Practical Photography - UK (2020-04)

WhenI’mphotographing

a fa milyat home,I’ll look

ar oundthehouse,keepingan eye

out for attractive lighting, and

ar eas that will give a sense of

th e family’s personality and style

wi thout being too cluttered or

di stracting. I find the parents’bed

is a great spot for photographing

ev eryone together, and for

toddlers to jump around and

let loose. It also works well for

photographing newborns and

babies, as it means you can get

down to the baby’s eye level. For

newborns, I love Moses baskets

as they really give a sense of howtinythebabyis, andtheycreatea

gr eat framing device. Of course,thebestlocationforphotographing

newborns is in their parents’ arms.Outdoors,I lookforopenareas

wi thout too many passers-by – andprettyflowersandfo

add colour to the photograph.

PRACTICALPHOTOGRAPHY.COM 37

25 Portrait Tips

MEET LOUISE

DOWNHAM

Louise Downham is a

London-based family and

newborn photographer

known for her natural and

relaxed style. Her work

has been published in

The Observer, Vogue

and Tatler and she runs

workshops for patients at

hospitals and hospices.

louiserosephotography.

com

CREATEA SETOF PERSONALISEDPRESETS

I try to get a shot right in camera

as much as possible – not only

because you can’t beat the colours of

a correctly exposed photograph, but

also because getting the exposure right

at capture saves hours of editing later.

I edit in Lightroom, and over the years

have developed my own presets based

on the settings I found myself using

again and again. I apply these presets

initially to the full set of images, and then

adjust settings for each photograph from

there. If an image needs serious surgery

• like removing a stray hair – I export the
  edited shot to Photoshop and do the
  repair work there.

#4Editing

RightCud

put a youn

easewhile

#3 Personality

SET THE STAGE

FOR A FUN SHOOT