Newborn photo questions and C&C

ulrichsd · Jul 29, 2011

Hi everyone,

My daughter just turned 3 months and a couple of photos so far. I promise not to take any photography critique personally, but I'd love to see if anyone has suggestions, advice, tips, etc... (especially regarding composition, exposure, lighting and background)

#1 50mm f/4 1/80 ISO 200 aperture priority mode (on camera flash bounced, exposure bias -3... I'm using a manual flash, so I turn that up to about half power and then adjust the exposure compensation down 2 to 3 stops, until the exposure looks ok)

#2 35mm f/2.8 1/60 ISO 200 aperture priority mode (exposure bias -2, off camera flash left of camera, bounced)

I've never used a reflector, so maybe that would be helpful? She has bright blue eyes, so I'd love to be able to bring those out more...

Is bouncing a flash the way to go?

Thanks!
Scott

Robin Usagani · Jul 29, 2011

I think using your flash in manual defeats the purpose of consistency when you use aperture priority. Might as well use TTL. I personally would use manual with TTL when you bounce.

kundalini · Jul 29, 2011

Hey Scott, first off.... I don't shoot babies and don't really want to. My kids are grown men now. But, I did see this video recently and you may find it helpful in posng your infant. Cheers.

Using Baby Posers « Lastolite School of Photography

ulrichsd · Jul 30, 2011

Hi Schwetty, I would use TTL if it were a TTL flash, but its not, so I can't

Instead, I just turn the flash up around half way and adjust exposure bias. If I were in manual mode, I'd just adjust the settings to about what looks right.

Hi Kundalini, I have no interest in taking baby pictures other my own baby, but I figure I can try to improve before they aren't baby photos any more! Thanks for the video, my wife has a maternity pillow that looks a lot like the baby poser in the video, I can try that. And maybe try to experiment with different fabric backdrops.

Thanks guys!
Scott

Robin Usagani · Jul 30, 2011

Hahaha.. OK.. now it is making sense

. When I shoot babies I like more seperation from the background and shoot wide open. Invest on a flash with TTL man. It is very important to have one that can do it for sure.

ulrichsd · Jul 30, 2011

Schwettylens said:
Hahaha.. OK.. now it is making sense . When I shoot babies I like more seperation from the background and shoot wide open. Invest on a flash with TTL man. It is very important to have one that can do it for sure.

I'll have to start saving for an SB-600! I agree with the background, right now I just use the bed, maybe I'll have to set up in the basement to get some more working room.

WesternGuy · Jul 30, 2011

You might be interested in a recently published book on the subject - yes I know there are probably hundreds of them - but I have seen a few reviews of this one and they are all very favourable...

Amazon.com: Mamarazzi: Every Mom's Guide to Photographing Kids (9780470769102): Stacy Wasmuth: Books

HTH.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

adrianakyan · Jul 31, 2011

your SS is low for babies try SS 1/125 . I would use my cam. on full " M" not sure about "P" mode

WinkWink · Jul 31, 2011

kundalini said:
Using Baby Posers « Lastolite School of Photography

This was a GREAT little vid!
Thanks for the link; I'm actually going to use some of these pointers in an upcoming (and my first, ever) digital shoot of a friend's baby!

Thanks-a-Million!

MWC2 · Jul 31, 2011

she's a cutie!

She's holding her head up on her own now, right?

* Try taking some pictures of her laying on her belly, say her name and she'll lift her head to look at you, great photo, even better if she is wearing just a diaper and a cute diaper cover.

* Lay her on her side and let her suck on her hand, nice close up of her face with her hand in her mouth, super cute!

I'll think of a couple more for you, I'm drawing a blank. My herd is wanting to eat and get in the pool.

elifant · Jul 31, 2011

We had a photographer come in and do my daughers 3 month shots. My favorites where when she was laying on a boppy draped in fabric. It helped her not to be laying flat, and we got some of her holding her head up when she was belly down on it. Also take some shots of your wife holding the baby, but just focusing on the baby. We had some great shots of her looking over our shoulders. And ones where she was in focus, and we were in the back ground blurred.

ulrichsd · Jul 31, 2011

Hi Westernguy, thanks for the book suggestion.

Hi Adriankayan, makes sense. I was shooting some up at 250 and was having some slight shutter sync issues, so I probably overcompensated. 125 sounds good and adjust the flash to that instead of the other way around as I've been doing. Now that I'm getting some of the settings down, I'll start trying manual mode.

Hi MWC2, thanks for the posing suggestions! And yes, she is holding her head up. I've been doing a month anniversary picture, but I definitely need to do some different poses and some nice clothing setups. I've tried different camera angles, but the lower I get, the better they seem to turn out. But definitely will try the poses and check the web for some ideas.

Hi Elifant, thanks for the ideas. The boppy would be good to use, I don't know why I didn't think of it!

And I like the idea of getting some different types of photos of my wife with the baby, as opposed to the regular snapshots...

Thanks again everyone!
Scott