Newborn/ baby photographer

[SamiJoSchwirtz]

Do you really think calling people "smart a**es" will help? And no.. it is not a simple question.....

How isn't it a simple question? it's a yes no answer.
two or three words. Simple.
And if people want to help me and explain more, than kudos to them I am grateful.

 

[SamiJoSchwirtz]

i think there is a free app for white noise that you could just have ready on your phone for the photo session. Also I read somewhere that some newborn photographers use doggie pee-pee pads under the blankets to protect their bean bags.

^^ this is what I was referring to. Unnecessary....,

 

[tirediron]

Is anyone on here experienced in this?
Is it as hard as people say?

Yes (but not me).

Which people?

...How isn't it a simple question? it's a yes no answer.
two or three words. Simple. And if people want to help me and explain more, than kudos to them I am grateful.

Really? Come on... if you're some who has raised four or five children and has 20 years of experience in family and portrait photography, it probably is simple. If not, probably not so much. This is much like saying, "Is building a house hard?". If you know how, no. If you don't then yes. It is NOT a simple question, in fact, I would say it's not even a reasonable question.

i think there is a free app for white noise that you could just have ready on your phone for the photo session. Also I read somewhere that some newborn photographers use doggie pee-pee pads under the blankets to protect their bean bags.

^^ this is what I was referring to. Unnecessary....,

How is this unnecessary???? This is excellent advice. A good way to [potenially] keep the child quieter and calmer, and a good way to protect your expensive gear. I don't know if you've priced some of those posing blocks and bean-bags used in infant photography, but I wouldn't want to be throwing them out every time some child urinated on them.

 

[SamiJoSchwirtz]

a lot of people tell me to not start because its hard and takes several hours...

But I can't help not wanting too!

 

[frommrstomommy]

i think there is a free app for white noise that you could just have ready on your phone for the photo session. Also I read somewhere that some newborn photographers use doggie pee-pee pads under the blankets to protect their bean bags.

^^ this is what I was referring to. Unnecessary....,

I don't see how this is unnecessary advice AT ALL? maybe you are not understanding what she is telling you.. that's the only thing I can think.

 

[SamiJoSchwirtz]

I guess I did read it wrong... I thought she was saying something about using my phone for the shoot. but i re read it. I'm sorry.

 

[SamiJoSchwirtz]

I feel ridiculously stupid right now. Sorry!

 

[cgipson1]

Do you really think calling people "smart a**es" will help? And no.. it is not a simple question.....

How isn't it a simple question? it's a yes no answer.
two or three words. Simple.
And if people want to help me and explain more, than kudos to them I am grateful.

I will explain why it is not a SIMPLE QUESTION... (and I will use small words!)

Your question (s) were :

#1 Is anyone on here experienced in this?

There is a whole host of people on here who shoot Newborn and Baby... some are good, most are so-so... some are bad.

#2 Is it as hard as people say? (all of the "YOU's" used below are figurative.. and do not necessarily mean YOU in particular, OK?)

What people said that? We have no context!

It depends on a whole lot of different things. Some Babies... EASY! Some Babies... HARD! And some are damn near impossible.

Sometimes it is not the baby! Some Parents... EASY... and some are such a Pain in the A$$ that you want to choke them and their kid.

Also... if you have a lot of experience... it can be much EASIER.

If you are one of the crop of new people (wanna be pro's) that have had a camera for less than a year... and think you are ready to go pro, IT IS NOT GOING TO BE EASY, IT WILL BE VERY HARD!

ESPECIALLY if you have a low end, entry level camera with poor High ISO performance (High ISO performance is needed because most of the so called new pros only know how to use natural "ambient" light (and not even that WELL!).

If you don't know how to use flash... you are going to be severely limited when you can shoot... and that makes it HARD.

If you are too broke to buy decent lighting gear... because you spent it all on Your REBEL with the KIT LENS, it is going to be HARD. (and don't even consider that Constant Light nonsense... waste of time!)

To summarize:

Lots of experience and decent gear... Much Easier!

Rookie with low end gear... Much Harder!

Does that help?

 

[SamiJoSchwirtz]

Sometimes it is not the baby! Some Parents... EASY... and some are such a Pain in the A$$ that you want to choke them and their kid.


Haha! Choke them and their kid.
Yes you helped a lot.
&yes Ido have lighting.

 

[frey]

Well this was a good first thread to pick on. My wife specialised in baby photography and its no walk in the park.

 

[gsgary]

The photog I hired for my son's newborn shots was here 5 hours and we barely got any pictures. lol He was just not cooperative in the least and peed on like 3 of her blankets. ;\ I'm sure its not always this way, but it can be rough.

he must have been crap 5 hours and no shots

 

[rachelrach11]

I had my first newborn experience this year. I don t label myself as a "Pro" but i do agree that it takes a good bit of preparation.

In my opinion, newborn photography is in a class of its own and requires a lot of patience. The space heater, pee pads and sound machine worked wonders for me as well.

 

[jowensphoto]

a lot of people tell me to not start because its hard and takes several hours...

But I can't help not wanting too!

Most every shoot I do is "hard" to some extent and usually takes several hours.

The puppy pads were actually a great tip, I'll need to remember that one. Easier to hide than big bulky diapers!

 

[frommrstomommy]

The photog I hired for my son's newborn shots was here 5 hours and we barely got any pictures. lol He was just not cooperative in the least and peed on like 3 of her blankets. ;\ I'm sure its not always this way, but it can be rough.

he must have been crap 5 hours and no shots

was a she and though of course opinions on photographer's talent are personal opinion, she did really well on our maternity photos so I definitely think it was our son. lol we ended up with 25 photos, not counting some b/w versions on about half the images. she also came back a month later and took some family shots for us since the newborn shoot was so disastrous.

some of my favs:

its not easy to photograph a newborn who wont sleep and cries half the time even with a space heater on him lol

and a few from our maternity shoot with her:

 

[cgipson1]

The photog I hired for my son's newborn shots was here 5 hours and we barely got any pictures. lol He was just not cooperative in the least and peed on like 3 of her blankets. ;\ I'm sure its not always this way, but it can be rough.

he must have been crap 5 hours and no shots

was a she and though of course opinions on photographer's talent are personal opinion, she did really well on our maternity photos so I definitely think it was our son. lol we ended up with 25 photos, not counting some b/w versions on about half the images. she also came back a month later and took some family shots for us since the newborn shoot was so disastrous.

some of my favs:

its not easy to photograph a newborn who wont sleep and cries half the time even with a space heater on him lol


and a few from our maternity shoot with her:

Sorry, but I would have to agree with Gary!

Wonderful subjects... but to be honest, technically... those photos are terrible. They are not well done! It does not surprise me that she was unable to get really good shots of your newborn. As I said... the subjects are great, but the photos do not do them justice! You seriously need to find another photographer! Not trying to be rude... just telling you what I see! It is probably only because this is a really touchy subject that no one else has commented.

Even the processing is terrible.... here is a quick edit on one of them...

mine ................................................................................................... original


The original you posted is so bright that there is lost detail in the faces....