Photographing a Newborn Baby

Posted on November 22, 2011 by bradgross

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Fiona_Rogerson]Fiona Rogerson

For many the idea of photographing a newborn baby can be overwhelming, especially for those that aren’t experienced with handling a newborn. By spending some time focusing solely on the baby before you begin photographing him/her, you can put measures in place that will ensure you give yourself the best chance of success.

By following these 8 tips for preparing for a newborn photography session you’ll be seeing to the comfort and calmness of the baby as your first priority, which will in turn allow you to capture a wide range of poses and setups.

1. Sleep. A sleeping baby is ideal to photograph. Once a baby is in a deep deep sleep you will be able to move them into almost any pose you wish. Spend adequate time before you begin the session getting baby into a deep slumber.

2. Age. The earlier you can photograph a newborn baby, the better. Ideally any time within the first 2-10 days of a baby’s life will be the easiest to photograph. At this age they will easily fall into a deep sleep allowing for ease of posing. It’s also as this age that they still appear to have that newborn ‘fresh’ look.

3. Studio temperature. When shooting a newborn baby, having the room at a very warm temperature is imperative, especially if you plan on creating images with the baby unclothed. The room should be warm enough that the adults present feel hot so that you can ensure the baby is warm enough.

4. White noise. Be sure to have a white noise player, or a CD of ‘womb noise’ playing loudly within your shooting space. This is pivotal in creating a calming, familiar environment for the baby.

5. Time of day. Aim to hold your sessions mid-morning, avoiding afternoon sessions if possible. Newborn babies tend to be more relaxed and calm during this time of day, and tend to be more grizzly and awake in the afternoons.

6. Feeding. When the baby arrives for his/her session make sure he/she has a feed before you begin shooting. A baby with a full tummy is much easier to settle than a baby that is even slightly hungry.

7. Nappies. Most parents love images of their baby’s naked little bottom, but begin your session with the baby in a nappy. Babies settle faster and deeper when clothed so begin with a nappy and the baby wrapped loosely in a wrap, then when the baby is in a deep sleep you can carefully remove these for the unclothed shots.

8. Parents. Some babies just won’t settle without their Mum or Dad, for a variety of reasons. If you’ve tried everything above and you still can’t get the baby to settle to sleep use the parents as props for your shoot. Have Dad’s arms outstretched with the baby laying in them, or baby propped up over Mum’s shoulder and shoot from behind Mum. The baby will settle when held by its parents so use them to your advantage where possible.

Fiona Rogerson from Evoke Art Photography is a [http://www.evokeartphotography.com.au]perth newborn photographer, dedicated to create art that will speak uniquely to you. Evoke Art Photography will ensure that every wonderful emotion from those fleeting moments in your baby’s early days will remain with you each and every time that you see your images up on your wall. View Fiona’s work at [http://www.evokeartphotography.com.au]http://www.evokeartphotography.com.au. Perth newborn photography.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Photographing-a-Newborn-Baby&id=5048782] Photographing a Newborn Baby

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When you photograph people in color you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in B&W, you photograph their souls!-Ted Grant

Posted on November 22, 2011 by bradgross

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Memory demands an image. Bertrand Arthur William Russell

Posted on November 22, 2011 by bradgross

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“I don’t like food that’s too carefully arranged; it makes me think that the chef is spending too much time arranging and not enough time cooking. If I wanted a picture I’d buy a painting.” Andy Rooney

Posted on June 9, 2010 by bradgross

…..or buy a photograph.

The photography of food is a talent like no other for both the beginner photographer as well as the seasoned professional.  The food has to be kept fresh, it must be inviting and convince the the viewer of their desire to have it.  Haven’t you looked at a photograph of a bowl of fruit and realized as a result that you had to have some?   There are many techniques to be used in the preparation of the items to be photographed and decisions to be made in the use of equipment, depth of field settings, plating of the food to be recorded, and lighting as well as whether you are going to use a tripod or hand hold the camera for the pictures.

