C&C Needed...2nd New Baby Session

allinschenk · Mar 13, 2011

These are from my 2nd attempt with a newborn (~2 weeks old) using natural light. Looking to continue growing and learning....let the C&C begin ;-) And no, I did not charge for these, I begged them to let me borrow their baby...LOL! :blushing:

1.

Lily-106 by LittleDudesMomma, on Flickr

2.

Lily-19 by LittleDudesMomma, on Flickr

3.

Lily-173 by LittleDudesMomma, on Flickr

4.

Lily-174 by LittleDudesMomma, on Flickr

allinschenk · Mar 14, 2011

Really? Nothing...are they that bad no one wants to break it to me :-(

dorf2001 · Mar 14, 2011

they are brill huni
What camera and lens are u using?
How did u get the lighting affect and what have u used as a back drop?
x

PhotoWrangler · Mar 14, 2011

#1 is under exposed, severely. She's also in a weird, uncomfortable looking pose.
#2 is an odd angle, and you've chopped off the baby's left hand.
#3 is ok. Could possibly use an exposure bump in post, perhaps a slight amount of fill.
#4 is the worst out of all four, for a few different reasons. First I'm looking straight up the baby's nose, due to the pose. Secondly, have you ever sat around a campfire with your friends and told a scary story - then stuck the flashlight under your chin to achieve the 'ghoulish' effect? You created the same effect due to the position of your lighting in this one.

Kyna · Mar 14, 2011

Are you using natural light or studio lighting? I use all natural or available light.....it is tempting to use studio lighting because I could take portraits at any time of day but....for now I am sticking to natural light.

1 and 4 are WAY to dark......you need to be near a bright source of light and place the baby with the light to one side or the other. Then in your post processing you can do a little editing to make the skin softer. I don't like to over edit......I want them to look real not like baby dolls......but a little PP is good.

2 has interesting lighting but the baby is at a strange angle I feel like if you had placed the baby differently this shot could have been nicer.

3 is cute but needs some editing to soften the feet, personally I like those in black and white with lots of contrast.

I am by no means an expert but I have been advancing quite quickly. You can check out my stuff on www.facebook.com/SawyerCreekPhotography

Kyna · Mar 14, 2011

I did a super quick edit of #2 also......just by adjusting the contrast, curves etc. you can give it a softer feel and make it work. People on here will definitely still say it isn't perfect but I just wanted to show you that as you learn how to pose etc. you can still "save" some pictures. The parents I'm sure will still love them.

RauschPhotography · Mar 14, 2011

For a newborn shoot, this is a little darker than typical. The lighting is pretty unflattering, and the skin needs smoothing. Keep working at it!

allinschenk · Mar 14, 2011

I really wasn't too happy with these. They were too dark! I was working in natural light (or attempting to!). Are there any books/websites out there with specific instructions on sitting up and working in natural light? In camera everything looked extremely overexposed so I over adjusted the exposure setting and made things worse. Should I have taken them as is and worried about editing in Lightroom or what could I have done to get the correct lighting? I appreciate all the help!

g-fi · Mar 14, 2011

Your posing definitely could use some work. Also, what are you using under the baby to pose? An overstuffed beanbag is usually the standard and helps you get a much more flattering pose. Others have touched on the lighting, so just add my x2 to that. Generally you want your subject directly in your main source of light, whether directly facing on, or at a slight angle to a large soft even light source (such as a large window). Also, you have some very odd crops going on here, what's up with that? Are you trying to shoot around a diaper? If you're not comfortable doing full on naked baby posing, invest in some nice knitted diaper covers (Etsy is a good source for these types of things). Unless you're doing specific close-ups, it's nice to see ALL of the baby in a shot.

The lighting in shot #2 actually isn't bad, but your choice of angle is.. unfortunate.

Keep shooting, don't give up!

Derrel · Mar 14, 2011

I thought you were going for an old-school "painterly" low-key effect on these, and shot #2 is a good example of how to use the light to rake across the subject and reveal texture and shape. Same with shot #3. The way you used the light in shots 2 and 3 was good. Shot #1 is pretty badly underexposed,and shot #4 is almost as badly underexposed.

tenthumbs · Mar 14, 2011

I'm not qualified to give you any technical critique. But as a simple viewer, these pictures have a dark unpleasant feel about them. #2 in particular. The baby looks lifeless in these pictures and that would seem to be the opposite of what a baby picture should be. To me anyway.

allinschenk · Mar 14, 2011

g-fi said:
Your posing definitely could use some work. Also, what are you using under the baby to pose? An overstuffed beanbag is usually the standard and helps you get a much more flattering pose. Others have touched on the lighting, so just add my x2 to that. Generally you want your subject directly in your main source of light, whether directly facing on, or at a slight angle to a large soft even light source (such as a large window). Also, you have some very odd crops going on here, what's up with that? Are you trying to shoot around a diaper? If you're not comfortable doing full on naked baby posing, invest in some nice knitted diaper covers (Etsy is a good source for these types of things). Unless you're doing specific close-ups, it's nice to see ALL of the baby in a shot.

The lighting in shot #2 actually isn't bad, but your choice of angle is.. unfortunate.

Keep shooting, don't give up!

Thanks for the motivation! My main focus in cropping was cropping out a diaper which you guessed. I'll have to find a diaper cover before I try again.

allinschenk · Mar 14, 2011

The baby was laying on a pillow in the center of the kitchen table which was a big obstacle in terms of posing. I'm going to have to track down a bean bag for sure!

3Guys1Mom · Mar 14, 2011

I think you show a lot of promise

Practice practice practice

You need a bit more light. And watch your angles. Back up on your shot. With the usual don't chop off limbs and that kind of stuff. I know your worried about the diaper showing. Covers or el natural is an option. I think in all a very great effort.
Keep trying, you'll get there.