Tips For Baby Photography Please - Stock Photography Blog

Tips for Baby Photography, please?

posted on 7th of may, 2011

I have my first series of portraits scheduled tomorrow with a baby client. Obviously, the baby didn't schedule it but you know what I mean! I've not shot babies before, simply because I didn't have any available to me.

This is a portrait session and not really for stock unless I have some good shots. Primarily, I'm concerned about lighting, which will be mostly natural. Does anyone have any good tips for me that will help me make the most of my session tomorrow?

Any input will be gratefully accepted. I leave you with some lovely babies and hope I can capture something as great as some of these!

Tags: babies baby learning photography

Comments (13)

	Posted by Calyx22 on May 11, 2011 Oh yes, it was a valuable lesson for sure! Now, I at least can anticipate Baby's activities (rolling and napping), Mum's bow obsession and get them outside in brighter light so I can use a faster shutter speed. I'll let you know how it goes on the reshoot. I'll take the experience too, even if it was very frustrating. :)
	Posted by BCritchley on May 11, 2011 Well it is all part of the learning process and it sounds like you came across a few issues, it will improve your knowledge and ability in the long run. Better luck next time ;-) Brett
	Posted by Calyx22 on May 11, 2011 Brett, I gotta tell you, it was an epic FAIL! Baby is learning to roll over and subsequently spent a lot of time with her face in the backdrop. Mum was obsessed with sticking a bow on her head that kept coming off due to the rolling. And there were 10 workmen streaming in and out of the house as they had picked that day to show up (that frequently happens here) for renovation work. The light was bad, even using flash. I am not happy with any of the pics and I told mom so. She was like, well, all I need is one! But I told her that I would reshoot baby again til I got photos I was happy with. So we are going to reshoot, then I will get that MR, I hope. The main problem technically was luminance noise and a too slow shutter speed. Next time I will be better equipped to handle roly-poly baby, I hope!
	Posted by BCritchley on May 10, 2011 So how did it go???? Did you manage to get a MR signed?
	Posted by Calyx22 on May 08, 2011 Thank you, Rosedarc! I'm going to check that link out.
	Posted by Calyx22 on May 08, 2011 Thank you, Rosedarc! I'm going to check that link out.
	Posted by Uptall on May 08, 2011 cute baby
	Posted by Rosedarc on May 08, 2011 Make sure baby is warm. I have often been disappointed with their skin on the final result, as they can have lots of little pimples at that age - reaction to the milk - or cradle cap. I guess some of the redness can be dealt with in post processing, and a beanie/hat could be useful. If you need to use a flash, use a light diffuser. Someone posted recently a link to a great website with lots of tips (they bought 600 pictures from DT to illustrate it) and there is a page on babies.Baby Tips - Exposure Guide
	Posted by Calyx22 on May 07, 2011 BCritchley, I've not seen the baby yet, but she's right at 3 months. So definitely a lay down or prop up sort of shoot. :) I wish newborn, but a little older! Mommy primarily wants a shot of her in her christening gown before she grows out of it. The rest is up to me. I have lots of fun props, material, etc. What I'm worried about is lighting. Our houses here in Saudi are, well, a wee bit dark as it's so hot and bright. Most houses have at least one good window for natural light, but I'm still worried. I'm also worried if I have to use a flash. What if Baby doesn't care for that and Mommy gets upset? Thanks for the tips about the rattle, that's excellent. That's what I'm looking for. If Baby falls asleep that's good because I can do quite a bit with that. What's the Orton Effect? I'm not familiar with that! And also, thanks for reminding me about the model release. Now printed, and in the bag for tomorrow. I really appreciate all of your advice, thank you....(More)
	Posted by Calyx22 on May 07, 2011 BCritchley, I've not seen the baby yet, but she's right at 3 months. So definitely a lay down or prop up sort of shoot. :) I wish newborn, but a little older! Mommy primarily wants a shot of her in her christening gown before she grows out of it. The rest is up to me. I have lots of fun props, material, etc. What I'm worried about is lighting. Our houses here in Saudi are, well, a wee bit dark as it's so hot and bright. Most houses have at least one good window for natural light, but I'm still worried. I'm also worried if I have to use a flash. What if Baby doesn't care for that and Mommy gets upset? Thanks for the tips about the rattle, that's excellent. That's what I'm looking for. If Baby falls asleep that's good because I can do quite a bit with that. What's the Orton Effect? I'm not familiar with that! And also, thanks for reminding me about the model release. Now printed, and in the bag for tomorrow. I really appreciate all of your advice, thank you....(More)
	Posted by BCritchley on May 07, 2011 I have done a few shoots of babies, not saying mine are great but the moms where pleased with the results. The thing I look to nail is the sharpness of the eyes, catch lights really help give some life to the eyes IMHO. I tend to do lots of closeups as in the pictures you picked for your blog but I had feedback recently that they would like to have as many shots that include the full body also. Props are another thing, a small teddy, rattle coloured toy something to break up the shot, if using a blanket or fleece try to use one that is plain and light in colour and again I have a few that have a small embroided teddy bear on. How old is your model? I found it great with newborns - a few months old, did a shoot with a 10 month old who has just learned to crawl and it was a nightmare, fastest baby I ever saw, dribble like nothing I have ever seen either. You want IMHO to get good eye contact with the camera especially when your working your close ups, hold a rattle or something...(More)
	Posted by Calyx22 on May 07, 2011 Thank you, DP542001! I'm hoping baby is full and happy when I get there. Although, angry baby might be fun to photograph also from a different perspective. Mostly, I just want Mommy to be happy. I'm thinking ISO 400. Any tips for shutter speed?
	Posted by Digikhmer on May 07, 2011 Hi, As father of two kids and having try to capture their picture, I should say that you must make sure that they (baby) had their stomach full first !