I have found that my best results come from placing the background, either fabric or paper on a larger flat surface at ground level, allowing me to stand over the subject if the result that I am looking for is of an artistic design nature.  If on the other hand I am photographing a plate with a Tuna fish sandwich on it, I find that as opposed to taking the photo from above or from the angle of the “eater” it is better to take the position of a small child’s view along side or in front of the plate.  This will make the food look grand and impressive in the finished photograph.  You can add a little pop to the item being photographed by brushing it with vegetable oil or glycerin.  This will give fruit and vegetables a fresh wet look as if they were just picked from a rain soaked garden.  The same application will make other items look piping hot from the oven even if they were just taken from the refrigerator.  Care should be taken as to what is included in the picture.  A shallow depth of field along with items naturally found on a dinner table will go a long way to making the photo look real and not staged.  Using natural light from a window will also improve the result in many cases.  As far as what lens is the one to use, there is no correct answer.  Much will depend on the desired result.  Looking for extreme close ups?  Get the 105mm macro ready.  Are you looking for a standard table shot with natural light?  The 50mm standard with limited depth of field may be the best choice.  How about real creativity? You could go with the fish eye or wide angle keeping the main subject distortion free in the center.  The choice is yours as to how you want to present the finished image. 

This is a fun and lucrative area of photography but it does not come easy.  As has been said, if you can photograph food, then you can photograph anything.  I am including an excerpt from a great article that appeared in After Capture magazine recently, written by Ethan G. Salwen. The article is the result of an interview with a New York City based photographer named Nicholas Eveleigh.  There are many examples of his very creative work which is as interesting as any you will see.  This a great example of the many pieces that have been written on this subject and you will realize very quickly that there are as many opinions and techniques as there are articles.  Mr. Eveleigh is an example of new, innovative and fresh and in an area that is easily caught up in old style.

Nicholas Eveleigh
B y E t h a n G. S a l w e n
“I try to keep my food photography
as clean and natural as possible,”
say Nicholas Eveleigh, a New York based
editorial and commercial still
life photographer. Read more »

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A portrait is not a likeness. The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a fact but an opinion. There is no such thing as inaccuracy in a photograph. All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth. Richard Avedon

Posted on January 23, 2010 by bradgross

The timing could not have been better.  I had been searching for a way to convert my business office into a part time portrait studio.   I was interested in photographing children, couples, pets and anything else that would sit still long enough for me to record their look.  Just at the right time, Shutterbug Magazine ran an article by Joe Farace in which he  reviewed several studio set ups with an  in depth description of lighting, reflectors and the limited space in which they would fit.

Studio In A Small Space; Big Studio Effect Without The Cost  By Joe Farace   •   October, 2009
Much of my portrait and fashion photography is done on location, but living in a place like Colorado the models (and the photographer, too) just aren’t always in the mood to stomp around in the cold weather and snow. That’s when a studio comes in handy. Some photographers just prefer having complete control over the lighting. Instead of the hassle and cost of renting a studio, why not create one using a room you already have? The real secret, if there is any, of making portraits in limited spaces is having the right equipment with gear that doesn’t have to be expensive. Read more »

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“A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand” Unknown

Posted on December 10, 2009 by bradgross

So, the request came in to photograph 20 pounds of various cookie varieties, shapes and designs  for a client of mine.  The photographs will be used to publish a sales book to be carried by the distributors as well as to be used to illustrate the website for this high end cookie production facility.  I went to Uncle’s Ralphie’s Fine Baked Goods at 24 Wilson Avenue, Manalapan, NJ to pick up my supply of their Pastel line cookies.  The biggest problem now was to get the product  to my studio without eating every last one of them.

Your approach to product photography will vary with each product.   Shoes, jewelry, stamp collections all differ widely in design and require a different setting and a different mind set,   however there are those commonalities that are maintained for every item.

