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Baby photo examples...


marios pittas

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I've got a 3 1/2 month at home myself and like shooting in B/W with XP2. The attached im age was shot on Emma's 3 month birthday. She was laving belly down on our bed. Only light was coming from a south facing window 5 feet away.<div>003jxA-9442484.jpg.620624e30df441629a5b2cd753c36a88.jpg</div>
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<p>Here are some examples at a little younger and a little older than 3 months

old.</p>

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<p>You didn't ask for advice, but I can't help myself :-) Try:</p>

<ul>

<li>the chromgenics (I like T400CN as much as XP2)</li>

<li>try natural light and a little fill reflector</li>

<li>try some macro-type work on feet or hands or face</li>

<li>use film for every idea you have</li>

<li>keep it fun - you can always shoot more another time</li>

</ul>

<p>Cheers - Graham.</p>

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<center><img

src="http://www.sljus.lu.se/People/Struan/pics/cuteorwhat.jpg"

width=500 height=500 alt="Magnus and Emily"></center>

 

<p>The simplest way to go beyond the grabshot look is to even

out the lighting and get rid of any distracting backgrounds. I

prefer to avoid flash, and instead use natural light from a

window, with a helper holding a white sheet or towel on the side

of the baby away from the window to bounce light back into the

shadow side of their face.</p>

 

<p>If your baby can't sit up or raise itself on its arms, find a way

of propping them up so that they are lying at a reclined angle of

30-45°. That avoids the goggle-eyed jowley look you get when

they're flat on their backs and you don't get the lolling head and

droopy spine that results if you try to prop them fully upright. You

also avoid having anyone's supporting hands in the picture; In

my case I used to a reclining baby bouncer chair, lined with a

plain white blanket.</p>

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I find one problem with baby pictures is poorly chosen backgrounds; busy bedsheets or distracting toys or other "stuff". You can take care of some of that by shooting wide open. I've found that a bounce flash is not too distracting while cleaning up shadows nicely.

 

More importantly, the same issues apply to baby pictures as to any other photograph of a person. What are you trying to say or reveal about that person? How does that person interact with others? What kinds of activities does it engage in? How does this person see the world? If you manage to communicate these feelings, your photos will be interesting.

 

Finally, for the sake of documentation I would get some photos that show the size of the child in perspective to something else. In hindsight, that always provides some interest.

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i've been there recently and i'll be there soon again.

 

to find some inspiration, why not go to contaxg.com's <a href="http://www.contaxg.com/folder.php?id=877">

baby shooting competition</a>

 

personally i've had limited success with capturing my infant with my manual rangefinder camera, perhaps because i try to shoot available light, i.e. wide open, and the DoF gets small which sucks when the baby is moving. I think an AF SLR is the way to go.

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See <a href=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1556708955/qid=1031679112/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/103-4853188-2663828">this</a> book.

<p>

Since the baby now is not terrifically mobile, now is a great time to set up little "photo sessions", where you find a big window with skylight (not direct sun) coming through, get a big white bed-sheet as a backdrop and floor covering, plop the baby down and work through a roll of film.

<p>

Work at the baby's level, not adult level.

<p>

Focus on the eyes.

<p>

Get the exposure right (measure the light, set it and forget it).<div>003kTt-9464484.JPG.485b4d3f384e9e3caaa8b45bf6214af3.JPG</div>

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<center><img

src="http://www.sljus.lu.se/People/Struan/pics/magnuscolic.jpg"

width=400 height=500 alt="Magnus with Colic"></center>

 

<p>One non-technical tip: try to photograph the bad moments as

well as the good. Your partner might threaten to surgically

implant your camera at the actual moment of shutter release, but

after a year or so the pain will subside. My wife and I get as

much pleasure looking back at the pictures of us coping with

colic, three-month bouts of gastric flu and prolonged sleep

deprivation as we do from the cuter pictures.</p>

 

<center><img

src="http://www.sljus.lu.se/People/Struan/pics/milliecarpet.jpg"

width=400 height=400 alt="Milly on the carpet"></center>

 

<p>IMHO you don't really need autofocus until they they start to

walk, and even then you can sneak up on them from time to time.

It helps if you set up their play area so that the lighting is even to

start with: that way even spur-of-the-moment grab shots like this

one look good.</p>

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Why use chromogenics? It's easier, faster and cheaper to get pleasing results if you don't have your own darkroom.

 

XP-2 and TCN400 have a nice soft tonality which is especially well suited for skin tones, while still being very sharp. You can get them developed at any 1h place in the world, although the digital minilabs (Frontier, Noritsu) give more consistently neutral prints. In addition you get a film speed of 200 to 400 which makes it easier to catch those quibbeling monsters and obviate the need for a flash and the chromogenics have a rather big exposure latitude, so you your exposre can be off and you still get very, very good results. All this in 1 hour for bottom dollars at your local drugstore (hopefully with a digital minilab).

 

With silver based B&W film, there is no standard developing or printing (with is their strength by giving you immense versatility), and commercial processing of B&W film is hence erratic at best and not cheap either. Silver based B&W films are by no way obsolete, but skin tones is one field where the chromogenics really shine.

 

If you really want to know how bad commercial B&W processing can be, just buy Kodak T-Max 100 (definitely not one of the bad B&W films) and have it developed by Kodak and printed on Kodak paper. You'll be surprised.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Not knowing what photo equipment you use; the best advise I

can give is, buy allot of film. If you're not using a throw away

camera, I would suggest buying some high speed film. Such as;

Fuji 800 asa for color and Kodak Tmax 400 or Tmax 3200 asa for

BxW. These speed films should let you take a good exposure

with whatever light situation you encounter. With a child, always

have the camera with you. You KNOW what I mean. When you

least expect it, they do the cutest things or make the cutest face.

Always be ready to capture it because you never know when they

will do it again. if you have a camera that has auto focus and

auto exposure , you'll be set with these types of film. If not, just

remember, when it comes to photographing that special look,

you can never take to many pictures. Film is cheap.

 

Good Luck,

 

Kevin Alex

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The book associated with the link of the above poster is an excellent place to start.

 

Get down to their level, get close. Don't worry about burning some film. When they're mobile it's even tougher to get a good shot. Try hands, toes, close ups on your baby's face. This site has photos abound to give you several ideas. Check out the photo uploads in the critic forum under portraits.

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