Newborn Photography

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Name
Justine
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I mainly photograph landscapes, which I'm quite comfortable with, but I still very much class myself as a beginner. I'm comfortable with my camera though and understand how to use it in manual etc quite well.

I've just had a baby, and I would really love to take some newborn photos for thank you cards but it's not something I've really considered before. I have lots of ideas for posing but I don't have any studio lighting or anything so I'm restricted to natural light.

Could anyone please pass any tips my way for using natural light only (or indoor lighting) to produce good results?

Thanks in advance.
 
Congratulations :) :) !

Soft shadows are the usual way. Use diffusion fabric e.g. net curtain over windows if sunshine is harsh & large white pieces of card or polystyrene as reflector if the shadows are too dark.
Position light / baby as you would for all portraiture i.e. the nose shadow - however faint - should fall downwards towards the mouth.

You can have the window behind you but you'll get more interesting results with the window to one side, or even shooting into the light. You can sometimes find or create really beautiful light for portraits in the shadow zone behind a window, i.e. have the window to one side but a little way in front of the subject. The gentle graduations and shadows are much like what you can get by feathering a softbox.

Just remember to use exposure comp or manual mode to get skintones where you want them.

Here's one I prepared earlier..

_SRC2494-Edit.jpg
 
Windowlight is perfect, in fact if I were using artificial light, I'd be aiming to mimic a large window.

The safety of the newborn and the environment are the most crucial aspects.

As a new mum you're probably not the best placed to shoot this - it requires a lot of time and endless patience, you're tired (absolutely understandable). As a photographer, I'd require you (as mum) to keep the baby cleaned and fed whilst I adjusted the variables for the photography, we'd work as a team.
 
Thanks so much for all the good solid tips guys (as always), they're really appreciated. I can see that we're in for a nice sunny day on Friday so I might try and have a go then. I'm fortunate enough to have lots of southern facing big windows so light should be relatively easy from what you're saying.

Phil V - You're quite right, it would be easier for me to get someone else to do this, it's a genre I'm not comfortable with and I am genuinely really tired- but not getting paid for the next few months dictates that I'm not best placed to be paying someone else either :(.

I may have missed my window of opportunity anyway, my little one is nearly three weeks old so she's going to notice if I start moving her around and taking clothes off her but I can but try and I have nothing to lose.

Thanks again for the tips guys, I really appreciate it.:)
 
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