So as a gift for a friend of mine I am going to do new born baby (girl) photos.
I've never done them before and I don't have a 50mm, so I can't get the f1.8
I have two lens - 18-55 and the 55-200 Nikon D5100
I keep thinking that I should be able to make up for that in post processing.
Any tips that you may have regarding this or anything else I should know? The baby will be about 1 month old. I did see a few videos online but they all use the f1.8 - 2.8
I will try to get some with family too 12 year old sister, 7 year old brother and other big brothers (teens) plus mom & dad.
Any suggestions or tips would be helpful and very much appreciated.
I would stick with the 18-55 and work on your lighting. Do you have a flash you can bounce? I've had good luck with that. I have a lens that will do f/1.4, but this picture was done with an 18-55 using a bounce flash and a couple basic studio lights:
Th @istacy1011 the only lights I have is the built in camera and I have a little difuser I can add to the camera. I'm sure I could bring lamps with me but I don't own an umbrella - I will see if anyone else does.
You may want to try shooting in natural light then, if at all possible. Shoot by a window in the sunlight. I don't know how familiar you are with manual settings, but you could bump up your ISO a bit to help as well. Wouldn't go too high because of the graininess, but 200 or 400 should be fine.
Also, a tripod can be a huge help, especially if you have a remote shutter or a timer on your camera so there's absolutely no camera shake from pressing the shutter button. This would be good if baby is sleeping or laying very still where you could slow down your shutter speed which will also help with the lighting.
A 1 month old is a bit more challenging than a younger newborn because they are not a sleepy (to do sleeping poses) and they are not as poseable. Keeping the baby warm with a small heater or blow dryer (far away) will help.
I think using window light may work best in your situation.
Always have a spotter close to the baby...even the youngest babies can move quickly.
Try not to use fabrics or props with bright colours cause they make make a colour cast on the baby's skin making it harder to edit.
White noise (or the sound of a vacuum) may help calm the baby.
If the mom is nursing, do shots with the mom last because babies will often fuss and want to nurse when they are close to mom.
Avoid the angle where you are shooting from below the baby's chin (where you can see her nostrils). Aiming from the forehead down tends to look better.
I would not shoot wider than 55 (to not distort the baby).
Google 'baby photos' and you can see some cute poses. (If you do that here, you get too many ordinary shots, from people's daily shots.) Shoot little feet with big feet, baby in a bucket or bowl, use arms to prop up head. If the baby still seems tiny, nestled in dad's hands. Bare bottom (tastefully done of course! LOL)
Also, check with mom about when in the day baby tends to be more sleepy. As @bluebirdandtwig said, 1-month-olds are not nearly as cooperative as newborns (up to 10-14 days old), so anything you can do to help them stay asleep will be beneficial. You still probably won't be able to do too much fancy posing at that age. I will say, though, I have gotten some adorable shots of newborns staring at me with those big beautiful eyes wide open. Try shooting at an f/4.5 or so and make sure that your focus is spot-on, typically on baby's eyes. Most importantly, just have fun with it. Since this is for a friend, you'll probably have the benefit of doing a little more playing around and experimenting than with someone else :)
Find out when nap time is, and keep baby WARM! Don't worry about lots of posing, just get nice, natural pics. Get some full body, and also a lot of detail shots!
As a Mum I treasure little detail shots in a totally closet way - I moon over them in private - (little fingers and/or toes - Facial close up - sleeping eyes with the eyelashes fanned on to the cheeks
Great to get there while bubs is asleep too as there is that lovely warm softness about them when they just wake.
Ask Mum what she wants.
If Bub is fussing (and Mum is REALLY good with it) a discreetly done feeding shot is personal and precious.
Include Dad if possible.
Use the palest shade of pastel as a drop cloth or background rather than pure white unless you want to do some high key shots - I use barely pink to reduce reflective flare.
If you are using your built in flash on top of the camera then tape a tissue or cigarette rolling paper over it to diffuse it
Enjoy doing it - don't stress about it - it's a gift to them that's even more special because it's from a friend.
Just a thought - if you use your remote to trigger the shot while you are sitting chatting with the older kids you will get some far more relaxed candids than if you are behind the camera - 7 year old boys tend to grin and freeze for photos.
Check with your local specialist camera shop and they should be able to direct you to a source to hire some lights and/or lenses etc.
@istacy1011@kittikat@m9f9l@pengu1n@bluebirdandtwig
Wow these are awesome suggestions!!!
I have a wireless remote so that is a great idea. I will look into defusing the flash when I do use it but would like to try most without a flash. I have a tripod so I will take that with me. I like the idea of the pastel instead of only white background. I did plan on some high key but not everything. I am going to talk to mom about feeding shots if she wants some of them. I have more things to say but I will have to do it at another time I have to get back to work
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I think using window light may work best in your situation.
Always have a spotter close to the baby...even the youngest babies can move quickly.
Try not to use fabrics or props with bright colours cause they make make a colour cast on the baby's skin making it harder to edit.
White noise (or the sound of a vacuum) may help calm the baby.
If the mom is nursing, do shots with the mom last because babies will often fuss and want to nurse when they are close to mom.
Avoid the angle where you are shooting from below the baby's chin (where you can see her nostrils). Aiming from the forehead down tends to look better.
I would not shoot wider than 55 (to not distort the baby).
Good luck! I'll post again if I think of more :)
Great to get there while bubs is asleep too as there is that lovely warm softness about them when they just wake.
Ask Mum what she wants.
If Bub is fussing (and Mum is REALLY good with it) a discreetly done feeding shot is personal and precious.
Include Dad if possible.
Use the palest shade of pastel as a drop cloth or background rather than pure white unless you want to do some high key shots - I use barely pink to reduce reflective flare.
If you are using your built in flash on top of the camera then tape a tissue or cigarette rolling paper over it to diffuse it
Enjoy doing it - don't stress about it - it's a gift to them that's even more special because it's from a friend.
Check with your local specialist camera shop and they should be able to direct you to a source to hire some lights and/or lenses etc.
Wow these are awesome suggestions!!!
I have a wireless remote so that is a great idea. I will look into defusing the flash when I do use it but would like to try most without a flash. I have a tripod so I will take that with me. I like the idea of the pastel instead of only white background. I did plan on some high key but not everything. I am going to talk to mom about feeding shots if she wants some of them. I have more things to say but I will have to do it at another time I have to get back to work