Natural lighting for a newborn shoot.

[rammgeist]

Tomorrow I'll be shooting my 4 day old nephew, this is my first real newborn shoot. I did take a few pictures of my niece when she was newborn but it wasn't a set up shoot.

I really want to use natural light, my sister has a huge window in her living room that's perfect but the weather lately has been very gloomy. Would it be ok to shoot with dull light coming through the windows or should I wait for a sunny day? I would prefer not to use flash on him, I don't want to startle him at all.

 

[Derrel]

Well, elevate the ISO and shoot with a light-colored blanket or some bedsheets spread out in the area to help reflect as much of that gloomy December light as possible. The baby will only be newly born for a while, so best not waste time waiting for perfect weather.

 

[KmH]

Flash won't startle a newborn, nor harm a newborn in any way.

Yes, a sunny would likely be better, but which direction does the window face?

Do you have any reflectors?

 

[rammgeist]

It faces south west. I don't have any reflectors unfortunately.

 

[Designer]

It faces south west. I don't have any reflectors unfortunately.

Have mom hold a white sheet or blanket.

If flash, then bounce your flash off the sheet.

Otherwise, the sheet will reflect quite a lot of skylight, even on an overcast day.

Artists love the light at a north-facing window.

 

[JoeW]

Yes, you can use a scrim or some other sort of fabric to soften the impact of a speed light. Also just pick up a big piece of foam core (white) to use as a reflector. Get it close to the newborn. it will provide a soft light and remove the harsh edge of shadows.

 

[KmH]

So. How did it go?

Yep. Some inexpensive 20 x 30 foam board with a white surface that you can pick up at an office supple store or Walmart type store will suffice as a reflector.

The reason light from a north facing wind is preferred is because the light from that direction is more constant through out the day when compared to a south-west facing window.

Being very nearly winter in the northern hemisphere, the Sun is lower in the southern part of the sky, which will make the light from a south-west facing window change a lot during the course of a day.