awake or grumpy babies

[candleman]

Hi boys and girls,

Tomorrow I’m taking some pics of a friends newborn (including family photo’s)
The baby is 7 weeks old … but was 6 weeks premature.. so I’m expacting him to be relatively small, but she said he’s around 7lbs now
Now, I have a zillion ideas for when he’s asleep and cozy in the heated room we’re preparing..
however i have one concern... what if he's grumpy. he's had a bit of reflux latley
so...
What could I do with an awake or grumpy baby? How would you pose it or what sorts of shots would you go for?
…post examples if you can.. I think in pictures .

thank you!

*just for record*
I don’t know exactly the lighting in the room, its at their place.
Will use window light through a screed if the room has a decent sized window. (i have my own screed)
(the shoot is 9:00am)
I’ll be using my 50mm f/1.8 (baby’s need that soft look) and will have my off camera flashes (3 off) with umbrellas with me incase it’s a bit dark
I want to avoid the flash if at all possible when he’s awake.. don’t want to hurt his eyes and make him close them.

[RussHeath]

I've been doing this a bit lately with my own newborn daughter. Mostly, I try to keep her from being grumpy because the shots never come out quite the same. Sometimes all it takes is 10 minutes of being held by mom and the baby is back to a peaceful state -- certainly worth the 10 minutes!

As for poses, my biggest tip is one I just discovered last weekend. Get a bean bag chair and cover it with some nice fabric. Put the bean bag on a table and the baby on the bean bag. It lets you work at a good height, and most babies will sleep quite peacefully on the bag. You can also mold it ahead of time to encourage particular poses. If you plan on shooting a nude baby, make sure you have lots of replacement fabric . . . Also, I try to throw all my covers in the dryer for 10-20 minutes before I shoot, that way the surface is nice and warm.

My all time favorite pose can be seen here (Not mine! All of her stuff is great). I thought this was a chance event the first time I saw it, but I've noticed lots of newborn photographers manage to get this. I think the trick is to work with a sleepy newborn and to use the bean bag. Anyway, worth a shot!

Also, I think that what startles a given baby can vary widely, but for my little girl, she doesn't seem to mind the strobes. I've used them in several shoots now, and they don't seem to hurt her, cause any distress, or make her close her eyes. Just FYI. Good luck!

[candleman]

brilliant stuff Russ, the tips as well as your images.
wow

hmm, i'll have to try get my paws on a reasonably sized beanbag. n
i guess i could jst roll up teatowels or something underneath the fabric (i'm using black)

thanks for the info on the strobes.. i'll experiment with a smal burst and see how he reacts.
in an umbrella it may not be so bad actually.

great stuff!

[RussHeath]

Here's my take on the pose that I linked to (the link was to a photographer that I admire, not my own!):



To get this, mom had to hold her in place, and I only got a single shot before she stretched out on her hands. Totally worth it, though!

[candleman]

still, super sweet, great job.

( i figured i wasnt yours later when i saw a womans name at the top)

[Free]

Are you on a tight schedule? If not just wait until the mum can feed it and it should fall asleep fairly quickly. All mine did at that age was sleep and suck boob!

[naeno]

Originally Posted by candleman

Will use window light through a screed if the room has a decent sized window. (i have my own screed)

What is a screed? I tried googling it, and poking around on this site, but to no avail.

[candleman]

thanks everyone,
it went well, spent 3 hours total there and got some very nice stuff.
they had a very big window with blinds so we could adjust the light, i used 2 strobes as well.
one firing onto the roof to add a bit of kick, and one for fill.
Key light was amient, ...and nice glowing light at that.

Russ, we tried that pose you showed me, but he wasnt into that and preferred to be curled up in the baskets

i'll post some results as soon as i've processed the best.
i'm uploading them now


the hardest part.... getting a passport photo!
eyes open, looking at the camera, no shadows, mouth closed. nothing else showing...
dang.
got it tho'

Originally Posted by naeno

What is a screed? I tried googling it, and poking around on this site, but to no avail.

its not a commonly used term ..in studio photography its basically something you put inetween a light source and the subject to soften the light.
basically the same as a translucent reflector. (you'll find a milion results on that tho')

[RussHeath]

I'm glad it went well, can't wait to see the results!

[candleman]

here is a link to the SYS post.

theres a few more in flickr obviously, and few more yet to be uploaded,