Digital Camera World » baby photography

Baby photography tips for the ‘newborn-again’ photographer

jmeyer — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 23:01:59 +0000

In our latest Professional Photographer to the Rescue post our professional photographer helps our apprentice take her first steps taking infant portraits. Find out her baby photography tips for taking classic, timeless images.

Our professional photographer

Tracy Willis has only been photographing babies professionally for the past two-and-a-half years, but has won many prestigious awards and has just been named People Photographer of the Year 2012 and Overall Photographer of the Year 2012 by The Guild of Photographers. In addition to photographing infants in her Bournemouth studio, she trains others in the art of baby portraiture. See www.maternity2mischief.co.uk

Our apprentice

Originally from South Africa, Carmen Furlonger now lives in Bedfordshire with her husband and seven-month-old daughter Ava. She has built up an extensive portfolio of photos of Ava as she grows up, but feels her baby portraits lack the pro touch and came to us for help…

Technique Assessment

Tracy asked Carmen to get set up to shoot some babies, then suggested these changes…

Exposure settings
“Carmen set her camera to Av mode and a wide f/3.2 aperture for a shallow depth of field, but I find that this can be a little too shallow, with vital detail dropping out of focus. My go-to aperture is f/5.6 as this ensures that baby’s features are sharp while allowing the background to blur.

“I also advised Carmen to shoot in Manual mode at around 1/100 sec to sync with the studio lights, and at ISO100 for best quality. Most important of all is to shoot in raw format so you can get the very best from your shots in Photoshop.”

Manual AF point selection
“Carmen set the camera to Single AF point selection, but was using the central AF point to focus, and recomposing. I explained that when shooting up close, even the small movement of swinging the camera for a more pleasing composition can be enough to shift the focus plane, meaning that details aren’t as pin-sharp as you’d like.

“I showed her that, by pressing the + zoom button, she could easily scroll through her AF points to place a point on the baby’s eye for pin-sharp focus, without taking her eye away from the viewfinder.”

PAGE 1: Meet our professional photographer and apprentice
PAGE 2: Baby photography tips for during the shoot
PAGE 3: Final baby photography tips from our professional photographer
PAGE 4: Our professional photographer’s recommended gear
PAGE 5: Shot of the Day

11 clever baby poses from birth to age 2

jmeyer — Fri, 18 May 2012 01:00:24 +0000

Photographing babies can be a very rewarding experience. Yes, they can be unpredictable but capturing their innocence, personality and testing your patience is all part of the fun. However, knowing the right baby poses can be difficult.

Cheltenham wedding and portrait photographer Kelly Weech discusses some of the best baby poses to use during the first two years of a child’s life. This time is marked by constant developments, and she suggests which baby poses will best capture a child’s personality at different ages.

Newborn photography

In the first two weeks newborns sleep a lot. This is the perfect time to capture photographs with a sense of purity.

Newborn babies can be very daunting to work with especially if you do not have children yourself. The Anne Geddes posing has become very popular but should not be attempted without proper training.

But there are still lots of opportunities to capture priceless images without being hands on.

This image was taken over mom’s shoulder at just 2 two days old. She was sat down on a bed facing towards natural light and I cropped in very tight to capture those beautiful eyes and relaxed expression.

4 weeks old

This is another key date in a baby’s life for newborn photography. Babies at this age are now a lot more alert and sturdy. But remember their head still needs to be supported.

Take the opportunity of posed group shots to get portraits of the baby and use the parents as the perfect posing cushion. This way you will ensure baby will be comfortable and relaxed in their parent’s arms.

This image was taken using my one of my favourite lenses – a 24-105mm. I love that you can zoom into details from an already perfectly formed shot.

3 months

 Patience is a virtue for baby photographers at this age. Work out a pose and spend the time it takes waiting for moments such as a nose wiggle or yawn to happen.

These priceless moments make each pose unique to each baby.

4 months

This is your last chance to take the popular baby sleeping in hands shots. From about 4 months your baby will become more alert and less tolerable of this sort of thing! What’s more, after four months your baby will also become too heavy this shot.

The shot above is very popular, but to do it safely baby should only ever be raised from a soft, padded surface. I will place the baby over the parent’s arms with the hand supporting the head and the other hand supporting the baby on the back.

Remember sometimes the background may need to be extended to get the composition you want.

5 months

Your baby can now sit up supported, which opens up a whole new range of baby poses and photo ideas.

This image was taken on a sofa with pillows to support the baby to sit up. I decided to convert this image to a high key black and white, and I love her expression and wide eyed look.

