Mikayla, 14 days.

l.k.madisonl.k.madison Registered Users Posts: 542 Major grins
edited November 5, 2010 in People
This morning, I photographed a dear friend's two week old. My husband tagged along on a baby shoot for the first time ever, he's apparently gained a whole new respect for baby photogs.

Miss Mikayla did NOT want to be on her tummy and I'm the master at "head-up" shots, she just wanted to be wrapped up and left alone, so there wasn't a lot of variety but that's ok, we got winners anyway.

1. Smiles. Mom left the room for a second and Mikayla was ALL smiles for a minute or two. Mom said she'd been trying to take a picture of her smile since she was born and she did it for me with no problem.
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2. All snuggled up. Angie, here's that infamous white blanket. :rofl
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3. This just begged for a square crop, so that's what it got. Now that I'm seeing it on flickr, I'm seeing the very top left corner got missed with the clone stamp - I'll fix it before I show it to her.
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4. I wanted her to be *in* the cocoon, but she wanted nothing of it, while she was super curly, she refused to bend her knees. So we got this shot instead. Look just left of the middle and you can see itty bitty toes!
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5. A pull back shot. With a husband shooting, I got to do a few BTS shots.
Here's the setup: two light stands (nothing major) with an aluminum bar with holes drilled on the side that sits horizontally between the light stand (the top of the light stand fits in the hole) Blanket clipped (using bulldog clips) to the bar. Body pillow folded in half under white blanket, baby on body pillow. White blanket "accidentally on purpose" pulled out from pillow. Baby wrapped in olive green blanket from IKEA. 6'2" husband on stepstool to get nearly on top of her shooting with his Hassy. Yes, the door is open. It was on and off raining, so our lighting was darker than we would have liked so we opened the door to let a bit more light in. All but the shot on the darker blanket were shot with this setup, where she slept for a good 30 minutes until I needed to move her.
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Comments

  • jttphotojttphoto Registered Users Posts: 36 Big grins
    edited November 4, 2010
    #1 and #4 are my favorites. Thanks for the BTS info. The smile in the first one makes the set for me.
  • l.k.madisonl.k.madison Registered Users Posts: 542 Major grins
    edited November 4, 2010
    jttphoto wrote: »
    #1 and #4 are my favorites. Thanks for the BTS info. The smile in the first one makes the set for me.

    Yeah, that smile just makes the entire set. I put a few up on FB and the smile has more comments hands down than the rest.

    Shame she only did it for that one setup. Oh well. She's still a cutie, I'll forgive her.
  • LlywellynLlywellyn Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 3,186 Major grins
    edited November 4, 2010
    That smile is a definite winner, sure to melt the mother's heart. thumb.gif

    I really appreciate the BTS shot and explanation. I love seeing how everyone photographs. Always something new to learn!
  • AgnieszkaAgnieszka Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 3,263 Major grins
    edited November 4, 2010
    You TOTALLY NAILED THEM! They are absolutely beautiful, skin tones look great, they're not too soft + expressions & poses are great too (and uhm, the blanket didn't get blown either :D)! BEAUTIFUL!!!!
  • VayCayMomVayCayMom Registered Users Posts: 1,870 Major grins
    edited November 4, 2010
    I LOVE these ! the first three are awesome, would make a wonderful montage/storyboard look. The fingers are wonderful, I just adore these!!!!clap.gifclapclap.gifclap And thank you for the pull back image and info on the set up. Great newborn photos.
    Trudy
    www.CottageInk.smugmug.com

    NIKON D700
  • l.k.madisonl.k.madison Registered Users Posts: 542 Major grins
    edited November 4, 2010
    I only shot 41 shots during this session, including a few pull-backs and a few of my husband and I playing with his light meter when the princess was getting her lunch. I've already promised mom a re-visit when we have better weather and I can do some outside. Can't wait to see her again when we have less time/light restraints!
    Llywellyn wrote: »
    That smile is a definite winner, sure to melt the mother's heart. thumb.gif

    I really appreciate the BTS shot and explanation. I love seeing how everyone photographs. Always something new to learn!

    Her smile *did* melt her mom's heart, and her grandmother's too. I'm still surprised she did it for me. Grandmother commented on FB "Hope you don't mind, but I'm stealing this!!" so I'll assume she loved it.

    I've never shot a newborn with somebody else, so it was always hard to do "pullback" shots. That and I just wanted proof that my husband came with me - he's already vowed he'd never do it again. Oh well, I tried. That and seeing him needing a ladder was just priceless.
    agneiszka wrote:
    You TOTALLY NAILED THEM! They are absolutely beautiful, skin tones look great, they're not too soft + expressions & poses are great too (and uhm, the blanket didn't get blown either :D)! BEAUTIFUL!!!!

    Aw, thanks ::blushes::

    I'm still trying to master my skin tones (especially on babies) so I'm glad my PP passed the test! wings.gif

    Granted, that blanket isn't perfect, but I make do with what I have. Figure if I can nail it with hand-me-down hospital blankets and props saved from the garage sale pile, then once I do get a studio and all of my set up, I'll be good to go!
    vaycaymom wrote:
    I LOVE these ! the first three are awesome, would make a wonderful montage/storyboard look. The fingers are wonderful, I just adore these!!!!clap.gifclapclap.gifclap And thank you for the pull back image and info on the set up. Great newborn photos.

    I'd never thought of a story board, but I'll have to try it out and see!

    I did notice that there was a HUGE wall in Mom's house that didn't have anything on it, I kept saying "this shot, blown up, metallic print ::points:: there!" hoping she'd get the hint. We'll see if it worked or not.
  • digidronedigidrone Registered Users Posts: 280 Major grins
    edited November 4, 2010
    Excellent info on "how to"...
    Thanks for sharing!
    Photos are pretty killer as well!
  • Marissa K. PhotographyMarissa K. Photography Registered Users Posts: 41 Big grins
    edited November 5, 2010
    wow! nice job! i like all of them.
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