Feedback on my 2nd newborn photo shoot please!

[PinkPoodle]

Hello, everyone!!

Just did my second newborn shoot today with a gorgeous 6 day young boy. Would love some feedback! I am literally new to the photography world so I would really appreciate all feedback in layman's terms. Also, I did this shoot for someone completely free for a friend.

Thanks!!

I feel like in picture #2, baby looks a little too pink. I probably should edit that one again.

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

 

[wyogirl]

I love 3 & 6. All of them could benefit from a slight bump in exposure, but that's my personal taste for newborn pics. 4 & 5 are a little too yellow and 2 is a little to pink. You can fix that in post but for the future, it's a whole lot easier to bounce flash off the ceiling and auto white balance in camera.

 

[Granddad]

Actually, these aren't bad. I'm not a baby photographer and proper baby photogs may disagree but I think you've got potential. I'll bet the mother is pleased with them, especially at the price she paid. I particularly like your basket in 6 & 7, although I find the angle in #7 a little disconcerting. I'm OK with the exposure but I agree with wyogirl on the rest of what she said, nothing there that can't be fixed in post.

 

[tirediron]

Definitely not bad for your second shoot. A few points for consideration:
1. You've missed focus here. The blue fabric just below the right elbow is tack-sharp, but focus falls off away from that, and the face, while not horribly soft, is defintely not quite sharp. Also, watch your crops. The bit of right foot & leg adds nothing to the image.
2. COnsider croppin this one as either square or portrait aspect. Good focus here.
3. Personally not a fan of the 'disembodied head' look, but I recognize it's popular. I think for both 2 & 3 the bit of barn-board style floor visible detracts from the image. Backgrounds are just as important as foregrounds, and small details like this, can definitely detract from an otherwise strong image.
4. Nicely done.
5. Yep... those are feet.
6. IMO, the strongest of the set. In this case there's enough board visible that it becomes an element in the image and adds to, rather than detracts from it.
7. Ummm... because of the vertical appearance of the boards and the central positioning of the child, the first thought that came to my mind was, "Well, that's the most unusal door wreath I've ever seen!". I would either crop this radically or bin it.

 

[PinkPoodle]

I love 3 & 6. All of them could benefit from a slight bump in exposure, but that's my personal taste for newborn pics. 4 & 5 are a little too yellow and 2 is a little to pink. You can fix that in post but for the future, it's a whole lot easier to bounce flash off the ceiling and auto white balance in camera.

Thanks so much for your reply~ I did go back and increase the exposure on most and definitely liked it better.

 

[PinkPoodle]

Actually, these aren't bad. I'm not a baby photographer and proper baby photogs may disagree but I think you've got potential. I'll bet the mother is pleased with them, especially at the price she paid. I particularly like your basket in 6 & 7, although I find the angle in #7 a little disconcerting. I'm OK with the exposure but I agree with wyogirl on the rest of what she said, nothing there that can't be fixed in post.

Thanks SO much for your response, I really appreciate it!

 

[PinkPoodle]

Definitely not bad for your second shoot. A few points for consideration:
1. You've missed focus here. The blue fabric just below the right elbow is tack-sharp, but focus falls off away from that, and the face, while not horribly soft, is defintely not quite sharp. Also, watch your crops. The bit of right foot & leg adds nothing to the image.
2. COnsider croppin this one as either square or portrait aspect. Good focus here.
3. Personally not a fan of the 'disembodied head' look, but I recognize it's popular. I think for both 2 & 3 the bit of barn-board style floor visible detracts from the image. Backgrounds are just as important as foregrounds, and small details like this, can definitely detract from an otherwise strong image.
4. Nicely done.
5. Yep... those are feet.
6. IMO, the strongest of the set. In this case there's enough board visible that it becomes an element in the image and adds to, rather than detracts from it.
7. Ummm... because of the vertical appearance of the boards and the central positioning of the child, the first thought that came to my mind was, "Well, that's the most unusal door wreath I've ever seen!". I would either crop this radically or bin it.

