Personal Work: Newborn Shoot

Back in August I was asked to photograph a friends newborn baby at the age of 2 weeks. I felt privileged and was very excited as it is an area of photography I would like to find myself working in the future. 

I was given plenty of notice, therefore I made great use of my time by looking up newborn photography and finding styles, techniques, positions and more that will advise me on the day because it was something I was new to. With Pinterest I searched through and saved them so that I had something to refer to and discuss with the parents what they were looking for also. 

During that time I also gathered equipment together paying out for a Colarama backdrop (black and white display) and a reflector with all three, 2 reflectors and a diffuser. A friend managed to lend me a lens more appropriate for the job and everything that I knew I would need was pretty much sorted. Other props was presented to me on the day by the parents.

During the evening we'd planned on the baby being asleep, making the job a lot easier but he was actually wide awake for the majority of it. This did not create an issue nevertheless as the parents wanted a few images with the eyes open and afterwards realised that a lot of the images looked better with the eyes open. The baby was fairly restless at times and without a nappy began to make mess a few times. This made the evening more enjoyable and broke the awkward tension as they were not used to being photographed before. 

I was overwhelmed with the outcome and received images better than I expected and the clients were also very pleased with what I provided them. They paid me £100 for the job and I gave them the whole 230 images, admittedly not all images taken were worthy enough to put up the wall but because the baby was moving regularly I took several of one image to ensure I caught one at the right moment. 

One image in particular my clients liked most and I also liked the most out of all images. With a slight tweak and the help of the backdrop I managed to create this image which I liked in both colour and black and white.

It was very helpful working for a friend who understood that I hadn't done newborn photography before and that I only had basic knowledge from what I've learnt since being at university. This gave me a taste for a futuristic plan and allowed me to make mistakes. 

Many improvements could be made with my first baby shoot (obviously!)... To begin with the watch in the image I did notice whilst shooting but wanted to capture the image whilst the baby was comfortable and still. I will remember to ask for no jewellery such as watches when taking a shot similar before I start shooting. 

I used ambient light from the light outside but also the tungsten light indoors. This worked for some images but others not so well creating obvious shadows that didn't look right within the image. 

I am aware that special training is needed when placing the baby in certain positions, but I will however until I've finished university perhaps use a bean bag to place the baby on for comfort when photographing as the position above was difficult and could have been easier with one in place.