Photographing Newborns

Photographing newborns can be great fun or can be a tiresome workout.  Most of the time it is a little bit of both, even when it goes smoothly.  It is however, one of my favorite shoots next to a Bridal.  There are several things to keep in mind for your newborn session that I have learned mainly through experience.  First is safety.  This should be your main priority.  Next is the room temperature.  Newborns still have a hard time regulating their own body temperature.  Then there is trying to be creative and maneuver the baby while keeping them asleep or happy.  When photographing newborns, I usually keep mom or dad right at newborns side and have them remove a hand before I shoot.  I have a lot of nice soft blankets and a vibrating almost flat device for them to lay on.  If I can get mom to nurse, feed or slip in pacifier, they will usually fall asleep before laid down.  You can also lay them down with pacifier and pat back on the surface that you are about to use.  I play very soft soothing music.  I also heat the room where they are comfortable, but we may be sweating a bit.  During the winter months, I do this with just upping the temp a bit and using a couple of space heaters.  When parents come in with lots of props that I am not prepared to use, it sometimes throws me off a bit, but we work them in.  I usually can do what they are looking for with what I have available.  I pick props that are safe and use tables that are safe.  I never allow baby to be more than an arms length from mom or dad.  You do not want a newborn to fall just to use some cutesy prop.  Safety first.  Get a classic standard picture first and then work from there on extras.  The baby can only handle so much maneuvering before they become fussy and just want to be left alone.  So the less moving the better.  Pick 3 or 4 set ups after your simple first pose.  It is best to capture these sleeping, calm pictures within the first two weeks.  After that they are sleeping less and ready to go!  One of my favorite poses is the baby asleep on inside of dad's forearm with no clothes.  Besides having an accident or two it is an easier pose to do.  Dad gets baby to sleep while holding the baby (maybe with mom's help:), then simply turns baby around to rest on forearm.  If doing naked shots have plenty of blankets to rotate through, especially with boys.  Another two favorite poses are baby bare on daddy's bare chest or head on mom's shoulder with mom's back towards camera, with full view of baby's face and side profile of mom. 

Do you need a scrim? Yes!

WESTCOTT SCRIMS

Lens Flare

Scrim held to the right before sunset.

Little left on boys hand, but over all even lighting.

Do you need a scrim when doing outdoor photography?  It is very important to pay attention to those little spots of light coming through tree branches onto your clients clothes and faces.  Sometimes it's nice when you capture it just enough from behind and to the side to make a nice hair light. It looks even nicer if that light is diffused with a scrim.  Some think that they can simply turn on that flash and get rid of those spots.  A flash might brighten your subject and make those sun spots a little less noticeable (sometimes) BUT they are ALWAYS STILL THERE.  If you are just taking fun candid photos and not looking for a portrait, then have fun and I wouldn't carry a scrim around.  Sunlight coming through trees can create a beautiful effect as well.  You can have a nice lens flare.  Lens flare is when non-image forming light enters the lens and hits the digital sensor.  This can and often does lower the contrast and details of the picture.  It can be a beautiful effect though.  You can reduce lens flare with a lens hood as well. I will post an example of lens flare. I am posting an example of a family portrait taken using a scrim at a beautiful time of day when the sun was soft and not high in the sky .  But if you are shooting midday and have that hard light beating down on your subject, then a scrim of some sort is absolutely necessary. And don't be afraid to shoot on an over cast day!  Those clouds are just a big scrim.  You can always add some warmth to your photos later if needed. Westcott has many scrims and sizes to choose from.