Wow! I love all your feedback. Truly, I do! I went back and opened up the original file for picture 1, and I think I went a little overboard smoothing out the skin. In the original photo, the baby is definitely a lot sharper than I processed the photo. I didn't even notice that little bit of foot and leg, and will go back and re -crop that. I'm honestly not a huge fan of the "disembodied head" (haha) look as well, but this baby was very much awake and would sleep more sound when swaddled tight.

Thanks AGAIN for your feedback! Cant wait to get my hands on another newborn and hopefully have some improvement from all this help!

 

[vintagesnaps]

I don't know if you used swaddling with your own child at that age but there are baby photography videos and photos that show babies wrapped as a 'cocoon' and it often looks too tight.

Obviously on a message board you don't know me in real life but my background is as an Early Intervention Specialist. I would not use the fabric shown in videos except maybe if you use it loosely draped across like you did in #7. (I saw a video where the baby's fingers were getting caught in the fabric so I'd think about what you could use that would be pretty or cute that is meant for babies.)

You're right that swaddling can be comforting for many babies and could be used for photos, just make sure If you swaddle a baby allow for some movement and DO NOT restrict the leg movement (you may already know to do that). I'd suggest using techniques like those shown in these videos or others you may find from medical or educational websites.

How to swaddle a baby | Video | BabyCenter

Hip-Healthy Swaddling

As far as the photos, I'd watch in #1 and 4 (top corners) that you're not getting the edges or parts of things in the photos so it makes it seem cropped off. I think # 6 & 7 are lovely, it seems like there's enough head and leg room which is something to watch for with using flat baskets, etc. I'd just think about the perspective and see if a different angle might be better with the last one.

You stayed away from buckets etc. which is good - those don't seem to allow for supporting a newborn's head properly. (Glad you didn't do froggy poses either - even if adults' hand are photoshopped out that pose doesn't seem to provide appropriate head support.) Keep using techniques that are consistent with what you probably were told to do as a first time parent by medical and health professionals.

 

[Derrel]

I've stopped by this thread a couple of times, and hadn;t really felt like typing out a reply, but I've got a few moments now,so here goes. I want to focus on just a single image, photo #4. I think this shot has unappealing lighting. Why? Well, it just does not look quite "right". The light is coming from the left side, and low, angling upwardly. The baby's face appears to have been lightened up quite a bit, and the sheepskin on the other hand, is almost blowing out, from the strong sidelighting. Sidelighting shows texture very well, in fact it emphasizes texture. And the sheepskin shows texture...but the baby seems to be in shadow, not lighted very well. One arm is pretty hot, the other is totally flat. THis is not overtly horrible lighting by any stretch, but it's just not "good lighting" either...it does not look "right" to me. There's almost no shadowing, and yet the baby's arm is almost blown-out. Maybe the baby is a bit too sunken down in the throws and blankets?

On Shot #7...repose and strong,defined, multiple vertical lines creates a major contradiction. Shots 1,2,3,and 4 all would benefit from just a bit of corner darkening added...not a lot, but just a bit...the corners appear too bright.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Looks like a light source, maybe a window to the left in #4? so maybe it's a mix of existing sunlight and an artificial light source?

Maybe less of the wood showing in #7 and getting positioned to shoot from a different angle would work better to minimize having so many lines/diagonals. I'd try some test shots with just the props and see.

 

[Derrel]

Window light is my guess, based on its strong, harsh, undiffused nature, and some kind of fill source eliminating the shadows that ought to normally be present from window lighting. The closer one is to a window, the faster the light falls off across even the width of a camera's view on a baby.

 

[PinkPoodle]

Thank you for all of your feedback! I too have seen some swaddling in newborn photography that looks way too tight! I have quite a bit of experience with swaddling just from motherhood but I will take a peek at those videos you linked for more ideas on it. It's funny you mentioned baby fingers getting caught because that is what happened with the swaddle fabric I used, only it was toes and not fingers. I ended up changing the swaddle and ultimately tied it around loosely and then draped. I have other swaddles made out of different fabric not as loosely knit that work a lot better.

