Baby photography....first time

[MindyRaeL]

Beanbag chairs work perfectly because you can create a little divot in the center, where baby can sit cozy and secure. The beanbag chairs are malleable, and you can contour it anyway you need to position the baby. Pillows are too fluffy - baby doesn't sink into it and they end up just rolling off.

As for the vacuum bag, well, +1 for ingenuity. I don't know much about vacuum bags (seriously, I thought they were all bagless nowadays?), but from what I recall, aren't they usually pretty small? And made out of thin paper or plastic that might tear? If you think it will work, more power to you. But if you're going to be working with babies a lot, it's really really worth the $20 for a real beanbag chair. Especially if this is a paid shoot.

As for the scarves, I've never tried them, but I imagine they would work okay to wrap the baby up, albeit probably a little long. It depends on the type of scarf. Thinner ones would probably work best. Thick wooly scarves will probably get pretty thick as you're wrapping it around baby, and you may end up with something that resembles Ralphie from a Christmas Story and not a sweet delicate little baby. Seriously, the average may be 14cm, but my son's was 22cm the day he was born and my nephew's was 12cm. Try looking on Etsy. I've found a lot of props there designed specifically as newborn props, and they are all size adjustable. Adjustable will be your best friend.

As for heating the space, I usually use a portable space heater. Just don't put it too close to baby. Instead of (or in addition to) the space heater, you can use a heating pad. Place the heating pad on your beanbag (vacuum bag) prior to baby arriving, and it will warm the surface. Just be sure to remove the pad before you put baby on the beanbag. And if you don't have/want a heating pad, you can place a thick towel in the clothes dryer for 20-30 minutes on high heat, them place it on the beanbag and throw a blanket over it. You don't have to remove the towel prior to placing baby as you would a heating pad.

As for sizes of newborns, supposedly the average head circumference is 14cm. Again, if you're going to be doing this a lot, your best bet is to have a variety of sizes, because newborns have huge variations.

Another thing to consider is some type of white noise machine. It can really help to soothe baby. If you've got a droid or iphone, there's apps you can download. Or, you can purchase a machine for under $10.

And finally, appoint mom or dad as safety monitor. Their entire job is to make sure that baby is always safe, and they get to veto anything they feel could endanger baby. So, they keep an eye on how close baby is to the edge of the table, and watch if baby might roll of the beanbag, or is getting too hot/cold. Obviously, you're smart enough not to endanger baby, but it never hurts to be too careful with babies. And really, it just helps the parents feel more secure in your ability and reassures them that you are thinking of baby's health and well being. Mom will thank you for it.

Ok, well, that got a lot more long winded than I intended, but I hope it answered some of your questions. Good luck with your shoot. Share your results!

[dmann]

Originally Posted by copelscope

Looking at the date stamp I'm guessing your session has already taken place? If not a few things I may be able to help with in the newborn potography area:

The scarves will be great-- they work fabulously for baby wraps
Have a firm beanbag you can pose on.
Get baby in before the age of 2 weeks if at all possible
Don't let mom handle the baby unless feeding-- but I ask my nursing moms to bring a bottle of expressed milk so I can do all the baby handling during the session. Babies tend to get agitated and stirr more when they can smell mama (especially when nursing)... and a pacifier can be your best friend.
White noise is going to help keep baby in a deeper sleep for posing
Put hand weights/free weight disc things in the bottoms of baskets or buckets if you plan to use them-- those suckers need to be firmly and solidly weighed down so they won't tip before sticking a baby in them
Composite shots are your friend-- if you are using a prop that's not possible to secure properly or a pose that could put strain on the baby (fists holding up head for example), take a shot with a parent (preferrably dad because of the whole mom-scent thing) supporting one area and then another-- then merge them together in post processing.

Good luck on your newborn session

This helps me sooo much thank you! Unfortunately I already did the shoot but if I get another client (fingers crossed) I will definaltley apply your advice.

[dmann]

Originally Posted by MindyRaeL

Beanbag chairs work perfectly because you can create a little divot in the center, where baby can sit cozy and secure. The beanbag chairs are malleable, and you can contour it anyway you need to position the baby. Pillows are too fluffy - baby doesn't sink into it and they end up just rolling off.

As for the vacuum bag, well, +1 for ingenuity. I don't know much about vacuum bags (seriously, I thought they were all bagless nowadays?), but from what I recall, aren't they usually pretty small? And made out of thin paper or plastic that might tear? If you think it will work, more power to you. But if you're going to be working with babies a lot, it's really really worth the $20 for a real beanbag chair. Especially if this is a paid shoot.

Haha, they are the vaccuum storage bags. The ones where you put all your stuff in them and vaccuum the air out. But they didn't work anyway, too crunchy. Once I find a nice material for a bean bag chair I will buy one!