Background:  You will want to use a light or white background or a table top studio in which to place your subject.  This will present the subject in the best possible surrounding to show its attributes.

Fast lens:  You will want to use the fastest lens available.  This will enable you to use the widest aperature available resulting in an out of focus background.

Exposure:  It is important to bracket your initial captures in order to be sure that you have a bright subject that has not been darkened because your camera is fooled by the light background.

Focus:  Be sharp.  There is nothing worse than a fuzzy look.  Use a tripod.  Don’t trust handholding the camera.  What may look sharp in the view finder will fool you when it is enlarged or published.

Lighting: Use soft lighting.  If you hold a pencil 2-3 inches above your hand and take an image resulting in a dark shadow projected on your hand then this is not soft lighting.  You will hardly see a soft shadow.  Use a diffuser on your light source or shoot through a light tent.

After Capture: Make use of one of the many available photo processing tools such as Photoshop.  Review your images for sharpness, for noise, for color balance.

I completed my work.  I had constructed a glass platform so that I could have a certain amount of reflection at the base of the cookies.  I used two strobes with umbrella reflectors.  The lighting was soft with no harsh shadows and allowed the detail that I was looking for.  I shot primarily with a 35 to 70 mm F2.8 Nikkor lense which gave me the subject sharpness as well as the out of focus back ground which resulted in the cookie standing out.  It was a fun assignement albeit a little fattening.

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“I have an underwater camera just in case I crash my car into a river, and at the last minute I see a photo opportunity of a fish that I have never seen.” Mitch Hedberg

Posted on November 24, 2009 by bradgross

Although a thought provoking statement it is  my  way of getting around to a thumbs up reference to a member of the N.Y.C. police force.  I always state that a photographer in search of that one terrific image is only going to capture that image if they carry a camera with them at all times. I claim to do just that as well.

About a week ago while walking on Canal Street in lower Manhattan, I watched as a NYC police cruiser stopped, the officer stepped out of the car and held up traffic in all directions.   I did not immediately notice the poor lady walking with only a fabric head cover. It seems that the ladies wig blew off of her head and was rolling across the street and under the police car.  The police officer kindly reached under the car and grabbed the wig in order to return it to its rightful owner.  The  officer returned t0 his car, the woman quickly replanted the hair on her head and the traffic commenced.

A kind gesture of humanity by one of NYC’s  finest.  Thumbs up to the officer and another great  reminder to all of us to carry a camera.

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Daily Inspiration

Posted on November 3, 2009 by bradgross

I dream that someday the step between my mind and my finger will no longer be needed. And that simply by blinking my eyes, I shall make pictures. Then, I think, I shall really have become a photographer.Alfred Eisenstaedt

This was stated during  the latter part of the 19 century.  One has to wonder today how distant the dream is from the reality.

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Do something new today…

Posted on October 30, 2009 by bradgross
flashlight 2One of the most important considerations when practicing  macro photography is lighting.  What to use….  ring flash, strobes, available light, reflectors.  A technique that is quite popular with macro photographers is to use a pocket flash light. Yes, an ordinary pocket flash light can be the total source of your subjects lighting.  I do admit however that  you can get quite sophisticated in your choice of tools  http://www.streamlight-flashlights.com/microstream.html?gclid=CIyO-6bB85cCFRykagodIC8pDA even though an ordinary pen-lite is an easy place to start and is easily affordable.  With this sort of lighting technique you can control what part of your subject is illuminated and add many different dramatic effects to your finished image.    You can use available light and add to it with your penlight or you can shoot in a completely dark environment and shine your light on only that portion of the subject you are working with.  Break out your light meter, take a couple of careful readings and shoot away.  I think you will find that it is worth the effort.

 

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Daily Inspiration

Posted on October 22, 2009 by bradgross

“Wherever there is light, one can photograph” -Alfred Stieglitz

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