My 3.5 Week Old Baby Boy...

[Kady]

This is my son, Liam. He is 3.5 weeks old and my very first baby. I took a lot of pictures in this little session and I got TWO that I liked. The rest I didn't. And the belly pic here is a little annoying because of the angle, but my family seems to like it. They say I'm too picky confused, so I decided to join TPF and be around people who take pictures and care about the composition of photographs, too!

Would love some constructive criticism and ways that I can improve. I don't share my pictures often and really want to know what other photographers think, versus family and friends!

 

[Kady]

No constructive criticism? I'd appreciate any advice you have.

 

[BrickHouse]

No constructive criticism? I'd appreciate any advice you have.

A lot of us only look at the "new posts" section of the forum and see things as they pass. If you post something late at night, it may move off the front page quickly and not garner as much traffic as it would otherwise.

As for the critique: you have a beautiful son. The framing feels just ever so tight.

 

[Kady]

You know what, you're right! I didn't even notice how close I had cropped. Thank you for pointing that out.
Bumping the picture the next day should put it at the top again right? Or does it have to actually be new to appear there?

 

[BrickHouse]

Correct, merely making a comment will bump it back to the top!

 

[wyogirl]

I will add that I think his skin is a little too magenta and you might be able to fix that in photoshop or lightroom. Also the second photo looks a tad under exposed. Cute kid though! I'm at work now but I can take a crack at the pics once I get home.

 

[Kady]

I did up the exposure on the right one a bit before posting. I'll definitely look further into the magenta tint in Lightroom. Thanks!

 

[vintagesnaps]

I agree, and next time think about how you might be able to change your vantage point a little to get pictures from a slightly different angle (so your view of him is a little different). Nice getting those bright little open eyes!

I would recommend (and this is my background in early intervention with birth to three talking) that you continue to use positioning that you've learned as a first time parent are appropriate ways to position a newborn. I've seen poses shown for baby photography that aren't necessarily ways that a newborn infant would be positioned, so I'd trust your instincts more than some of what you might see out there online.

Since you'll have plenty of opportunities to take pictures you'll probably be able to catch him at times when he's awake and not fussy or needing to be fed etc. - if you can watch him thru your viewfinder or viewscreen you might see and be able to capture a moment here and there throughout your day that would make for a good picture.

 

[wyogirl]

I played with the white balance a little:

And I bumped overall exposure, bumped shadows and bumped contrast just a hair.

 

[Kady]

I agree, and next time think about how you might be able to change your vantage point a little to get pictures from a slightly different angle (so your view of him is a little different). Nice getting those bright little open eyes!

I would recommend (and this is my background in early intervention with birth to three talking) that you continue to use positioning that you've learned as a first time parent are appropriate ways to position a newborn. I've seen poses shown for baby photography that aren't necessarily ways that a newborn infant would be positioned, so I'd trust your instincts more than some of what you might see out there online.

Since you'll have plenty of opportunities to take pictures you'll probably be able to catch him at times when he's awake and not fussy or needing to be fed etc. - if you can watch him thru your viewfinder or viewscreen you might see and be able to capture a moment here and there throughout your day that would make for a good picture.

I agree with you on the natural positioning of the baby. I don't even personally like the weird positions they put newborns in. Knowing my little guy, I would think the babies would be quite uncomfortable or awkward in those positions. I'm not a professional, though, so I could be mistaken. I'd rather just set up a little place and lay my little one there and take pictures. I also took a bunch of pictures from many angles. I just didn't like any of them, unfortunately. :/

 

[Kady]

I played with the white balance a little:
View attachment 73321
And I bumped overall exposure, bumped shadows and bumped contrast just a hair.

I don't know if it's just me, but when I click on the picture of your edit, it looks super over-exposed and out of focus. Anybody else having this issue? I can't seem to make it pull up nicely. Maybe it uploaded smaller or something?