Sweet and Natural
This sweet little guy was only 5 days new... I love to capture the sweet and ever so innocent beauty of a newborn
This sweet little guy was only 5 days new... I love to capture the sweet and ever so innocent beauty of a newborn
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Aug, 2016Views
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Awards
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Contest Finalist in Beautiful Babies Photo Contest
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken during a photoshoot in my Home Newborn Photography Studio in Melbourne, VictoriaTime
The shoot occurred early afternoon however the time of day is not really a problem for me, as I use studio lighting for better control of my lighting conditions.Lighting
For Newborn babies I use continuous light with large diffuser. My lighting choices have changed over time. I use to use strobe lighting with polarizing filters for effect, however I have become a big fan of continuous light for this genre. I find my newborns are more settled once their little eye lids get use to the continuous light source. There are also many more benefits to a WYSWYG lighting system, but I think for me the biggest thing is I love how creative it allows me to become with my images. I find experimenting with creativeness is a fun way to further develop. I think photography is a journey of constant development.Equipment
I have a full newborn setup with bean bag, blanket stand, blanket bars, etc, and a whole range of props and backdrops. For this image I used a grey long pile sheepskin and an alpaca knit bonnet supplied by one of my favourite prop vendors, PropBuddy. The photograph was taken with a Nikon D810 and I used my Jinbei EF200 LED with large softball diffuser for the light source. I like to use my Sekonic light meter for precise exposure. And my goto lens for Newborn photography is the Sigma 35mm Art Series.Inspiration
I really wanted to capture a very minimalistic type shot where the focal point is undoubtedly the baby. The baby here was only 5 days old and I really wanted to capture an image that would invoke the viewer to reflect on the fetal stage this little guy has up until birth, spent most of his brand new life in. I think I achieved this well with this pose. So I guess it was the beauty of a baby developing its mother womb that inspired me for this image. The skill in utilising the sheep skin and the posing of this little guy ensured, while naked, the image is completely tasteful.Editing
I always do my post processing using Photoshop to tidy up the canvas and remove redness and imperfections from the baby's skin. I am very careful to keep these edits as natural looking as possibleIn my camera bag
My bag normally has a Nikon D810, Sekonic Lightmeter, Sigma 35mm Art Series lens, Tamron 24-70mm Zoom Lens, and a Sigma 105mm Macro Lens. I find these three images give me a huge scope of possibilities and I general have a lens that covers the majority of photography requirements.Feedback
My advice for newborn photographers is patience. Don't rush posing the subject. Under the right conditions the baby will generally hold the pose you are trying to achieve if you just patiently hold him/her in that position while he/she settles. The other most important requirement is heat. The environment needs to be heated to between 29c and 32c and I also use a heating pad so baby is laid on a warm surface ensuring they don't startle while transferring them to the beanbag. Lighting is a preference and I think both natural and artificial light photography is amazing. The artist has to just experiment and find the style that works best for them.
