Beginner Posing Newborns Help please ?

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This year I'm really trying to step out of my comfort zone and photograph more than just my usual dogs and horses .

I'm doing a newborn baby shoot in the new year , for a friend due on christmas eve .

Can anyone give me some inspiration .... also are posing blocks necessary or are there any home made alternatives I can use ?
 
All I can say is if you're a 'newborn' beginner, and not trained in newborn posing, don't try to pose them in those fancy poses without proper training - shoot lifestyle / natural shots. Probably not very helpful if you've got your heart set on a specific style, but don't discount a documentary lifestyle shoot either... no posing beanbags required. Just a suggestion.
 
^ what Bethy said. It's really important that you have some training with newborn handling and posing, there's a lot to think about and lots to understand which isn't necessarily obvious. There are still lots of nice images you can get without going to the beanbag / prop stuff. Parents often prefer the natural shots too! Hands holding baby, arms cradling baby (doesn't have to be posed family shots), that sort of thing with decent lighting.
 
There's nothing to add to what Beth said.
Keep it simple unless you're going to be doing it full time, at which point get some training.

I'll have my 3rd to do shortly, and it takes the patience of a saint, I doff my cap to the people who do lots of this.
 
All I can say is if you're a 'newborn' beginner, and not trained in newborn posing, don't try to pose them in those fancy poses without proper training - shoot lifestyle / natural shots. Probably not very helpful if you've got your heart set on a specific style, but don't discount a documentary lifestyle shoot either... no posing beanbags required. Just a suggestion.

That's great , I didn't mean posing like this or anything
newborn_baby_4.jpg


Really I suppose I meant , If I were to get some photos of him/her on his own , like this
istock_000019526067_small-20151221095733.jpg~q75,dx720y432u1r1gg,c--.jpg


Am I ok to spread a background on the floor , and put the baby straight onto it , or for baby's sake would a beanbag or something else underneath be more comfortable / safer ?
 
You defintely need padding underneath to make it comfortable for baby, and what is not usually very apparent in these shots but is absolutely necessary is that there's support cloths / padding tucked around baby to make a little 'nest'. I use rolled up cloth nappies or hand towels - just the right size, quick and easy to put in place and mould around. This helps the baby feel secure (and thus more settled) and stops a degree of rolling and movement. It also helps position baby's head to ensure it can't roll around too freely (dangerous for the underdeveloped neck muscles). There should still be a hand on baby all the time except when taking the actual shot in case it startles. I usually go for an assistant with hand on baby just gently touching / hovering over then it's '1, 2, 3' move hand, click shutter, replace hand.

Try to ensure you're using soft light which falls down the face along the line of the nose, and swaddle nice and tight - loose wrapping is something I often get wrong, you really can make it tighter than you think and it not only improves the look of the image but also helps keep baby feeling nice and snug and restricts movement.

Also try to avoid shooting 'up the nose' - this is never a good look! If anything, overcompensate and shoot down the face.

Hope this helps,
Regards
Jim
 
You defintely need padding underneath to make it comfortable for baby, and what is not usually very apparent in these shots but is absolutely necessary is that there's support cloths / padding tucked around baby to make a little 'nest'. I use rolled up cloth nappies or hand towels - just the right size, quick and easy to put in place and mould around. This helps the baby feel secure (and thus more settled) and stops a degree of rolling and movement. It also helps position baby's head to ensure it can't roll around too freely (dangerous for the underdeveloped neck muscles). There should still be a hand on baby all the time except when taking the actual shot in case it startles. I usually go for an assistant with hand on baby just gently touching / hovering over then it's '1, 2, 3' move hand, click shutter, replace hand.

Try to ensure you're using soft light which falls down the face along the line of the nose, and swaddle nice and tight - loose wrapping is something I often get wrong, you really can make it tighter than you think and it not only improves the look of the image but also helps keep baby feeling nice and snug and restricts movement.

Also try to avoid shooting 'up the nose' - this is never a good look! If anything, overcompensate and shoot down the face.

Hope this helps,
Regards
Jim

Thank You , What If I laid a nice duvet on the floor , and then a background on top of it ?

I planned on using my stationary lights , with umbrellas .
 
Yes a duvet should be ok - it's striking a balance between comfortable and firm as you don't want baby to be uncomfortable but equally you don't want the surface too soft as baby will just flump in the middle and disappear, which is a common mistake when you start doing newborns. Umbrellas should be ok - keep it nice and simple with just one light at the baby's head and maybe a large reflector of some kind (a white sheet is ideal if you don't have a large purpose-made reflector) to add some light back in on the shadows. You're probably not going to get as soft and controllable a light as with a large softbox but it's useable certainly.
 
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