Newborn shots from the hospital

Xandertures

Our best friends had their baby yesterday. I went up to the hospital with the camera and a shoot through diffuser to photograph the baby. Most shots are 1/60, f/5.6 and ISO 100. All taken with the D80 on RAW with 50mm f/1.4. SB-800 used off camera via commander, shot through the diffuser which was hand-held by my wife. We used a really simple black cloth for the background. While I may do things a bit differently next time, I was extremely please with how they turned out, especially for being taken in the hospital.

As always comments and criticism are welcome.

saurora

What expression! You captured some great shots! The parents will be very pleased I'm sure. Sure looks like you were in a studio instead of a hospital. How did you sneak all this gear in past security? hehe. Security is tough in hospitals in our area.

Elaine

Adorable! I'm so impressed these are from the hospital! Well done! The parents will love these, I'm sure. That first face is just too cute!

Awais Yaqub

Congratulation
Cute baby and photos

Flyinggina

What a wonderful series. The especially like the expression on the baby's face in first one. The parents will treasure these.

Virginia

Icebear

Very nice
Great idea to shoot through a diffuser. I've used a Demb diffuser, or natural light, and didn't get anywhere near the nice light you got. Love the feet shot.

Xandertures

I actually did use a Demb diffuser with the flip-it all the way closed. I also have one of those 5 in 1 reflector circles, so I took out the center shoot through circle and had that in front of the flash, about 2-3ft in front. That gave me the really soft light.

Thanks for all of the comments

Icebear wrote:

Great idea to shoot through a diffuser. I've used a Demb diffuser, or natural light, and didn't get anywhere near the nice light you got. Love the feet shot.

eoren1

Mind sharing a bit more on the setup for these? I've got my own coming in about 2 weeks and would love to isolate the baby by using a simple black background. What did you use? How did you avoid any creases/wrinkles? Thanks!
E

saurora

Xandertures wrote:

I actually did use a Demb diffuser with the flip-it all the way closed. I also have one of those 5 in 1 reflector circles, so I took out the center shoot through circle and had that in front of the flash, about 2-3ft in front. That gave me the really soft light.

Thanks for all of the comments

I don't have a Demb diffuser and have never used one. I'm trying to "picture" your set-up in my head using a circular translucent reflector in front of the flash. Would you mind explaining what direction/angle the flash was pointing and where was the reflector postitioned in order to keep it out of the framing of the shot? (Am I clear as mud???) I just really like your lighting and want to give a shot.

Xandertures

I'll snap a photo of the setup I used and post it in a bit. It's pretty cheesey, as it had to be simple to get in the hospital room.

Shudderz

These shots make me wish I'd had you as a friend when my children were born. All I'm stuck with are the cheesy hospital newborn shots.

These are just precious, and having the hospital bands still on everyone adds so much charm to these.

I think parents would pay a ton of money if they had the option of getting shots like this from the hospital!!!

Xandertures

I've been thinking about how to market something like that. I would love to go around and take "semi-studio" like portraits of newborns. I've seen the $100 P&S digicam shots from the hospital and they are just crap.

Here is a basic idea of the setup I used. $5 piece of fabric from walmart, center section of a 5-in-1 reflector/diffuser held a few ft from the subject, the Nikon SB-800 fired a few feet from the circular diffusuer, and the demb diffuser with the flip-it closed to help keep the light contained. The light was fired wirelessly via the camera.

In the hospital the lighting was was further away from the subject and all lights in the room were turned off. I also had my wife holding the diffuser and flash in different areas to highlight the baby depending on the pose. I could have done it with a tripod and umbrella holder type deal if I had more room. If you can see the fabric at all in the photo and you don't want it, you can just add a lower exposure layer, mask it and paint the subject back in.

saurora

Duh, I wasn't thinking that the flash was off of the camera! Thanks going to the effort to shoot your setup .........as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words!!! I laughed when I saw your kitty sitting on the fabric and then scrolled down and saw her portrait! So if baby portraits are slow, you can also do pets! It turned out super! Cheesy is great..........it's cheap and usually very portable. I have the Canon transmitter so that will work well. My niece is due in February, meanwhile, I have my dogs to practice on!!!! Thanks again. :saurora

Shudderz

Xandertures wrote:

I've been thinking about how to market something like that. I would love to go around and take "semi-studio" like portraits of newborns. I've seen the $100 P&S digicam shots from the hospital and they are just crap.

You would almost have to block out a section of time everyday to do hospital shooting since you can't exactly plan on when babies will be delivered. I'm sure the hospital has some sort of a contract with the company that does those horrid photos. Might be worth finding out!? I know I would much rather have my children's newborn photos look like the ones you took rather than the cheesy ones I have.

On a similar note, I've been talking with a local OB medical group about using their conference room once a month to do maternity shots for their patients. I wouldn't charge a sitting fee but would still sell prints. Maybe a free 5x7? I figure with a new business, it would be a great way to build a strong client base.

After all, once the baby is born they're going to want a ton of photos that first year...and if they already trust me and like my work, they will come to me. Plus if they like the basic shots I can do on location there, maybe they would want a personal sitting for something custom.

eoren1

Thank you so much for the setup information. I forgot to mention in my first post but these are very well done! Hope to emulate this in a few weeks time.
E

adpace

Wow! These are fantastic! Beautiful baby!