Newborn pictures for CC

[stephras07]

I guess techinically they aren't newborn pictures, since he was 2 months at the time of the pictures, but... Let me know what you think. This was my first time taking baby pictures (other than shots of my own kids etc), and also my first time using some studio lights (would especially love tips on light placement etc).

1.

2.

3.

 

[wlbphoto]

tips on lighting : search youtube (tips on photography lighting).. as for the photos. the 3rd one i like the more

 

[stephras07]

Thanks

The third is my personal favorite from the shoot as well. It looks good in the regular color, but I really liked the soft almost vintage, faded look.

 

[wlbphoto]

yea... did the baby cry at all?

 

[naomita]

Yes, the third one I like the most..but adding a little blur to skin won't be useless I presume..

 

[wlbphoto]

wait u lost me...=/

 

[JasonLambert]

These are all rather flat and boring. You may want to do some research on posing babies, flickr has some great groups to get inspiration from. The lighting in the firs one is flat and your shutter speed was way to slow. The motion in the hands doesn't help the image. You missed the focus on the eyes in all but possibly the 3rd image. First on looks like you got the neck and ears in focus the second looks like the nipple is in focus and the third... Looks like the lip is in better focus than the eye.

To help get your subject in focus a little better you should close your aperture a bit. The second shot could have been done at f8 and you would have had everything in focus. Move your background a little further away to give it that separation.

I should be in bed... Good luck!

~Jason

 

[stephras07]

At first he did a little, he was just getting ready to go to sleep and we were trying to get pictures without his pacifier lol.

Naomita - you lost me too??

 

[stephras07]

I was having problems with getting the lighting right - I had closed the aperture down but it made them too dark. I was really trying to avoid using the flash because I didnt want to wake him up.

What do you mean by flat? I know I need to work on posing a lot, so thanks for the idea of where to go - I've been relying on google images for most of my ideas, but there are so many of the same shots over and over.

Focus wise... that will all be better in a few months when I get new contacts. My eyes change when I'm pregnant, but being 81/2 months now I'm not going to go get new contacts lol. Its really hard to focus even on everyday things for me right now, so I was kind of over-relying on the autofocus. They would probably be even more blurry if I had used mf lol.

 

[gsgary]

These are all very soft due to not having enough light and having to use a low shutter speed, going by your settings you must be using continuos lighting it needs to be much closer and well difused, for good continuos lighting you have to spend a lot of money

 

[Robin Usagani]

These are all very soft due to not having enough light and having to use a low shutter speed, going by your settings you must be using continuos lighting it needs to be much closer and well difused, for good continuos lighting you have to spend a lot of money

Gary, last I checked the sun light is FREE! :greenpbl:

 

[misstwinklytoes]

The baby's face is mostly covered in #3. Two would be the best of the set, I think. You've got motion blur in #1, probably because of slow shutter speed. Also, the baby is a different color in each of the photos. It'd be hard to put them in an album together. Not bad for a first time.

 

[ababysean]

Newborns are super hard but guess what age is harder?? anything older then about 10 days until they can sit up on their own. For REALZ! lol
At 2 months they are not a newborn, they are awake for things such as this.

These photos I believe are all underexposed. I use studio flash and it does not bother the babies at all.

Can you explain a little of your set up?

There are really great resources out there for newborn photos, but it takes a LOT of practice.

 

[misstwinklytoes]

I was just about to come back and add that a 2 month old is NOT a newborn and can't really be posed as such. They're much more active and awake... and bigger! Try looking for pictures of other 2 month olds.

 

[ababysean]

Here are a few 2 monthish babies I've shot...
They are my least favorite age and I almost decline when someone asks... They can't hold their head up themselves, they wont sleep, like you see in newborn photos...
You need a good firm bean bag, just buy a cheapie and fill it with extra towels and blankets or shake all the stuffing from one side and tie it.

None of these are what I would say any good, but just a starting point. I stalk (haha) several newborn photographers, follow their blog, it is really something I enjoy doing, I enjoy the challenge.