Thanks again for taking the time to give your observations. I appreciate it very much!

I don't know if you used swaddling with your own child at that age but there are baby photography videos and photos that show babies wrapped as a 'cocoon' and it often looks too tight.

Obviously on a message board you don't know me in real life but my background is as an Early Intervention Specialist. I would not use the fabric shown in videos except maybe if you use it loosely draped across like you did in #7. (I saw a video where the baby's fingers were getting caught in the fabric so I'd think about what you could use that would be pretty or cute that is meant for babies.)

You're right that swaddling can be comforting for many babies and could be used for photos, just make sure If you swaddle a baby allow for some movement and DO NOT restrict the leg movement (you may already know to do that). I'd suggest using techniques like those shown in these videos or others you may find from medical or educational websites.

How to swaddle a baby | Video | BabyCenter

Hip-Healthy Swaddling

As far as the photos, I'd watch in #1 and 4 (top corners) that you're not getting the edges or parts of things in the photos so it makes it seem cropped off. I think # 6 & 7 are lovely, it seems like there's enough head and leg room which is something to watch for with using flat baskets, etc. I'd just think about the perspective and see if a different angle might be better with the last one.

You stayed away from buckets etc. which is good - those don't seem to allow for supporting a newborn's head properly. (Glad you didn't do froggy poses either - even if adults' hand are photoshopped out that pose doesn't seem to provide appropriate head support.) Keep using techniques that are consistent with what you probably were told to do as a first time parent by medical and health professionals.

 

[PinkPoodle]

Thank you!! i just love reading your feedback not only on my posts but others as well. I absolutely agree with you that the lighting in #4 wasn't the best. When we did the shoot, there was a huge window that had incredible lighting but it was a little harsh. In my own home when I've done some practice shots, I will diffuse the big window with my sheer curtains but I didn't have that option on this day at their home. Perhaps I should have just shifted the basket where his little face was facing the light. I didn't have the option of even moving him back any further as we were in very limited space in a small home.

I've stopped by this thread a couple of times, and hadn;t really felt like typing out a reply, but I've got a few moments now,so here goes. I want to focus on just a single image, photo #4. I think this shot has unappealing lighting. Why? Well, it just does not look quite "right". The light is coming from the left side, and low, angling upwardly. The baby's face appears to have been lightened up quite a bit, and the sheepskin on the other hand, is almost blowing out, from the strong sidelighting. Sidelighting shows texture very well, in fact it emphasizes texture. And the sheepskin shows texture...but the baby seems to be in shadow, not lighted very well. One arm is pretty hot, the other is totally flat. THis is not overtly horrible lighting by any stretch, but it's just not "good lighting" either...it does not look "right" to me. There's almost no shadowing, and yet the baby's arm is almost blown-out. Maybe the baby is a bit too sunken down in the throws and blankets?

On Shot #7...repose and strong,defined, multiple vertical lines creates a major contradiction. Shots 1,2,3,and 4 all would benefit from just a bit of corner darkening added...not a lot, but just a bit...the corners appear too bright.

 

[PinkPoodle]

Window light is my guess, based on its strong, harsh, undiffused nature, and some kind of fill source eliminating the shadows that ought to normally be present from window lighting. The closer one is to a window, the faster the light falls off across even the width of a camera's view on a baby.

Used no fill flash or artificial lighting. Pure window lighting.

 

[tirediron]

Window light is my guess, based on its strong, harsh, undiffused nature, and some kind of fill source eliminating the shadows that ought to normally be present from window lighting. The closer one is to a window, the faster the light falls off across even the width of a camera's view on a baby.

Used no fill flash or artificial lighting. Pure window lighting.

Not all window light is 'beautiful light'. I would strongly recommend using strobed light when necessary, but also invest in a couple of yards of 60" wide white, ripstop nylon that can be gaff-taped over the window to soften & diffuse the light when necessary.