I thought that I'd start with "Newborn and Baby Portrait Sessions Tips" and over the next few days I will post tips for other types of sessions. If this helps you out in any way or if you have any suggestions please let me know. I always enjoy feedback!!
Milestones to Capture
Newborn - Newborn sessions are typically best when your baby is a few days old right up to 4-6 weeks old. Up to 2 weeks old is the best time to capture those precious sleeping moments, yawning and curled up in the fetal position. This is what they do best at this age! Waiting until your baby is 4-6 weeks of age may give the infant's head time to shapen, and for any bruising from the use of forceps during delivery to go away. Also, some infants have rashy, dry skin that will clear up in the first few weeks.
3 Months - While babies are not sitting up on their own yet this is the perfect opportunity for those "bare bottom" portraits. Expressions are coming out at this age and things are really starting to get fun!
6 Months - Schedule this session when your baby is sitting up well on their own. Most babies are beginning to become more active and moving around at this age. The smiles and laughs are fantastic. Close-ups are great!
9 Months - Schedule this session when your baby is pulling his/her self up. They are generally not quite walking yet but able to stand for short periods of time if holding onto something.
12 Months - Happy Birthday baby! Now that they are starting to walk the options are endless. We can even schedule an outdoor session - weather permitting of course!
24 Months - Sessions at this age really depend on what you want. Whether in the studio, outdoors or in your home you will love the results!
Preparation Tips
• Before your session, be sure to give your baby a bath and bring extra wipes for a last minute nose cleaning. Keep a small towel handy for any burps and the inevitable tears. A touch of Vaseline should also be on hand to moisten dry lips. Be sure to bring a bib or two and a few changes of clothes with you to your session just incase your little one gets messy.
• If your infant has a significant amount of hair, a moist towel can be used to smooth the hair into place. Never make your infant wear an elastic headband. If it shifts or isn't worn throughout the entire session, you will see markings on the infant's head. If you wish to decorate their hair, use tiny clips or tie-in bows.
• Dress your baby in loose fitting clothing for the ride to the studio or up to an hour before your session. If possible, loosen the diaper and remove socks 15-20 minutes before the session. Doing all of this helps reduce or eliminate red marks on the baby’s body.
• Be sure to pick clothes for the session that fit your baby without sagging around the diaper or squeezing the baby too snug around the neck or tummy. Dressing the baby in plain onesies or a diaper cover are the best options.
• For sessions at any age it is recommended to keep clothing simple. Avoid patterns and logos. Neutral, solid colors work best for keeping all the attention on your child and not the clothing.
• Newborns should ideally be photographed in very little or no clothing as this is the most natural. Newborns are sensitive to temperature so a nice warm room temperature is taken into consideration and planned in advance for the comfort of your little baby. Please bring or have available diapers, wipes, and receiving blankets to be prepared for any little "accidents" that your newborn may have.
• Please allow up to 2 hours for newborn sessions. This will allow for feedings, breaks, and sleeping. All the little details of newborn life can be documented if you wish and can include feeding, sleeping, and cuddling along with classic newborn posing.
• Sessions can include the parents as well, so be sure to wear or bring neutral clothing such as black, white or off white. Black clothing works well for black backdrops (although not necessary) and white and other neutral colors look best for styling against a lighter background. Solid monochromatic colours are easiest to coordinate but primary or complementary colours also look great and can bring energy to the photograph. Avoid wearing patterns, prints, stripes and clothing bearing logos. Fine stripes and checks can cause distortion to digital photographs. Dark pants or jeans with dark shoes give texture and visually anchor a portrait. When choosing colour schemes, consider not only what looks best on your family, but also what colours will look best in wall portraits and complement your home’s décor.
• Minor props can add some interest to your infants first portraits. An embroidered blanket, a stuffed teddy bear, oversized gift tags reading "Gift from God" or items of sentimental value can make for cute additions to your portraits. If you have something that you would like included in your images, bring it along and we can discuss it before we start shooting.
• Following the steps above will help ensure that you will enjoy your session by getting off to a good start. The more you are prepared for your session the more you will enjoy the photo shoot process.
What to Expect
• Remember that your baby may not be themselves under bright studio lights. With most infant sessions, the window of opportunity for great moments happens in the first 10-15 minutes. After that they may get nervous about the lights, being away from their parents and aren't sure of what to do with all the attention. Then again, I have photographed some babies that have not been nervous at all, loved all of the attention and were fascinated with the camera and flashing lights! Just remember to give your infant lots of cuddles and reassurance throughout the process and you're bound to have a memorable portrait experience.
• Don't worry if your baby becomes sleepy and falls asleep. This can make for some of the best images from your session! I love it when little ones fall asleep and are oblivious to everything that is going on around them.
• Lots of images of your infants tiny fingers and toes with close-ups of the individual body parts will be taken to document their size in an artistic manner. I even recommend doing a shot of their little toes with your wedding bands or their tiny fingers grasping yours. Having several close-ups of individual areas lends itself to making a fun collage style portrait of your baby!
• The most precious images show the intimacy between parent and newborn. For this reason, and to make the photo session most comfortable for your baby, please come prepared to have your picture taken while holding your baby in some of the shots.
• Since your infant is a new member of the family, I recommend doing some family poses. Traditional full family shots are fine, but at this age, the creative images seem more compelling. One of my favorite poses is having the parent's hands cradle the newborn, showing the sizes of the adult hands against the tiny new baby. This close-up portrait is a fun use of scale to show how small your baby really is, and shows a family connection while giving your baby some posture. I can also do shots of mom and dad individually with baby and recommend having some of these images taken.
• Pictures of mom and baby can be very compelling. I think that mom's delicate hands caressing the tiny infant's hands or feet are adorable! An emotional pose that you can ask for is having the infant sleep on the mothers chest, nuzzling at her neck. The close bond of mother and child is always a touching moment that should be documented.
• Fun poses with dad can include a close-up of the infant grabbing one of dad's big fingers. Or ask to do one of dad's big foot with the infants tiny foot sitting on top. The scale between the two is always dramatic.
• I will work with you to ensure that you receive the best images possible from your session. Before picture taking begins, I will discuss image options and ideas with you. If you have any specific ideas of what you want, bring clipped pictures from magazines or print images from the web. If you don't have specific ideas, don't worry, it is fun to improvise as we go and I always have tons of ideas floating around in my head!
• Most importantly, in this busy time of your life I want you to slow down and relax! For this reason, I do not rush portrait sessions. My goal is to make you as comfortable as possible. Only then will I be able to capture the moments you will fall in love with.
And now, here are a few of my favorite newborn and baby pics taken over the past few months. Enjoy!!
Patricia
All Images © Patricia Sampson Photo Graphics 2008
2 comments:
Awwww, those photographs look absolutely amazing! When the time comes I have a baby of my own, I'll get her/him a baby portrait session every 3 months :) What a wonderful way to document your baby's growth and celebrate the different milestones in their lives.
Great tips and information!! Thanks for posting this.
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