opinions please, Baby shoot

Mark-Anthony

Mark-Anthony

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Hi All

well, now that I've read the new terms to the forum, I suppose I best upload some pics.

I don't think I've ever uploaded any of my images, as I've always been scared as an enthusiast that I'd get shot down by all the pros on here. Every weekend without fail, my camera is in my hand. I absolutely love photography, and since starting taking pics 5 years ago... I can see a progression (ever so slightly)

Anyway....

I was asked to take photos of my bosses 3 month old baby boy. 7am came, me + my camera + 1 sleeping/constantly waking baby = this. Opinions please as I'm very new to this still!

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I'm on my iPad so not too sure if they will look different on my Mac but the first one looks soft to me, I too am also not keen on the sepia tone but that's a personal preference :)
I like the last one but the baby's hand again is soft!

Baby photography is very hard so you didn't do that bad at all if you are new to it :)
 
You have no need to worry about posting. You have some lovely shots here and can see that with some little improvments they will get even better. Here is some cc from me.

Shot 1.
Lovely eye contact. The framing is a little off so I would crop in a little tighter on the left. It is a litte on the soft side.

2. The processing works really well here. The problem is the pose. The baby is lost in the blanket and his head needs lifting a little. Bringing the chin forward and use something to make sure the baby is a little above the blanket in the foreground. Just propping the babies own hand under hishead would have made this shot much better. Also lose the dummy, just wait for him to get a little deeper into sleep before you remove it.

The dof really adds a great mood to this shot.

Shot 3. The same problem as above with the pose. The baby is lost in the basket. Add more filler ton the basket so baby is higher up and try looking into composites to get it safe. I guess many people will say the same and personally I hate selective colour, I still however get clients asking for it from time to time so can see why people still do it.
 
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Whoops shot 4.

A lovely little moment. Being very picky I would have wanted babies fingers all the way around.
 
pretty much what andy said , plus in #3 I'm seeing weird radial tonal banding in the grey , did you apply a radial filter or a vignette or anything ?

that aside nice work (i'm personally not a fan of the trend for putting babies in things like baskets etc - but thats not specific to you)
 
Thankyou. Today I had a baby hammock arrive, which should be used in the next two weeks. Will post them up once I've taken them :)
 
I presume its like an adult hammock, but smaller ;)
 
See posting wasn't too bad or slated and there are some really helpful pointers for the next shoot. Keep it up!
 
Hi I think they are very good, especially the one in the basket, well done
 
Yeah its basically a little hammock, very strong so i'm looking forward to the next one.

I think one thing I seem to struggle with is dof. I think it's more to do with understanding the f number, whilst getting the correct distance from my subject. These were taken with a prime lens so maybe that's where I'm going wrong?

For these pictures, I used a kitchen blackout blind as my backdrop. I ordered a stand off eBay, and borrowed my friends continuous lights.

camera wise, a d7000 with a sigma 30 f1.4 was used.

View attachment 34579
 
Little_duke said:
Y

I think one thing I seem to struggle with is dof. I think it's more to do with understanding the f number, whilst getting the correct distance from my subject. These were taken with a prime lens so maybe that's where I'm going wrong?



View attachment 34579
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30mm for any portraits in my opinion is way too wide. These dont perticually look like a 30mm however. Did you crop in? I shoot almost all of my baby work on a 50mm or 85mm prime. Its all about preference. Oh wait you are on a cropped body. Thats not too bad. You will get better isolation from something like a 50mm.

Little_duke said:
Yeah its basically a little hammock, very strong so i'm looking forward to the next one.

/QUOTE]
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No matter how stoing it is DO NOT simply hang it with the baby in. Any hanging baby shot should be done as a composite with a bean bag or person inches under

the lighting setup in my opinion is a little harse. My newborn style is not loved b everyone however i tend to go for very soft featherd lights.
 
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I literally just sold my 50mm f1.4, as I was told a 30mm would have been better for my wedding portraits by a friend of a friend. My 50mm was hardly used in all fairness, hence the purchase of the 30mm instead.

my idea is to have the parents hold the hammock, as it comes with strong drawstrings. It's all interlocked and very sturdy looking. It'll literally be inches from the floor.

I shown that pic above on my Facebook page, where various comments were mentioned about "two lights?...overkill!"

However, I was also told a few years back that using flash, with a newborn can harm the little ones eyes?

Either way, for a first newborn shot...I'm happy for now. I aim to build and learn new tricks, which hopefully I'll pick up along the way :)
 
Little_duke said:
I shown that pic above on my Facebook page, where various comments were mentioned about "two lights?...overkill!"
Click to expand...

It depends how you are using them. One light setups are my go to for simple newborn shots as shadow is important.

Little_duke said:
I literally just sold my 50mm f1.4, as I was told a 30mm would have been better for my wedding portraits by a friend of a friend. My 50mm was hardly used in all fairness, hence the purchase of the 30mm instead.
Click to expand...

For portraits 30mm (even on a crop) is really too wide. Its a great bit of kit to have at a wedding but not a portrait lens by any means. A 50mm on a crop will give you the feel of a 75mm which in my opinion is a pretty perfect for portraits. The 30mm is also going to be a reason why you are struggling to get the DOF how you want it.

Little_duke said:
However, I was also told a few years back that using flash, with a newborn can harm the little ones eyes?

:)
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I have heard this 1000 times and I always ask for any evidence to show this and I cant find any. Infants are born with well developed eyes so thet should not be damaged by a camera flash. I even had an MD tell me that as they have smaller eyes in theroy les slight is reaching the retina so it is safer for them than an adult.

I cant imagine you are stobbing the lights so it wont do them any harm and the chances are they are asleepp.

Little_duke said:
my idea is to have the parents hold the hammock, as it comes with strong drawstrings. It's all interlocked and very sturdy looking. It'll literally be inches from the floor.
Click to expand...

Yup get the parents to hold it. I wouldnt do it off the floor i would do it off a very soft beanbag, or something very soft. That way all you have to do is remove the beanbag to create the composite.
 
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Have you got a sample of one of your images with one light, so I can see the difference? Would be great to see other people's efforts.

lens wise, my current setup is

nikkor 60mm micro f2.8
sigma 30mm f1.4
nikon 17-55 f2.8
sigma 70-200 os f2.8
 
Little_duke said:
Have you got a sample of one of your images with one light, so I can see the difference? Would be great to see other people's efforts.

lens wise, my current setup is

nikkor 60mm micro f2.8
sigma 30mm f1.4
nikon 17-55 f2.8
sigma 70-200 os f2.8
Click to expand...
Sorry it's taken me a while to do this. I have had a bit on my plate lately. Here is one from last week with a single light. No prop so a little different but the lighting is along the same idea. View attachment 36717
 
That's no problem, everyone seems busy at the moment.

That's a great image, not too much light either. May have to try that next time :)
 
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