My first baby shoot...suggestions?

JAG

This Thursday I have my first formal baby shoot and would love to hear from those with experience ....any tips on lighting and such?

I have taken plenty of pics of kids and babies but its been very informal affair out in the world with not lights other than natural. This time I am using my studio and the parents have agreed to come in so that I can build my portfolio...but would really like to wow them as they have lots of pregnant friends and friends who have had babies and hope to do some repeat busness.

So I am making a list of types of shots...such as feet, hands, naked laying on a blanket, baby with parents singley and as a complete family. I have limited props such as a bushel basket and still life flowers, vines, big pillows and things. I have the parents bringing blankets and a few stuffed animals as well as several types of clothing. I have asked that they come during an up time for the baby and then plan on staying long enough to feed her and put her to sleep so we can get sleep poses too.

I have a basic black and a basic white cloth backgrounds . Two hotlights and and a sb800 plus umbrellas. No softboxes yet but so far I have been able to not need one since my studio is very small and I can control the light pretty good thus far. One homemade reflector.

So with what I have here...can anyone think of other things I might need to concider?:scratch

Tim Kamppinen

I've only done one baby shoot, so I'm definitely no expert, but one thing I can tell you is to make sure you have plenty of time set aside and don't have to rush. Things like the baby crying, having to be fed, changed, whatever can take a while and I found that it was best to just let the parents take care of those things as they came up, take a break, and then get back to it when the baby had calmed down again. If you tried to just go straight ahead and shoot nonstop you'd probably run into difficulties.

Scott_Quier

I also have done only one baby portrait session. If you are doing this, in part, to build your portfolio you need to use a variety of backdrops. Think about high key as well as low key portraits. For example, you mention the naked baby on a blanket. Get on on a white/light colored blanket against a white/light colored background. Do it again on the same blanket but against a very dark background. You will, of course, need to change your lighting (both position and intensity) for these two different shots. But, it will pay huge dividends.

As mentioned, don't be in a hurry. Don't get frustrated. CHILL! The baby will be able to pick up on your mood and that can make the difference between the session being a success or it feeling like a run through the gauntlet from hell.

Understand that you won't have the opportunity to get all the shots that come to mind or that you have planned. Just like cats own their people, babies own the session and it's all on their schedule.

JAG

Thanks guys for the tips. I guess I should wash out my white background that has been laying in the corner of the studio for so long.

mrlassiter

For poses you may not have thought of,
Profile.
Profile reaching out with one hand.
Haloed: get the sb800 behind her and pop it remotely and let it set her aglow. of course fill with light from front as well.
Haloed: looking into Moms/Dads eyes (both haloed)
Hand clutching Daddy's finger.
On mom's shoulder/in mom's arms.

Sorry if I am being too basic, as I don't know your experience level with photography in general and my own is not that high, so I am learning, and the some of the above were kinda "Hey neat!" moments for me.

And as others have said, be very patient. I have a 1 1/2 year old and I've found that if I let him play and just start snapping pix and moving about to get the angles I'm looking for it works out, just snap lots and lots of pix. Make sure you are snapping even when Mom and Dad are attending the babies needs too. Those are candids that can really pay off.

picturegirl

Lots of patience, I have done a few and last month I did one for my 1 month old nephew, after that shoot I thought I would never do it again because it was so extremely difficult. After going over the pics I discovered I didn't do too bad! So last weekend I had another baby shoot and it went great! One thing I found is that the parents are not to picky when it comes to their little one. So something being a little off is not the end of the world them, not that it's ok in your eyes but they will probably not notice too much, they are more focused on their baby.

JAG

picturegirl wrote:

Lots of patience, I have done a few and last month I did one for my 1 month old nephew, after that shoot I thought I would never do it again because it was so extremely difficult. After going over the pics I discovered I didn't do too bad! So last weekend I had another baby shoot and it went great! One thing I found is that the parents are not to picky when it comes to their little one. So something being a little off is not the end of the world them, not that it's ok in your eyes but they will probably not notice too much, they are more focused on their baby.

Thanks all for your suggestions. Today is the big day and I need to get the studio ready. picturegirl thanks for the comment on bringing it back to the parents liking just about anything. That has helped me put this in perspective as I am such a perfectionist!

heatherfeather

Joyce, make sure to post the pics after you get them processed! We wanna see!

JAG

heatherfeather wrote:

Joyce, make sure to post the pics after you get them processed! We wanna see!

Oh yes most definately! I just got a call from the mom...she said that she forgot that great grandma was flying in today and wants to see the baby tonight...so they have rescheduled for next Sunday eve.:twitch At least I got my studio all cleaned up now and my son in law to clean up his mess outside my studio door (we have a walk in basement where customers have to walk through to get to my studio room).

So now I get to keep thinking up poses and play with my daughters baby doll as the model for practice shoots with the lights.