For those of you working with newborns

[delmama]

I want to purchase a good bean bag/chair to work with newborns, I have one but its not the best, im ready to upgrade, what are some of your favorite places to get them?
TIA! :p

[SnapsbyPoteat]

I was just wondering the same thing, I have my first newborn session on monday and was going to run around town saturday looking for one. Seems like I've seen at places like furniture row or furniture factory outlet or maybe big lots. Those are all places I'm going to check out.

[Pearlallica]

... posting just to subscribe to this thread. Our 3rd child will be born in 7 months and I'd like to know the results you get from your question... seems like a great idea for a tricky subject.

[delmama]

Im hoping someone out there will share where they bought it from, I got mine from target, its just a regular bean chair for a kids room, it works well but I need something bigger and longer lasting.

[suecassidy]

Pottery Barn for Kids has really good quality bean bags, although I'm sure you can get them cheaper some where else. Seems to me LL Bean also sells quality bean bags, but I got mine at PB. don't forget to put plastic under the blankets of the bare butt babies, they always pee!!!!

[SnapsbyPoteat]

Pottery Barn for Kids has really good quality bean bags, although I'm sure you can get them cheaper some where else. Seems to me LL Bean also sells quality bean bags, but I got mine at PB. don't forget to put plastic under the blankets of the bare butt babies, they always pee!!!!

oh good thinking!

[PEI photonovice]

I was just thinking of posting my bean bag question. Are these bean bags, the full size you can sit on them kind? Or is there a special infant sized bean bag that you can get? I know this is a very simple:oops: probably obvious question, but I am expecting my first bundle of joy in 6 weeks, and I'd love to take some shots of those cute poses that I see on here. I have no professional experience, but am an eager learner. Thanks.

[SnapsbyPoteat]

I bought a bean bag on saturday for 12.50 at big lots- it was probably so cheap because it's butt ugly, but that doesn't matter to me since they'll be all sorts of backgrounds covering it. :)

[suecassidy]

Big bean bags are better. It is much more versatile when you want to have your blanket act as a backdrop. Ugly doesn't matter. Like Breathless said, you're covering it up anyway.

A good way to way to work with bean bags is to cover the entire bag with a baby blanket. then, punch a baby sized "oval" in the bottom one third of the bean bag. I use an actual baby size teddy bear for this. You COULD set the baby on top of the bean bag, that's a different shot, but the shot i'm illustrating here results in there being no "horizon lines", the blanket acts as a continous background. I then take the teddy bear and show the Mom how I want her to nestle the baby into the bean bag. The main thing is that the hole is made FIRST, without the baby in it and that it is almost, but not quite, parallel with the ground. I can push down with force on the teddy bear to make the perfect hole, but I don't think Mom would like it if I pushed down with the baby, ha ha. You don't want the hole too deep that the baby's face is covered or too shallow that it falls out or doesn't look right. I typically say something like this: "Now I want you to lay the baby exactly like this, not exactly on his back, not exactly on his side, but somewhere in between, just slightly angled toward the camera." I show her with the teddy bear and I get my camera all set up BEFORE she puts the baby down. I remove the bear and she replaces it with her baby. It is SO much easier to show her like that than have her just plonk it down any old way and then I have to mess and fuss and piss the baby off. Don't forget to have mom slightly to the right of the camera so the baby doesn't look down at its feet, resulting in half opened eyes. Depending on the stage of the baby, you will be able to get its attention in a variety of ways.

I will typically do close up shots here first, perhaps with a pink or blue blanket tucked under the baby's arms. NO SHIRT. Show that beautiful velvet skin. Try and get the hands in the shot. Once I have THAT in the can, I have mom remove the diaper, put her hand UNDER the background blanket, and bunch it up to cover the boy bits or girly bits, whichever. Ask Mom to criss cross the baby's feet at the ankles and it is then her job to make sure they stay that way. with her hand under a white blanket, she can usually keep them crossed. You only need 1/250th of a second....this is cute full length shot cuz those corn niblet toes are meant to be looked at. have fun.

[linda baca]

Sue: Do you have any images you can share with us :D

Big bean bags are better. It is much more versatile when you want to have your blanket act as a backdrop. Ugly doesn't matter. Like Breathless said, you're covering it up anyway.