Close ups

Don’t forget to get in close and capture the feet and hands while they’re still little – and immobile! From about 6 months many babies start hitting growth spurts and piling on weight.

I got these shots while baby was sat on mom’s lap. I later converted them to black and white to emphasise the lines and textures.

6 months

Most babies are now sitting up and are much more interactive with the baby photographer in the room. This can be great fun, as the process becomes much more of a two-way street rather than you positioning and directing the previous shoots.

This image was taken at dinner time. I called his name and he instantly responded with this look.

I love that this photograph is natural and shows the reality of lunch time. I used an 85mm lens combined with natural light to blow out the background, as I wanted all of the viewer’s attention to be on the baby’s expression.

Don’t forget the details

The child’s nursery is the perfect place for a shoot, as it often has a nice colour scheme for simple background.

Usually after 6 months your baby can roll, but not move. As a safety measure we had mom just at the side of this shot to ensure he did not try to roll.

Some people may also refer to this as tummy time, as usually babies enjoy being on their front. Always have mom (or someone equally hilarious) behind you for the best smiles.

8 months

Your baby is now getting more active but still needs afternoon naps. These can be a great opportunity to capture some very sweet portraits.

Even older babies get tired, and during this shoot he needed to have a nap so I used props from his bedroom to add my composition for a cute twist.

I got mom to put him down onto his side and returned 5 minutes later when he was in a solid sleep to capture this image.

1 year old

A massive trend in baby photography in America that is now crossing the pond to the UK is what’s called the cake smash. The cake smash is a perfect way to capture a child’s personality in good, old-fashioned messy fun.

These images were taken in a 2 metre by 2 metre space, with a wipe clean floor. We sat her in front of the cake and encouraged her to take a raspberry and then to put her hands into the cake.

Once she realised she was allowed to eat it we were well on our way to a beautiful series of photographs. Mom was stood directly behind me and the baby was reacting to her mums reaction and encouragement.

2 years old

Children won’t react well if you treat them like you would a grown up. As a photographer, you need to go back into the mindset of being a big kid yourself to earn their participation.

Get down to their level and have fun with them. To put it simply, play with them and make everything fun. Run, skip, jump, pull faces, play catch.

When photographing children, if you gain their trust and let them run the show 50% of the time, they will want to do what you ask.

If you’d like to save these poses as a reference for the next time you photograph a baby – whether it’s your own or someone else’s – we’ve stitched them together in a handy cheat sheet form, which you can drag and drop to your desktop.

To see more of her portrait and newborn photography, visit Kelly on Facebook.

Best flash settings for baby photography

jmeyer — Wed, 02 May 2012 06:00:26 +0000

Do you have a baby due soon and you’re keen to shoot some nice newborn baby photography at the hospital.

Any photographer who doubles as a parent likely will be, and you’ll likely be wondering what are the best flashgun settings to use?

The relatively hard light of a flashgun generally makes for poor baby photos. To shoot baby photography, you’re then better off sticking with ambient lighting.

Most current SLRs are capable of low-noise images at high ISO settings, so increase the sensitivity to around ISO1600 or ISO3200 to avoid camera shake.

Room lighting usually provides pleasant soft lighting, but keep an eye on white balance and switch to a Tungsten or Fluorescent setting if the shots look yellowish.

One neat trick is to use an angle-poise bedside light, which you can reposition for the best effect.

If it’s daytime and you’re near a window, try using daylight as the main light source.

A sheet of white card or A4 paper can work well as a reflector to fill in the shadows.

Shot at f/5.6 for 1/50 sec using ISO1600, this softly lit baby portrait uses the hospital bed’s angle-poise lamp as the main light source

In pictures: baby photography from Rachel Hulin

samanthacliffe — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:37:52 +0000

Photographer Rachel Hulin, based in New York City, has created a surreal body of work in pictures of hovering babies. Rachel’s baby photography has an odd quality of being both charming and a little disturbing at the same time! But don’t worry, no babies were harmed during the making of these photographs!

Want to try this technique?

Learn how to make your own levitation photos.

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13 tips for better pictures of babies, toddlers and teenagers

jmeyer — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:27:39 +0000

All images copyright Brett Harkness

Babies, toddlers and teenagers (oh my!). They might just be one of the most challenging portrait photography subjects you will shoot. Below we’ve spoken to leading lifestyle and portrait photographer, Brett Harkness, who does this day in and day out. These are 13 of his best portrait photography tips for getting more creative pictures of babies, toddlers and teenagers.

