Questions for those of you who've done photoshoots

[Diana_S]

I know.. the title narrows down who can answer right!? I asked these questions in another forum I belong to, but figured someone here might be able to help me out too

Anyway. I am not a professional photographer and really have next to nothing for photoshoots (besides my camera ) I am not ready to become a professional yet but I want to do the BEST I can with the photoshoots I have coming up. My first shoot will be a one year old. The second, a newborn in the end of May. I have done a lot of reading on line and have learned a lot but I still have a few questions.

1. (1yr shoot) the mom wants to do some cake smash shots. I found a big blue table cloth but its super thin and has the fold lines in it. Is there anway I can get the lines out or will I just have to do that in post processing by cut and pasting the flat parts. (or do I just go w/ my seamless roll of paper and toss that dirty part after?)

2. for both- right now I don't have any real backdrops. I have 2 seamless rolls of paper that I might be using (mainly for the 1 yr shoot) And I might go get a few from my friend who does the Lemon Drop Stop backgrounds. But- I have nothing to hold the backdrops up. I know if I'm against a wall I can use painters tape to hold up the paper but my main question is for the newborn, can I have the parents hold up the blankets?

3. For the newborn shoot we'll be indoors and I've read sometimes its better to use reflectors.I don't have $$ to go out and buy some so I was thinking of DIY... is that needed to do you think?

I think that's all I have right now. TIA!!

[gonzogolf]

It the table cloth is actually cloth, steam it. or throw it in a clothes dryer with a damp towel. Reflectors are okay, if you actually have light to reflect. Do you have a flash? Continuous lights in some DIY setup rarely give you enough power to achieve depth of field and shutter speeds fast enough for kids. Even if you do get the power its uncomfortable for the subject.

[Diana_S]

I do not have a flash yet (I asked for one for my bday which is the day before the one yr photo shoot) so Hopefully my husband takes my suttle hint So if I am only using available light from the outdoors a reflector won't help/work? Am I getting that right?

[gonzogolf]

Originally Posted by Diana_S

I do not have a flash yet (I asked for one for my bday which is the day before the one yr photo shoot) so Hopefully my husband takes my suttle hint So if I am only using available light from the outdoors a reflector won't help/work? Am I getting that right?

It depends on how bright the original source is in that case. But the reflector is only going to reflect a portion of the light available to it. Is the whole shoot outdoors or are you trying to use a reflector to move window light?

[Diana_S]

Originally Posted by gonzogolf

It depends on how bright the original source is in that case. But the reflector is only going to reflect a portion of the light available to it. Is the whole shoot outdoors or are you trying to use a reflector to move window light?

For the One year old shoot, it'll be both outdoors- mainly just him then a few w/ the parents then indoors right by a patio door/window.

As for the newborn shoot- That'll be indoors. Their living room brings in good light so I'm hoping for a good sunny day!

[king grant]

for the newborn an frankly any child younger then three i would recommend not using flash as it either A. makes them cry because you just stole their soul...or B. it's bad for their still pre mature eyes and brains. I know 40 year old men that still freak out when a flash bulb goes off.

As for lighting your indoor shots open the blinds for all the windows and use white paper
(assuming that seamless background you spoke of is probably white or 50% grey) to reflect that light where you need it.

minimum shutter speed 1/125th at all times and go up from there.

Don't get all sensitive when you read this but when you admit you don't have the equipment to pull off the shoot you want to do it's usually best you don't book the shoot until you come up with a plan. Other wise you end up as yet another MWAC. Not saying you can't do a shoot 100% DIY and get great shots but before booking that shoot you should know what materials you are using, how you are using them, and why you are doing it that way.

Now I will give you the benefit of the doubt and guess that you are taking these shots for a friend of yours to practice techniques and skills. So this is your experimental shoot to try thins out and see if they work. And your friend is aware that your going to take a lot more time figuring things out and won't expect too much except a couple shots to put up on facebook to show grandma and grandpa. If i'm incorrect in this assumption then may the force be with you.

Best of luck and I'll look forward to seeing a link to some images of what you came up with. No matter how they turn out if you did your absolute best then you should be proud of every image you produce and learn something everytime you pick up your camera.

[brokensocial]

For the newborns, I'd just go with natural light and interior lighting, no flash. We did this newborn shoot (chicago newborn photographer) in their house with the curtains drawn and whatever lamps we could find. You don't really need much when you're focused on the interactions between you and the couple.