baby photography advice

M

minesamojito

Messages
263
Edit My Images
Yes
hi,
my friends have just had a little boy, and have asked me to get some lovely photos of him and them with him, i've not really done anything like this too much, so was hoping to get some advice on how best to approach this, i'm thinking little hand holding big hand, little feet, and nice frame filling portrait
i'm thinking of this as getting some practise before my own little one arrives in july
any advice would be appreciated...
i have a eos 450d, 18-55 kit tamron 70-300 macro zoom, and a nifty fifty, and a 430exII flash
cheers
marcus
 
Nikon 400 2.8, in case said baby spews at you.........:D

Seriously , I use my 105 sigma for stuff like this.........:thumbs:
 
Be careful, I'm sure I read about a photographer that was asked by parents to do the naked baby on a rug shot we all remember.

i think the parents tried to get them printed and the Photographer was prosecuted for indecent photography.

Can't remember where I read it, was on here though.
 
Hi

just my preference but i think natural light is a nicer, softer light if its available. Newborns are very portable so you can always move the baby to right by the window - in their moses basket, car seat or even just plonk them down on a duvet.

Shots of their hands, fingers wrapped around parents little finger, tiny feet and even close ups of their sleeping faces are lovely. i got some lovely shots of both of mine with my canon 100mm macro.

Ps congratulations by the way!
 
PsiFox said:
Be careful, I'm sure I read about a photographer that was asked by parents to do the naked baby on a rug shot we all rember.

i think the parents tried to get them printed and the Photographer was prosecuted for indecent photography.

Can't remeber where I read it, was on here though.
Click to expand...

What a joke...:bang:

If I was asked to photograph a baby I would probably use a fifty as others have suggested. If possible I would start by placing the baby amongst his/her toys and aim for that 'awwww' factor. I think your on the right lines with the little hands/big hands theme. It might be nice to aim for that small, delicate person image so the parents have something nice to remember they have a beautiful baby when he is screaming at 3a.m.:naughty::lol:
 
If you take them make sure the baby is well rested before you get there.

A crabby bad tempered baby makes a poor subject
 
Some people do things like putting the baby in a big salad bowl or summat to emphasize how small the critter is.

The fifty is the way forward, use natural window light if you can and make sure mum is on hand with toys and cuddles. If there is enough light present then you wont need flash, maybe a reflector to reduce shadows. If you do need to use the flash try to get it off camera.

One thing that does work not bad with on camera flash is to get the baby on a bouncer and near to a white internal door. Turn the flash head and bounce it off the door on a very low power setting (eTTL should take care of it). This will give you a nice soft glow.
 
I have to agree with what some others said here. 50mm at 2.8 in natural light. I took some pictures of my young son (near a large window) and they are my favourite images of him by a long shot.
 
New here! Hi all

I love newborn photography. I'd suggest doing some research on poses / compositions that you (and the parents) like. Try things like newborn in fathers outstretched arm, mum & dad looking down at baby, hands & feet like you said. A black background looks good, as does wrapped in blankets etc.

Give yourself a few hours just in case baby is in midst of nappy changes or feeds. Sleeping baby is always nice, just in nappy or babygrows rather than in big outfits.

I have the nastiest naked newborn stories! I've only done photos of three newborns, one pooed through two of my background cloths and the other all over his Dad :gag:. Stick with nappy on!

Ruth
 
Try and get yourself a nice fluffy rug or blanket, place subject near a window for some natural light and take some close-ups at different angles...

This is one I did of my nephew, my mum had this blown up and printed. Would have preferred a different colour - maybe light blue or even white, but it was all we had to hand at the time.

PP - Was a sharpened and a slight gaussian blur for softness...

BabyPortrait.jpg


Oh given the time of year as well, would be very nice to get the babes a nice christmassy romper suit, santa type affair on a white rug would look very nice IMO. Assuming of course they are not of a religion that do not celebrate! I didi a few like that the following year the same nephew. Looked very cute.
 
Very strange, I was about to post the same thing before searching!!

I want to take some pics of our friends newborn and then get them printed and framed to give them as a xmas present.

I have a 20D and was thinking either my 50mm f/1.8 or Tammy 17-50 f/2.8. I don't have an external flash or reflectors so will have to work with natural light.

A few poses I was thinking of were obviously closeup with the baby asleep/smiling, but also has been mentioned, the small hand against mum/dad's hand, also maybe something like the mum cradling the baby and looking down at him.

I'm hoping I'll get some good shots anyway!!

And good luck to the OP :)
 
Do a search on places like FlickR or Google Photos etc for keywords such as baby, newborn, toddler. Look at the photos and try to emulate the ones you like.

You may also want to do a search for baby/child photographers and look at their website galleries.

Charity shops can be a good source for props
 
thanks guys, some excellent advice, i can't wait to get started once they're out of hospital....
i think i have one of those 5 in 1 reflectors in my xmas sack, so will try to use that, maybe the gold side to give some warmth
any ideas of the best way to use this, i guess 180 degrees from the light source ie window, but hopefully will get some time to experiment...
thanks for you great advice so far
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top