I had to rush my shots. Finally, when the squirrels began nibbling on my equipment, I just had to pack it all in."
Mrs. Smith leaned forward. "Do you mean they actually chewed on your, uh...equipment?"
"It's true, Ma'am, yes.. Well, if you're ready, I'll set-up my tripod and we can get to work right away."
"Tripod?"
"Oh yes, Ma'am. I need to use a tripod to rest my Canon on. It's much too big to be held in the hand very long."
Mrs. Smith fainted
Half an hour later, just by chance, a door-to-door baby photographer happened to ring the doorbell, hoping to make a sale. "Good morning, Ma'am", he said, "I've come to..."
"Oh, no need to explain," Mrs. Smith cut in, embarrassed, "I've been expecting you."
"Have you really?" said the photographer. "Well, that's good. Did you know babies are my specialty?"
"Well that's what my husband and I had hoped. Please come in and have a seat".
After a moment she asked, blushing, "Well, where do we start?"
"Leave everything to me. I usually try two in the bathtub, one on the couch, and perhaps a couple on the bed. And sometimes the living room floor is fun. You can really spread out there."
"Bathtub, living room floor? No wonder it didn't work out for Harry and me!"
"Well, Ma'am, none of us can guarantee a good one every time. But if we try several different positions and I shoot from six or seven angles, I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results."
"My, that's a lot!", gasped Mrs. Smith.
"Ma'am, in my line of work a man has to take his time. I'd love to be In and out in five minutes, but I'm sure you'd be disappointed with that."
"Don't I know it," said Mrs. Smith quietly.
The photographer opened his briefcase and pulled out a portfolio of his baby pictures. "This was done on the top of a bus," he said.
"Oh, my word!" Mrs. Smith exclaimed, grasping at her throat.
"And these twins turned out exceptionally well - when you consider their mother was so difficult to work with."
"She was difficult?" asked Mrs. Smith.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. I finally had to take her to the park to get the job done right. People were crowding around four and five deep to get a good look"
"Four and five deep?" said Mrs. Smith, her eyes wide with amazement.
"Yes", the photographer replied. "And for more than three hours, too. The mother was constantly squealing and yelling - I could hardly concentrate, and when darkness approached I had to rush my shots. Finally, when the squirrels began nibbling on my equipment, I just had to pack it all in."
Mrs. Smith leaned forward. "Do you mean they actually chewed on your, uh...equipment?"
"It's true, Ma'am, yes.. Well, if you're ready, I'll set-up my tripod and we can get to work right away."
"Tripod?"
"Oh yes, Ma'am. I need to use a tripod to rest my Canon on. It's much too big to be held in the hand very long."
Mrs. Smith fainted
kicsi said:
Hi, anyone could recommend a web designer, who can help me create a password protected photographer site for my future clients? i can do the design, put the site togoether, but not very good with programing.
There are millions on the net, but i prefer recomendations. thanks Andi
You might have more luck starting a new thead specifically about this, rather then posting it in this one as people that know the answer to to your question wont necessarily be reading this thread!There are millions on the net, but i prefer recomendations. thanks Andi
jimmy156 said:
kicsi said:
Hi, anyone could recommend a web designer, who can help me create a password protected photographer site for my future clients? i can do the design, put the site togoether, but not very good with programing.
There are millions on the net, but i prefer recomendations. thanks Andi
You might have more luck starting a new thead specifically about this, rather then posting it in this one as people that know the answer to to your question wont necessarily be reading this thread!There are millions on the net, but i prefer recomendations. thanks Andi
Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff