lorilafs Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 i applied for a job as a newborn photog. in a local hospital. any good advice about poses, timing, lighting you have will be much appreciated. this could be the start of something good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pamela_follett Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 If you're working for one of those big companies, you don't have to worry about it. They'll give you a specific setting to use on your camera, a pose (in-hospital its usually very mug-shot straight down at the baby), and the lighting. I know a few people who did it for one of the big companies, and it was very point-and-shoot; what the company REALLY wants you to do is convince the parents to BUY the pictures - you're honestly more of a sales person than a photographer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorilafs Posted August 23, 2008 Author Share Posted August 23, 2008 thanks, pam, that does answer a couple of my questions and I appreciate your response. It does help me a little. But, this company is a little more creative with it's photos, and I'm still looking for some ideas/help as to the best ways to creatively shoot newborns. I've seen some beautiful images on PN and would like to hear from some of the people who work with babies a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthew_newton Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Talk with the mother/parents. They might have ideas of the kind of shots they want. A lot also depends on what the baby is willing to do. My 7 month old is sometimes like herding cats to get him to do what I or my wife would like for a picture as it is. He deffinitely didn't want to cooperate when he was a new born. Try for pictures of the mother with the baby or the baby on the mother. At that early age they will sometimes respond to the sound of their parents' voices, generally more the mother then the father's voice. You could go with a picture of the baby being held by either parent or the baby in their arms in a rocking chair.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthew_newton Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 To further expand upon things, if you have options on equipment I would go with a high speed lens, probably the sigma 30mm f/1.4 if you are using a reduce frame slr might be a good choice or a 50mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 lens. For lighting I would either go natural lighting (the rooms are bright enough to manage handheld at iso400 or iso800 with a fast lens) or use a flash bounced straight off the ceiling with a bounce card to put some of that light head on to reduce shadows. An omnibounce or something similar on the flash head would probably work decently as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mg Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Perhaps it's time to remind some of you that flashing straight in the baby's open eyes can cause damage to his eyes. All else matters a lot less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthew_newton Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 Marc, very true. I didn't use flash at all for the first few months. Bounce flash will keep the amount of light down some. The catch lights in the above picture are actually the ceiling florescent lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_shearman1 Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 Marc/Matthews, please don't keep spreading this old wives' tale. My wife is a board-certified pediatrician and I raised this question with her almost 13 years ago when our son was born. There is no more harm to using flash with a newborn than with anyone else. I'm not saying hold the strobe up against the kid's eye and pop the flash test button. That wouldn't feel very good to you or me either. And you probably do want to bounce the flash for the sake of better quality lighting. But you're not going to blind the kid by using a flash under normal conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilzesgimene Posted August 28, 2008 Share Posted August 28, 2008 damage or not... babys eyes are very sensitive.. no wonder for first few days...even weeks baby hardly has eyes wide open... as i draw from my personal hospital expirience.... I wasnt impressed much ... it was very much a point and shoot in a bassinet covered w/ tissue paper... blue in my sons case.(8 years ago).. camera was propped paralel to the bassinet.... i'm not quite what you men more creative... maybe you could put a link to componies website to see some samples... then we can better see how flexable they are.... are there backgrounds you'll have with you... hospital setting is not exactly what i would pick... you would probably go for a closeup....to avoid hospital presence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phule Posted August 28, 2008 Share Posted August 28, 2008 [[damage or not... babys eyes are very sensitive.. no wonder for first few days...even weeks baby hardly has eyes wide open... as i draw from my personal hospital expirience....]] You are taking a physical attribute and drawing a completely illogical conclusion. Flash does not damage the eye of a newborn nor does it harm them in any way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorilafs Posted August 28, 2008 Author Share Posted August 28, 2008 Thanks very much to all of you for all your input and advice. I'll be sure to keep it all in mind if I get the job. Heck--I'll keep it in mind anyway! I've done a bit more research, and it looks like Pamela is right on the money--it's more of a sales job than photography. The parents can take their own pix w/the company's cameras and I'd have to convince them to buy the big packages. Or they can let me take the pix and then I'd have to convince them to buy the biggest packages! Might be good experience--I've not worked w/any babies yet--but my strong point is not sales, so I don't hold out too much hope, altho I'd like to give it a try. About babies' eyes--babies are really not as fragile as we believe them to be. They're pretty tough lil characters...look what they go thru just to get here! A direct flash would be too harsh as a light source regardless of how sensitive their eyes are or are not, but I'd get a shiny face and tight shut eyes--right? So why bother? Personally, I think they could handle it. Just my 2 cents worth, folks! Thanks, again, Lori Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorilafs Posted August 28, 2008 Author Share Posted August 28, 2008 PS: Matthew, I love that picture! The baby is absolutely adorable! Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcia_huebner Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 I have taken creative shots in the hospital and I suggest using a 1.8 prime such as a 50mm. Set a custom white balance and don't use flash. Hospital lighting normally has individual switches, so I use them as I would studio lighting: turn on whichever one highlights the baby, set your custom white balance for the set up, turn your lens to 1.8 or close. You will have wonderful pictures that highlight the baby and pop. See for an example. Also for better lighting on the baby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carol_milligan1 Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 I just thought I would contribute here a little. I am a newborn baby photographer for a new and upcomming company. We actually have a good percentage of IL hospitals now. I think we have close to 80%. Heres a link bellababyphotography.com Check them out, Very cool company and my boss is wonderful (I promise im not just saying that) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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