Photography Business: Taking Baby Photos - for Professionals & Families

Babies make the best and the worst subjects to photograph. They are the best for two reasons, people are more tolerant at looking at baby photos, as well as the fact that babies are not aware their image is being captured, and therefore they do not tend to put on the "camera face" so typically used by elder children and adults. They are the worst subjects because their behaviour is unpredictable. Because their behaviour is uncensored, they show their emotions, and can just as easily cry as gurgle happily into the camera.

One of the most challenging aspects of photographing a baby is to control the subject. On the one hand you want them relatively still, but too much control and the photo loses its impetuousness. Lighting and background are both important, you want the background as uncluttered and simple as possible if the photograph is indoors, or as natural as possible outside, a piece of grass is ideal. The lighting should be coming from at least two directional sources, but if it is too strong it will throw shadows that complicate the picture, and often lose the wonderful facial expressions it is possible to capture. However don't miss those impromptu shots either especially with a digital camera, you can always edit the background later.

It is usually helpful to restrict babies' activities; they are not portrayed at their best nappy high in the air crawling across the floor. A good way to restrict them is a highchair, or holding them in the arms of another person. Baby photography is often better taken very close up, and it is a wise move to look at the manual for your camera, and see how close you can get. It is better to get everything set up first, and then place the baby in position when the lighting and setting have been chosen. However that of course is not always possible.

Distractions in the form of noise, and toys can be a tool, but never forget that a baby's emotion's are always lightning fast, and it all makes for great photographs, whether it is tears of frustration, pouring a drink over your best camera, or laughing.

They are often easier to photograph when there is a minimum of people around because they are so easily distracted. The old school of thought was keep the mother well out of the way, however I personally can't see any mileage in that, as babies are calmer with someone they know, and in most cases that is the mother. Above all remember that photographing babies is fun, the unexpected if caught at just the right moment, makes great memories. Although I doubt if a father who has just picked up their offspring for a photograph will forget the time that their child was sick all over them. Control can only go so far with babies.

Babies are babies for short a period of time, you can never have too many photographs, and here a digital camera can save enormous amounts on both film and development. It also allows for wastage as you can view the results immediately and can the ones you don't want. You will have huge embarrassment value in later life showing your daughter's first boyfriend her as a baby with no nappy! Another enormous advantage to digital photography is that you don't have to shoot the photograph with a little black box in front of your face. This will catch a baby's emotions perfectly, but is not the best way to capture their best expressions. A small child will respond better when they respond to your expressions. By being able to hold the camera away from your face you have a chance to capture the best of their expressions as well; an LCD screen generally reaps huge benefits.

Another misunderstood statement is that the best photographs are taken by professionals, whilst there is no denying that professional take great formal photographs, and every baby should have at least one set to keep as an adult. It is hard to beat the formal professional photo. Some professionals offer annual sittings for family shots and supply regular updated montages specific to that family. A service that is hard to beat. However this formal stylised pose isn't always the answer, somehow, because children are not camera aware, they are not camera shy. Young babies are sometimes better photographed in an environment that they are entirely comfortable with and that place is often their own home or the garden. The great thing about photographing your own child is that it does not need any special equipment, special effects, or even any really special effort, and it certainly does not involve trailing somewhere in the middle of the night to capture a beautiful dawn. A point and shoot will work wonders.

Probably the most important technical point to remember when photographing a baby is that because of their size, you have to get down to their height to get that wonderful close- up. The easiest way and least dangerous way is to physically get down on the floor with them, not necessarily the most dignified way, but certainly the most rewarding. There are no imperfections in a babies face, you can get as close as you can without showing crow's feet! You cannot engineer this type of photography it has to happen, but you can be creative in your approach and let the baby respond to you, because it has no knowledge of how to respond to the camera.

With a very young baby still in its crib, there is very little option, but to shoot from the above, unless you want the baby to look as though it is captured in a wooden box, but it is an approach to be avoided if at all possible.

You have more opportunities to photograph babies in more settings than at almost any other age. After all you don't photograph your mother on the toilet. Few props are useful with babies, but baths and potty's are great because they are both tools that they are familiar with and with a little patience they can be put to great effect regarding play. Surely you can put up with getting a little damp at bath- time, but of course try and remember to make sure the potty is empty! Above all remember that it fun and relaxed, you will never have the opportunity to have so many natural photos again. Enter into the spirit of it and you will be amply rewarded. Another great "prop" to use if you have one is the family pet, providing it is not intimidating to the baby.