A good way to way to work with bean bags is to cover the entire bag with a baby blanket. then, punch a baby sized "oval" in the bottom one third of the bean bag. I use an actual baby size teddy bear for this. You COULD set the baby on top of the bean bag, that's a different shot, but the shot i'm illustrating here results in there being no "horizon lines", the blanket acts as a continous background. I then take the teddy bear and show the Mom how I want her to nestle the baby into the bean bag. The main thing is that the hole is made FIRST, without the baby in it and that it is almost, but not quite, parallel with the ground. I can push down with force on the teddy bear to make the perfect hole, but I don't think Mom would like it if I pushed down with the baby, ha ha. You don't want the hole too deep that the baby's face is covered or too shallow that it falls out or doesn't look right. I typically say something like this: "Now I want you to lay the baby exactly like this, not exactly on his back, not exactly on his side, but somewhere in between, just slightly angled toward the camera." I show her with the teddy bear and I get my camera all set up BEFORE she puts the baby down. I remove the bear and she replaces it with her baby. It is SO much easier to show her like that than have her just plonk it down any old way and then I have to mess and fuss and piss the baby off. Don't forget to have mom slightly to the right of the camera so the baby doesn't look down at its feet, resulting in half opened eyes. Depending on the stage of the baby, you will be able to get its attention in a variety of ways.

I will typically do close up shots here first, perhaps with a pink or blue blanket tucked under the baby's arms. NO SHIRT. Show that beautiful velvet skin. Try and get the hands in the shot. Once I have THAT in the can, I have mom remove the diaper, put her hand UNDER the background blanket, and bunch it up to cover the boy bits or girly bits, whichever. Ask Mom to criss cross the baby's feet at the ankles and it is then her job to make sure they stay that way. with her hand under a white blanket, she can usually keep them crossed. You only need 1/250th of a second....this is cute full length shot cuz those corn niblet toes are meant to be looked at. have fun.

[suecassidy]

Sue: Do you have any images you can share with us :D

I'm not real good at the computer part of adding photos but here goes...both of these babies were photographed on the same bean bag. These photos don't illustrate exactly what I spoke about in the post, but the point is that bean bags are very versatile tools for these little babies.

The first baby, Jack, was so fussy that we only got close up head shots for him. I ended up cropping that shot so his face wasn't so "vertical", and it looked much better. The second baby, Saxon, better shows what I mean when I say to "punch a hole for the baby" and how we've used the blanket to make a backdrop. This baby wouldn't have any part of removing his clothes, so we had to do it with clothes, but you should get the gist of it. With Saxon, he kept pulling his hand out from under his cheek, until I had mom flatten her hand under the blanket and keep her finger pressed on his ear until he stopped struggling.
This photograph of Saxon, also illustrates what NOT to do -- notice how his brow is furrowed and he looks angry? That's because he was so cranky that day I didn't dare wait until he went completely cooked-noodle-relaxed-asleep. (Jack, that first baby, has that relaxed face.) I got that shot eventually, but wasn't sure I was going to, so I just shot to get something "in the can". Once I got that, I covered him up and waited for his face to relax. I can't find that shot on my hard drive, but there 'tis.
yay me for getting something to post correctly, but I'm an old dog learning new internet tricks. bwa ha ha.

[delmama]

nice, I need to get a big bean bag, im in the search for one.
Thanks for all the advice guys!

[lesleysmeshly]

Hi,

I photograph a lot of newborns and I use a beanbag for 95% of my shots. You can see tons of newborn photos on my blog (www.lesleybarrphotography.com/blog). I have a small vinyl beanbag and a large puck vinyl beanbag. Get vinyl as it WILL get peed and pooped on. Buy an extra set of filler (the beans) and fill it almost full. I layer blankets on top and use my butt to manuever the beans how I want them. =) I have a backdrop stand behind the beanbag and clamp the blankets up to the stand creating a seamless backdrop. As one blanket gets used or peed on I simply move it off, grab another, clamp it up and keep going. I got both of mine from www.beanbags.com along with an extra bag of filler for each.

Good luck,
Lesley

[DDCSD]

Wow, great work Lesley!

[lesleysmeshly]

Thank you so much Derek!

[RachelC1184]

Lesley those are beautiful images!!! Do you know where you got the white blanket? I've been looking for one like that but haven't been able to find it.

[lesleysmeshly]

Rachel,

Thank you!! The blanket is from Ikea, I got it this last summer in San Diego. You can't order it online or I would order 5 more since it is my most requested blanket.

[RachelC1184]

Hmm, can you get them in the stores? I think there's an Ikea store next to my moms house. I could have her check.. Do you know what they are called? Thanks!

[RachelC1184]

I think I found it, is it the Ofelia??? If so, I double checked and there isn't a store in Colorado (near mom) so I emailed my dad in Saudi since there is a store in the town he lives in in Saudi Arabia... Keeping my fingers crossed he can find it... Haha! (That's how much I want that blanket!)

[lesleysmeshly]

No, It is the Stockholm http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10103314. The Ofelia is white almost like a ruffle texture, mine is cream and thicker/heavier than the Ofelia. It says hand wash only, but I wash all of my newborn blankets in the washer and have never had a problem.

Good luck! Next time I head to San Diego I'm stocking up on those suckers. =)