Amateur Photographer – 09 August 2019

Technique NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHY

‘Istartwiththelegsout,thenI tuck
themintoa morefoetalposition,’
sheexplains.‘FromhereI havea few
variationsinthepropsandposesI use.I
don’tdoeveryposewitheverybaby– but
dependingonwhichwayI’mgoingI may
pickthebabyupandusea basketorother
prop,orI’lljuststicktothebeanbag.I ask
theparentsif theyhaveanycuddlytoys
they’dliketobringtotheshoot,butI also
havequitea bigcollectionofbunnies.’
Whilethemainfocusoftheshootis the
babyshealsolikestoinvolvetheparents.
‘UsuallyI askthemtorelaxformostofthe
shootbutI maycallthemovertoborrow
theirhandstouseasprops.’Oneofher
mostpopularshotsis withbabycurledup
onthebeanbagwiththeparents’hands
cuppedaroundit asthoughthebabyis
suspendedintheair.‘It’sa shottheyseeon
mywebsiteandoftenrequest,butthey
don’tevenrealiseI’vedoneit,’shelaughs.
‘They’llask:“Canwedothatshotholding
babyup?”andI’llsayI alreadydidit,and
thentheylookconfusedtillI showthem
thepictureonthescreen.Ofcoursebaby’s
safetyis paramount– it wouldn’tbesafeto
holdthebabyupintheairlikethat,soI do
it onthebeanbag,butthepicturecreates
theillusionofthat.’
Kristinastressesthateverybabydiffers,
andphotographersshouldn’tadopta
one-size-fits-allapproachtoposes.‘Some
babiesfallintoa particularposeeasilyand
somewillnot.Alsotwobabiesinthesame
posecanlookverydifferent.I alwaystell
mystudentsthatif thebabyis fightingit,
orit doesn’tlookright,trysomethingelse.’
AtsomepointKristinawillswitchtoher
macro lens and shoot some close-up detail

shots,suchasthebaby’sfingersandtoes.

Mostoftheimagesoftheparentsholding

thebabyaredoneattheend,asit doesn’t

mattersomuchif thebaby is awake.

Kitandlighting

Theshoppinglistofrequiredkitfor

newbornphotographyis verysmall.

Kristinashootseverythingusingjusta

standard50mmprimelens,anda macro

lensfortheclose-ups,andprobably90%

ofhershootsarelitentirelybynatural

daylight.Sheis luckyinthatherstudio

is blessedwithlargewindows,whichshe

diffusesusingsheercurtains.Onverydark

daysshemayresorttousinghergiant

1.5-metre wide Octobox softbox on a very Kristina adjusting the baby’s pose on the beanbag

Kristinakeepsa

goodselectionof

bunniestouseas

props in her shoots

Youneeda healthy

supplyofsheetsandblankets

for newborn shoots