Tip 1: Shoot when baby’s happy
Babies make few demands, but those they do are important: food and sleep. If you want to catch a baby at their best, try to time your portrait just after a nap or feed. In the hour after eating or sleeping, babies will smile and coo for your camera. likewise, babies are at their most active first thing in the morning after they’ve woken up. The later in the day you try to photograph a baby, the more of a gamble you’re taking.

Tip 2: Be patient
Babies are best shot once they can support their own body weight. They’re still easy to pose, but more likely to retain their position. What’s more, a baby will be more expressive when they’re a little older, because they’re more aware.

Tip 3: Let teens choose their wardrobe
When you photograph a teenager, you should pay careful attention to what they’re wearing. people at this age are very self-conscious, so to make them comfortable, treat it like a mini fashion shoot. encourage them to bring as much of their wardrobe as they’d like. Some guidance is necessary, though. Teens are typically fashion conscious, but for the best images you’ll want them wearing neutral clothes. Anything more will distract the viewer or date your shot.

Tip 4: Get teens away from their parents
Adolescents always behave differently when their parents aren’t around. If you can remove them from the equation you’ll make a teen more comfortable. “Start indoors and quickly ditch the parents,” Brett says. “go for a walk and look for interesting backdrops. You get a different response from an older kid when his parents are away, and they end up being some of the best subjects you can have.”

Tip 5: Don’t use flash
It seems obvious in retrospect, but we never think about it until we’ve done it. And then we’re left with a baby screaming bloody murder and a shoot cut short. Flash frightens babies, and often spooks toddlers and young children too, so always use available light if possible. If not, and you really do want to use flash, another option is to use a flash diffuser: the bigger and softer the diffuser, the less noticeable the flash burst will be. you could also try using off-camera flash, as the child will normally be looking at you and the camera lens.

Tip 6: Use props
Kids respond well to props, whether they’re toys, clothes or something else entirely. they give them something to connect with, and take a bit of the fear away from your clunky equipment. Brett, who shot the images used in this article, tells us: “I like to tell kids my reflector is a magic carpet, then put it on the ground for them to sit on. This makes them less afraid of it when it’s being held next to them.”

You can also put teddies and stuffed toys on your lens when taking a child’s picture, which gets them to look at the camera without looking at you.

Tip 7: Make a game of it
Kids have too much energy. Because of this, they’re not going to want to pose for you. Besides, you can better depict a child’s spirit by following them around and capturing them in action. Of course, a moving subject is always more difficult to photograph. To ensure the child is in focus, make a game of it.

Concentrate on one tree in particular, say, then take the kid down to the tree you want them to touch and tell them to run as fast as they can to it then stop. This makes it a little more fun for the child, and you’ll be sure to get the picture you want.

Tip 8: Under-expose for unusual baby photos
For a surreal effect with babies, turn the lights off and use only natural light. move a sofa next to a window and put a dark towel on one of the cushions, then lay the baby on the towel. By under-exposing two or three stops, the top light will throw the background into black and the baby will look like it’s floating.

Tip 9: Show them your pictures
It’s not always advisable to let your subjects see the shots you’ve taken on the rear lcD; people can get self- conscious about their appearance or try to take over the photo shoot and get you to take more shots. This is not normally so much of a problem with kids, however, and letting them see the shots can be a good way to get them engaged.

Tip 10: Bring toys!
Kids get bored easily, so turn your photo shoot into playtime – bring along favourite toys for them to hold an delay with. This occupies them, keeping them still for a few seconds, plus you’ll get some interesting expressions on the little angels’ faces.

Tip 11: Mum & Dad
It’s essential when photographing babies and young children that mum or dad is on hand. This will keep the kids feeling comfortable. Get mum or dad to stand behind you and attract their child’s attention with silly faces, dancing – whatever it takes – so that they’re looking in your direction.

Tip 12: Find the confident one
If you’re shooting a group of children or teens, whether siblings or friends, their collective nervousness is going to manifest itself in reluctance or stubbornness. You can combat this by singling out the most confident kid in the group and shooting him or her first. When they show that they enjoy it, this will demonstrate to the others that you’re not there to humiliate them.

Tip 13: Trust the older kids
With older children and teenagers you might have to be a little bit of a psychologist, as well as a photographer. While in baby photography your main subject is quite happy to let mum or dad run the show, older kids have their own self-identity and vision of how they want to be seen. As a child photographer you need to tread a delicate line of how their parents want to see their children, and how the children see themselves.

Be patient and trust the kids to show you their true nature. Ultimately mum and dad will love your photos because you’ll capture their child acting in a way they might rarely get to see!

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