Photographing a young baby

[ricardojmendez]

Hi,

 

Next week I'm going to be photographing a friend and his 3-4 week old

baby. Since he's extremely young, I think I'd rather not use a flash

and concentrate on window light. Any other suggestions you want to

make are welcome.

 

Thanks in advance,

[lacey_smith4]

babies that age tend to lump up -- that is, if held in arms, they collapse in a little ball with a head half-submerged in an ill-defined bundle, no chin, et.. Same with the usual awful scrunched up baby-in-a walker/stroller/car seat shot. Sometimes that works for the face alone, but a better approach is to be aware of that lumping, and try to lengthen them up -- say, supported against an arm, rather than straight vertical, or whatever. Also, they are still skin-blotchy, with cheeks that may break out after only a little crying, so, of course, try for a contented, post feed time. You may get a little smile/giggle, particualrly if the mom goo-gooes at him/her, but facial expressions are almost pure happenstance at this age, so be ready.

[hkbmac]

Lacey is correct. Get up close and use window light. The attached shot was all window light, way close with a semi wide angle lens. A little distorted, but we like the way it looks. Babies are much easier to photograph at about 3-5 months, when they are able to hold their heads up better.

[joe heiliger houston, tx]

I always try to capture their innocence... This is outside in the grass at 4wks. old.<div></div>

[joe heiliger houston, tx]

Here's another one...<div></div>

[twmeyer]

I've had no problem with strobe and the few babies I've photographed. This on was in my old micro studio, and there were three heads going for about 5 rolls of 6x6cm 120. Babies don't hold a pose for very long... in fact they only hold a pose if they're asleep, and then they <i>do</i> slump. God knows, Anne Geddes has had plenty of success with "slumping" babies. I say use strobe... t

[patricks]

Available light from window is a good advice. I see you shoot Canon, perhaps a 105/2.8 USM Macro would be nice for really tight shots since 3-4 weeks old tend to be very small (the 105 gives you a bit of a working distance as you very well know).

 

Sometimes a soft filter can be nice - sharpness is not necessarily the thing you are aiming for. A dark or grey background is also nice for black & whites.

 

My newest son is about 12 days old so I'm prepping to shot similar stuff very soon.

 

Cheers,

[struan_gray]

<p>My son from an early age used to chuckle every time the

flash went off, so much so I sometimes popped it by hand even

when taking a photo in available light, just to get a smile. I

tended to aim for a more flattering even light than go for dramatic

chiaroscuro, and tended to mix daylight and flash as necessary.

These days, I'm grateful if they're still in the frame by the time I've

raised the camera to my eye.</p>

 

<img

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

width=400 height=400 alt="Emily high Key">

 

<img

src="http://www.sljus.lu.se/People/Struan/pics/magnussnooze.jp

g" width=400 height=400 alt="Magnus Snoozes">

 

<p>I agree the slumped look is unflattering, but babies can look

a bit odd when flat on their backs or fronts too. Some of my

favourite 'formal' shots were taken with them inclined with their

heads about 30° up from the horizontal. Either a baby recliner or

a large board with cushions on worked well. If you shoot angled

down at the same angle, you get a head-on look that works

nicely.</p>

 

<p>Sleeping pics can be just as cute as awake ones, and have

the advantage that you actually get time to adjust all those macro

doodads and fill the frame.</p>

[david_parmet1]

three words... after nap time.

 

here are my twin daughters at six months. it took me that long to get one

image of them both smiling at the same time....

[ptucci]

We have a 12" x 24" sponge that is scooped out in the shape of a baby on one side so that the baby can be safely bathed. I covered this with a navy sheet, put foam core to the left and right of the baby, and mounted a flash on a tripod, bounced off the right card.

 

He was comfortable, so he smiled.<div></div>

[james weber studio]

My little nephew Zachary. My advice, just keep shooting. Their expressions change very fast. On the day I shot this, he had his first taste of Banana baby food. I wish I had my camera ready then. It was priceless. :)<div></div>