Baby photo shoot ideas

[Mikelangelo]

I hope this is the right place to ask this...Mod's please move if necessary and I'll remember for next time.

A friend wants me to take pics of her baby. 6-7 mos. old.
I have:
Canon 300D
70-200 L f/4.0
Tamron 28-75 2.8
Canon EF-S 60 Macro
Canon Kit lens, 18-55
430 EX flash (just got today)
I have a gold/silver circular reflector (I've never used it yet.)

She wants:
- Baby on white background (angelic, heavenly)
- baby in her own room with her own things
- Baby outside (on grass, with flowers perhaps)

Questions I have:
- can I use Lambskin bedcover, white sheet, or solid white comforter as backdrops for the first idea of baby on white background? perhaps draped over a big chair or a bed? A friend of mine says that that won't work well...but he couldn't really explain why.
- when indoors, I plan to bounce flash off of walls or ceiling. Other thoughts?
- I'm guessing I want to take shots from baby's eye level, instead of always looking down, right?
- any example sites/galleries/tutorials for this kind of thing you can recommend?

I would be infinitely grateful for any advice or suggestions on the above or something I didn't think of yet!!!

[redbutt]

Props can be a good thing. Here's some samples of recent stuff I've done. Definately get down to their level. Also, it helps to have someone/something directly behind you that the child recognizes to keep them looking your way. These are all with a single light shot through a diffusion panel. Bouncing the flash will also work well.






For the white backdrop...the issue is size. You need it to be long enough so that the back part that raises off the floor is about 6 feet from where the kid is located.

[Kristy]

Babies are simply beautiful.... The great thing about this age is that they can sit but not walk away from the session. I would suggest baby in a diaper and nothing else for many shots.. if it's a girl.. find a tutu and some beads and do topless shots with the beads around her neck, or a feather or maribou boa... really cute!

Do you have plexiglass? Forget the camera flash... bring your set up near a big sliding glass window... have the window to the side of your set-up and set up right next to it.. bounce light back into the sitting area using your reflector on the opposite side and towards the front... does that make sense? So baby is facing you and window is to your left facing baby's cheek.. reflector is to your right and bouncing window light back in..

Try using a white sheet and also black... If it's a girl you can use a large pink blaket.... if you can get your hands on some plexiglass, lay it on top of 1/2 or your sheet and use the other half for the background.. a king size works best. The reflection of your little person will show in the plexi and looks really neat...

Hope this helps a bit... I tend to ramble so I'll stop now.

[Mikelangelo]

Very cool. All very sound advice! thank you both!! I'll starting to collect backdrops and planning out places to shoot!! You've given me some groovy ideas. The plexiglass idea is very interesting. I may try something like that!

[MagicallyDelicious]

good luck...im babysitting my friends little girl tomorrow and plan taking her to the park for a few shots....fingerscrossed!

Hope you get some really nice results

[Mikelangelo]

I'll be sure to post a couple for some C&C... and the obligatory "aaawwweee... isn't she cute?" comments.

[PIXI_666]

Babies are easy to photograph if you can keep them entertained - get their mum or dad involved and just keep them happy
Heres some from ym recent shoot....black backdrop, white backdrop, then outside for some fun!!

[PIXI_666]

[SonyaL]

Babies are lots of fun.
If you are taking some inside get several yards maybe 4 of toule material its cheap sit her on it naked but just in the toule.Make it all flowy looking.
In the grass always get down to her level even if it means laying down to get the shot.
I like the pics to of the ones this age in a tub with bubbles like a metal bucket or bright colored bucket with rubber ducks floating in the bubbles. These could be done inside or outside.
Find some crazy hats for her to wear or ask mom if she has some.
Maybe her room will have some good natural light and you can get pics of her looking out the window.


Sonya

[hiltiman]

It's all simpler than you think. this is with a Sony point and shoot digital with straight-on flash and a piece of black felt. The Black and White and red rose is photoshop but basically it stands as it was shot, very simply. I have used bounce off the ceiling with the same setup, you just need a white card attached to your flash to create a kicker light to fill in under the eyes and all.
Have fun!

[frcave]

some nice examples:
http://www.chamberlain-fotografie.de/baby.htm

[EmmaRose]

Originally Posted by frcave

some nice examples:
http://www.chamberlain-fotografie.de/baby.htm

threaddig much? this was posted 4 years ago

[leedny]

Babies are so cute, and you can make them much cuter by adding clips, frames, masks and texts with Frame Photo Editor.

[josh5k]

Babies can look quite beautiful when clicked on the side as well. I'd post some pics from last Sunday's shoot if I could get on my home PC.

I shot the 6 month old kid with a 5D and a 50 1.4 and was able to get one eye in focus, and the pic came out rather neat. It's the emotion that's more important than the angle of the shot IMHO.

[PhotosGuy]

Since you used a descriptive title, the forum has done a mini-search for you. Look at the links at the very bottom left hand corner of this page.