Amateur Photographer – 09 August 2019

POSING IDEAS

Cuppedhands
Shotslikethisandtheoneabove
aredonewiththebabylyingon
a blackclothandphotographed
fromabove,thoughit lookslike
the baby is suspended in the air.

Fingersandtoes

KristinausesherCanon50mm

f/2.5mmmacrolensto get

close-upshallow-depth-of-field

shotsof baby’sfingersandtoes.

This was taken at f/2.8 at ISO 640.

Details

Kristinaoftenpresentsa collage

of close-updetailshots,including

thebaby’sface,noseandears.

Sheproducesa mixtureof b&w

and colour images from the shoot.

Swaddling

Newbornsarecalmedbybeing

wrappedin a blanket,andarelikely

to gobackto sleepfairlyquickly

afterbeingremovedfromthecar

seat and clothes they arrived in.

lowsetting,whichproducesa similarsoft
light,butshetriestoavoidit.
Kristinadoesn’tneeda hugeamountof
lightanyway,sinceshealwaysshootsfairly
wideopen.‘I shootmostlyatf/2.8,’she
says.‘andnevergosmallerthanf/3.5.’
Withsucha shallowdepthoffieldfocusing
canbetrickybecausenewbornbabies’
featuresarenotsowell-defined.
Shepositionsbabywiththeheadclosest
tothewindow,atabout45°,sothelight
fallsofftowardsthefeet.‘Theeyewill
alwaysgotothebrightestpartofanimage
fi r s t Ðdon’tletthatbethebaby’sbottom.’
Animportantinvestmentis intheprops,
anddespitethesmallindustrythathas
sprunguparoundsellingpropsandfabrics
specificallyfornewbornphotography
Kristinacounselsagainstgettingcarried
away.‘Youdon’tneedtobuya lotofprops,’
shesays.‘Inthebeginningit’stempting
becauseyouthink:“IfonlyI hadthat
blanket,I’lltakeamazingpictures.”But
nowI knowit doesn’tmatterwhatblanket
youhave.If youknowhowtoposeand
photographthebaby,youwillhavean
amazingpicture.’
Kristinashootsmostlyona beanbag,
asyoucanmouldit asyouwant,butdoes
keepa goodsupplyofcloths,towelsand
blanketstoplaceunderoraroundthebaby
toraiseitshead,forinstance,andthese
maywellneedtobereplacedduring
theshoot,asaccidentscanhappen.‘My
washingmachineandtumbledryerareon
allthetime,’sheadmits.
Foranyonetemptedtogetintothis
branchofphotographyKristinastresses
theimportanceofbeingconfidentaround
newborns.‘Babiesarelikedogs– theycan
smellyourfear,’shelaughs.‘Theyneedto
behandledproperlyandheldfirmlyto
knowthattheyaresafe,andyouneedto
knowwhattodoif theybecomeunsettled.
Wheninexperiencedphotographersare
startingwithnewbornphotographyand
theytellmethata babywasbad,andcried
thewholesession,I say:“No– thereare
nobadbabies.It’sbecauseyoudidn’t
know what you were doing.”’

Theparents’hands

surroundthebaby

asit liessleeping

onthebeanbag,

makinga strong

graphic image

Kristina’sTop tips

Shootinthefirst

twoweeks

Babieslosetheirnewbornlookafterabout

twoweeksandbecomemorealert.I like to

shootwhenbabyis 7-10daysold.

Keepthestudiowarm

Babiescan’tmaintaintheirbodytemperature

andwillbenakedforsomeof thetime, so you

needtoworkin a very warm room.

Feedfirst

Thebabyneedstobeasleepfortheduration

of theshootsomakesurethat they are fed

immediatelybeforehand.

Shootinthemornings

Newbornsarea lotsleepierin thefirsthalfof

theday,soI alwaysscheduleshootsforfirst

thingin themorning,and allow lots of time

in casetheywakeup.

Workquickly

I workquickly,shootinga lotof picturesand

makingsmalladjustmentstothebaby’s pose

in between to avoid waking them.

Useabeanbag

A beanbagis theidealbackdroptorestthe

babyon,asit canbemouldedaround the

babytokeepthemsecure.

Shootdetails

Parentslovepicturesof theirnewborn’s

fingersandtoes,andclose-upsof theirface.

Softnaturallightisbest

I prefertoshootin naturaldaylightandsodo

myclients.Someparentsspecificallyaskfor

flashnottobeused.Theyworrythatflashwill

somehowharmthe baby even though that

isn’tthecase.

Beconfident

Babiesarelikedogs– theycansmellyour

fear.If youdon’thavea steadyhandthey’llbe

unsettled.Youhavetoproperlycuddlethem

sotheycansensethattheyaresafe.

Don’tbuytoomanyprops

It’stemptingtogetcarriedawaybuyingprops

andblankets,butit’stheposeandtheway

you photograph the baby that counts.

subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 3 August 2019 37