Ethan 1 month :) <PLEASE CRITIQUE>

lilmomma

i'm having a heck of a time with baby pictures, you'd think i would have mastered them by now i've had an entire month already. i can't ever seem to get out of the same poses, every time we are doing pictures while he is sleeping and i move him he wakes up. grrrrrrrrrrr

oh well i'm having fun trying :lust c+c is welcome

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and one from last week just cuz it's so darn cute

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CASowers

I've never done a newborn shoot, but there is a thread posted recently titled Baby Andrew. Some terrific poses, lighting and props.
Your shots are all very nice, but they are missing that extra something to make them truly stand out. Have you tried to isolate the face, eyes, nose, toes rather than the nearly fully in focus body shots?
There is also a STICKY thread from l.k.madison further illustrating the shallow dof technique. her #2 is just an amazing shot.

Darren Troy C

Really like #s 3 and 4. Nice job.

Icebear

There isn't too much you can do 'till they get a little muscle tone in their necks. There are baby posing foam thingies that will help.

l.k.madison

CASowers wrote: »

There is also a STICKY thread from l.k.madison further illustrating the shallow dof technique. her #2 is just an amazing shot.

Awww, you're too kind!!! It's been un-stickied, now, might be a bit harder to find.

I agree with your comment about shallow depth of field, too. I shoot at 2.8 almost nearly constantly (or 1.8 if I'm using my 50). If for any reason, to not make it look like a point and shoot snapshot where EVERYTHING is in focus. I have to remind myself sometimes to close down that aperture a bit, especially shooting adults. Babies are tiny at this age, every little nook and crack and cranny on their skin is just beyond precious. Fingers and toes are soooo little. Wide open apertures will really help focus on just one or two and blur the rest out. Even with a baby on their chest at 2.8, their butt is blurred and their legs are gone beyond recognition.

icebear wrote:

There isn't too much you can do 'till they get a little muscle tone in their necks. There are baby posing foam thingies that will help.

Au contraire, there's tons you can do!! Even the "head up" pose can be done with a baby as young as a few hours if they're balanced *just* right on a prop (my pick of poison is wooden letter blocks). They're ultra curly when they're incredibly young and can fold up into all sorts of fun poses!

Kelley Ryden and Tracy Raver play with babies as young as straight from the hospital and they pull off some AMAZING shots. They've admitted that some of them are composites of two put together, or they've erased a supporting adult but their shots still leave me speechless almost every day. Kelley just had another baby in the past few weeks, I'd love to see what shots she's done of him that she hasn't posted yet.

The first thing I notice is the un-even skin. Looks like it was cold in the room. *I* would personally play around with a clarity brush (PS and LR both have one) and help even that out a little bit, not to the point of it being unnatural, but just to the point where he doesn't look as uneven. They're also not as warm as I think they should be - babies are warm and soft and squisy and cuddly, their shots need to reflect that.

Here's my $.02:
#1: looks hot to me, that white fur + white baby just makes a white overload in my eyes. A tighter crop would help the focus go straight to the baby and not all of the negative space around him. I did this for a few sessions until Angie pointed it out, I didn't even notice it.

#2: better than the first, his skin tone looks a bit gray here (it does in all the shots, this one it's noticeable). My monitor hasn't been calibrated in a while, so it could be that. This one warmed up with softened skin would be KILLER.

#3: Adorable!! My only nit is the cheesecloth around him Jesus style. I know, I know, boy parts are hard to hide and diapers are ugly so either way you're out of luck but if he's REALLY sleepy, you can fold his legs over his "proof he's a boy" (especially if he's in a beanbag) and it'll just be all natural baby.

#4: his catchlights are the first thing I notice - looks like softboxes and a flash somehow? Beautiful eyes, absolutely stunning eyes, but the three catchlights in each eye bother me. The sun is my best friend when it comes to shooting babies. I've had clients mention my lighting and how wonderful it is -- of course it's wonderful, it's been lighting the Earth since it was made! And, the best part - no lighting equipment to haul around!

#5: It IS cute, but it looks like he's floating. I see what you're going for but without hands or a texture under him, it looks like he's out in outer space.

That's just my opinion and my tastes. Some people like chocolate ice cream and some like vanilla.

Precious baby! Not sure if I ever sent you a "Congratulations" or not, but here's one anyway!

clap CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW BABY BOY!!!clap

Tracker

#2 and #4 are my favs.

can't add much to most everything already said.
wish the frayed edge of the gauze along his tummy was tucked under.

Qarik

haha..look at the tiny butt crack in #5! too cute!

I would like to see some more directionality in the light in #4 and #2. I think 3 is the best compositionally but his skin seems too dark. I would blow out the BG and worry lighten up the skin tone.

lilmomma

Thank you all for the feedback. yeah these aren't my best work.

it was natural light from my window, with the 50mm at 2.8.

anyway forget these, i'm posting some new ones that i am hoping will fare better with the critque