As for the scarves, I've never tried them, but I imagine they would work okay to wrap the baby up, albeit probably a little long. It depends on the type of scarf. Thinner ones would probably work best. Thick wooly scarves will probably get pretty thick as you're wrapping it around baby, and you may end up with something that resembles Ralphie from a Christmas Story and not a sweet delicate little baby. Seriously, the average may be 14cm, but my son's was 22cm the day he was born and my nephew's was 12cm. Try looking on Etsy. I've found a lot of props there designed specifically as newborn props, and they are all size adjustable. Adjustable will be your best friend.

Yah, NONE of the bands I bought worked. I will have to specially order some.Thanks for the link.

As for heating the space, I usually use a portable space heater. Just don't put it too close to baby. Instead of (or in addition to) the space heater, you can use a heating pad. Place the heating pad on your beanbag (vacuum bag) prior to baby arriving, and it will warm the surface. Just be sure to remove the pad before you put baby on the beanbag. And if you don't have/want a heating pad, you can place a thick towel in the clothes dryer for 20-30 minutes on high heat, them place it on the beanbag and throw a blanket over it. You don't have to remove the towel prior to placing baby as you would a heating pad.

As for sizes of newborns, supposedly the average head circumference is 14cm. Again, if you're going to be doing this a lot, your best bet is to have a variety of sizes, because newborns have huge variations.

Another thing to consider is some type of white noise machine. It can really help to soothe baby. If you've got a droid or iphone, there's apps you can download. Or, you can purchase a machine for under $10.

Yes I will need one, see my next post.

And finally, appoint mom or dad as safety monitor. Their entire job is to make sure that baby is always safe, and they get to veto anything they feel could endanger baby. So, they keep an eye on how close baby is to the edge of the table, and watch if baby might roll of the beanbag, or is getting too hot/cold. Obviously, you're smart enough not to endanger baby, but it never hurts to be too careful with babies. And really, it just helps the parents feel more secure in your ability and reassures them that you are thinking of baby's health and well being. Mom will thank you for it.

Ok, well, that got a lot more long winded than I intended, but I hope it answered some of your questions. Good luck with your shoot. Share your results!

Thanks for your advice and time, a couples day late as I did the shoot but will help me next time.

[dmann]

Originally Posted by copelscope

Looking at the date stamp I'm guessing your session has already taken place? If not a few things I may be able to help with in the newborn potography area:

The scarves will be great-- they work fabulously for baby wraps

They did work great, and at $4 a scarf because they are on clearance, they were a wise investment.
Have a firm beanbag you can pose on.
Get baby in before the age of 2 weeks if at all possible
This baby was three weeks and although she was tiny she didn`t stop moving!
Don't let mom handle the baby unless feeding-- but I ask my nursing moms to bring a bottle of expressed milk so I can do all the baby handling during the session. Babies tend to get agitated and stirr more when they can smell mama (especially when nursing)... and a pacifier can be your best friend.
This would have helped a lot! haha next time
White noise is going to help keep baby in a deeper sleep for posing
next time for sure
Put hand weights/free weight disc things in the bottoms of baskets or buckets if you plan to use them-- those suckers need to be firmly and solidly weighed down so they won't tip before sticking a baby in them
I will do this for sure
Composite shots are your friend-- if you are using a prop that's not possible to secure properly or a pose that could put strain on the baby (fists holding up head for example), take a shot with a parent (preferrably dad because of the whole mom-scent thing) supporting one area and then another-- then merge them together in post processing.

Good luck on your newborn session

Thanks again

[dmann]

PS Copelscope, I looked at your site and admire your work

[dmann]

So it didn`t go great but it was my first time so I shouldn`t beat myself up too much. This was my first studio shoot and newborn shoot.

Baby wasn`t very happy to be out of Moms arms. She was wide awake and she was already three weeks old. We placed her in a spot I had about a min or two before she started crying and squirming. We only got to place her in about three positions and only one pose per position. So I was very limited with what I could get.

But she was adorable and I got to cuddle her so I`m happy. She was the cutest little thing and had a sweet presence to her.

It was a great experience and I`m glad I did it.

I attached a couple of the shots. I would LOVE some CC on them. To me they just don`t have that POP to them. They kind of look like regular studio portraits to me. I will also post one in the critique section in a bit.

Thank you all so much for the advice and help!

[MindyRaeL]

Originally Posted by copelscope

Don't let mom handle the baby unless feeding-- but I ask my nursing moms to bring a bottle of expressed milk so I can do all the baby handling during the session.

I've never heard this before. So you ask mom to bring expressed milk and you, the photographer, feed the baby if needed? Do you have a lot of moms object to this?
I know a lot of new moms (especially first time) that view feeding as a very personal thing. They do not express milk ever, let alone allowing someone else to feed baby.