HELP...My very first newborn shoot...nervous...

[mstark70]

A friend of mine is letting me photograph her 4 day old baby boy this weekend. I am so excited, but very nervous. I do not think I have ever been so nervous for a job in my life! I am not charging her but really want to impress for possible future shoots and glowing recommendations. I get to use the shots for my portfolio that I am composing. I really don't want to mess this up. I do not have a light kit. I do have some white foam board and a reflector to bounce natural light if I need to. I have some white felt and black sheets for backdrops or to lay the baby on. Is there anything else I should take with me? I have a Canon 50D and I have the 50mm 1.8mm that I want to use. Should I use that lens exclusively for this shoot? What are some basic settings I should use? Should I shoot in manual or AV? Should I only shoot in RAW? I usually don't. I also have a 28-135mm that came with the camera. Some things I know like to shoot his feet, hands and ears.
I know you may not be able to answer some of these questions but I need advice and tips. ANY advice and tips. I appreciate any and all help. Thank you so much for taking your time to help out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68458154@N00/

[Saralonde]

The 50mm will be great for a newborn shoot. RAW will help as well, but it is not absolutely necessary. Sometimes baby skin can be blotchy so you may need to do a bit of editing.
Try shooting in front of a large window if you have one for some natural light. It might be helpful to have a warm heater fan blowing to keep a naked baby warm and sleepy. A sleeping baby is easy to "mold" into position.
Think ahead of time some of the shots you want to take. You never how much time you'll have if baby decides to be "uncooperative", so you may have to move quickly.
Shoot in the mode you feel most comfortable with. If you are not used to manual, you won't have much time to practice. Av will be fine.

[mstark70]

Originally Posted by Saralonde

The 50mm will be great for a newborn shoot. RAW will help as well, but it is not absolutely necessary. Sometimes baby skin can be blotchy so you may need to do a bit of editing.
Try shooting in front of a large window if you have one for some natural light. It might be helpful to have a warm heater fan blowing to keep a naked baby warm and sleepy. A sleeping baby is easy to "mold" into position.
Think ahead of time some of the shots you want to take. You never how much time you'll have if baby decides to be "uncooperative", so you may have to move quickly.
Shoot in the mode you feel most comfortable with. If you are not used to manual, you won't have much time to practice. Av will be fine.

Thank you so much for taking the time to give me some tips and advice. This is all great information and I will use it. Thanks again!

[lputman]

I see that I'm too late for this particular event. How did your shoot go? I'm on my way to purchase a bean bag to use for posing a baby. I'll be doing two baby shoots this weekend and it will be my first time.

[Saralonde]

Did you see the post on Baby Photography on the blog?

Good luck, Lori!

[lputman]

Thanks Linda! That was the first thing I saw when I checked my email this morning. What perfect timing!

[mstark70]

There are also more on my Flickr link. I had soooo much fun. He was soooo darn cute. I think I have found a real passion which makes it all worth while. Thanks!

[mstark70]

Originally Posted by lputman

I see that I'm too late for this particular event. How did your shoot go? I'm on my way to purchase a bean bag to use for posing a baby. I'll be doing two baby shoots this weekend and it will be my first time.

Good luck. You have real talent you wont really need much luck! Your gonna love it! I can not wait to see some of your pics posted soon. I'll be looking for them!