Children's Portrait Photography Handbook

rounding fabric. This is the only way she can photograph
twins and keep them close together.
Tools and Tricks.Stacy says, “I have a set of eight mu-
sical bells with the sound range of one octave. If a baby
is awake, he or she will look towards a bell that I ring near
the camera. This will only work once or twice; once the
baby registers a new sound, they no longer need to search
for it. This is why I have all eight tones on the set. If I
change the tone, the baby again will start to look for the
new sound with wide eyes. I can usually get a newborn to
look directly into the camera with this technique.”
It’s not an old wives tale that babies really do like high-
pitched voices better than low-pitched ones. Remember
this when you are speaking to a baby.
Have a pacifier or mom’s finger at the ready. If baby
wakes up or seems to not be able to lie still, the act of
sucking a pacifier (which will need to be held in baby’s
mouth; their tongues are not yet coordinated enough to
hold it in place) or mom’s finger should calm the baby.
Electronic Flash.Some babies decide the first electronic
flash is the last flash that they will tolerate, so make sure
your first photo is a great one. It may be the only one
you get, but you only need one! For newborn sessions,
Stacy’s strobe heads are powered down to a fraction of
the power they can produce. “Newborns are not going to
move around much, so I am not as concerned with depth
of field,” she says. “If the flash burst is too loud, though,
you will likely agitate a newborn’s nervous system.” Stacy
also recommends turning down the modeling lights and
turning out the overhead lights. Stacy says, “I will even
cover a baby’s eyes with a cloth diaper until it is time to
take pictures.”
Dos and Don’ts.Never lightly stroke a baby’s back, this
agitates the nervous system. “Newborns are used to very
jerky, bouncy movements from in utero,” says Stacy.
“Light touch, especially a surprise light touch from be-
hind or when asleep, actually results in a ‘fight or flight
response.’ Instead, a firm pat on the back will calm a
baby,” she says. Stacy has also been known to hold the
baby’s bottom and gently shake it back and forth. It
mimics the baby’s sense of mom walking before the baby
was born.
Newborns have been living within a noisy environ-
ment. Making a “hushhhhhhhh” sound (holding out the
“shhhhhh”) very close to a baby’s ear usually calms the
child. The sound is similar to the ocean sounds on an en-

vironmental sound machine—and Stacy admits to own-

ing one of these for babies who respond positively to this

form of sensory input. (Note:Mom can do this, but the

sound of her voice will usually make the baby want to be

picked up.)

Six-Week-Olds are Double Trouble.Six-week-olds

are very difficult to photograph. The newborn sleepiness

has worn off and, under the conditions of a photo studio,

the child can stay awake for hours at a time. Then, they

become agitated and unable to relax. They are unable to

smile or their smile is disorganized, and their eyes will

cross frequently due to the flash. Stacy prides herself on

STACY BRATTON’S INSIGHTS 77

U-shaped baby posers, available at retail baby stores, make the baby

appear to have more head strength than he really has. Notice this

wild hat from Stacy’s collection. Who knows why babies like her

hats so much—but they do.