There is no fun at all in photographing someone screaming the house down in fear. Whilst every parent should have at least one set of professional photos taken, don't rely on someone else to capture those truly enchanting moments, especially at momentous milestones. If it is your child's first birthday they will reward you with better photographs if you take them yourself. Get someone else (professional) to do it on a less important day.

The professional would do well to keep a file for the parents and offer services such as a montage on the childs or childrens yearly progress (updated every year). There is great value in personalisation and there is an abundance of software available to help you organise this service.

Copyright 2005 Roy Barker

Publisher & author: Roy Barker. Roy is the author of the popular ebook, Income from Photography - a downloadable ebook which guides the reader on how to start up and market a Profitable Photography business. It can be viewed at http://www.profitable-photography.com. Another top guide is at http://photography-business.blogspot.com/

RELATED ARTICLES

---

Panasonic Digital Cameras - The History Behind Their Cameras
Panasonic is a world-renowned consumer electronics company today. Its digital cameras have recently entered the market. In this article, we will view the story of Panasonic and some of the latest cameras which have been launched by the company in the market.

---

Landscape Photography - Capture the Beauty That is All Around
There are many different types of photography. You can take pictures of anything and there is someone out there somewhere who would like to see the pictures that you take. So, photography is a great field to get into.

---

Proper Handling and Storage of Paper Photos
Youv'e taken that perfect photo in the perfect light at the perfect angle and it has turned out beautifully.

---

Start Up a Nude Photography Business
There are major obstacles to overcome to get into nude photography, not least of which is the need to practise technique. By its very nature there has to be at least one subject, and the big problem for the photographer here is image. To some the image of nude photographer is tied in with the "dirty Macintosh" brigade, with the false wig and dark glasses.

---

Your Mobile Digital Darkroom ? Five Tools of the Trade
While digital photography offers you the ability to review photograph instantaneously, it also offers you the added convenience of editing photos on the fly as well.

---

Digital Imaging Explained
Digital Imaging is a process where an electronic photograph, scanned document, or image is converted into a series of electronic dots called pixels. Pixels is an acronym for "picture elements".

---

Tiny Cameras, Big Pictures and Make Your Photos Great!
The path to picking a digital camera usually leads to a fork in the road. On one side is the small camera that's convenient to carry but doesn't take the sharpest pictures; on the other, a camera that crisply catches all the details and color but is comparatively bulky. Sometimes it's our fault that our photos didn't work out; we didn't notice distracting, extraneous objects in the image or forgot to ask for a certain pose. Sometimes it's the camera's fault; as impressive as many of today's cameras are, they're not perfect. And sometimes it's no one's fault; some lighting situations are just plain impossible to control.

---

How To Become A Digital Photography Pro
Being a professional digital photographer is a dream many people have but most lack the ambition to follow through. Still, you want to take the best digital pictures you can without forking over the cost of a photography degree. So, here are some tips to help you find the best digital photographer in you.

---

How to Photograph Your Baby
Babies make the best and the worst subjects to photograph. They are the best for two reasons, people are more tolerant at looking at baby photos, as well as the fact that babies are not aware their image is being captured, and therefore they do not tend to put on the "camera face" so typically used by elder children and adults. They are the worst subjects because their behaviour is unpredictable. Because their behaviour is uncensored, they show their emotions, and can just as easily cry as gurgle happily into the camera.

---

Kodak Digital Cameras - The Giant Comes To Digital
George Eastman, founder of Kodak is world renowned today. Digital cameras or cinematography, Kodak has excelled in all fields. In this article, we will view the rich history of Kodak's rise.

---

A Guide to Underwater Cameras
There are two types of underwater camera systems: an ""amphibious"" camera, which is a self-contained waterproof system, and an SLR land camera with waterproof housing. Amphibious systems are small, compact, and easy to travel with, while SLRs offer more advanced features, such as auto-focus, advanced exposure control, and through-the-lens viewing.

---

Underwater Digital Cameras
Underwater photography's is primarily focused towards entertaining and informing the people and the users themselves about what is happening in the world of under water with the aid of photography. The advent of digital cameras has opened up new horizons for such ventures. These digital cameras are not only handy and sleek but also they offer a spectral range of features that helps the underwater photographers in their work a lot. In this discussion these special features of underwater digital cameras are necessarily been revealed and done justice to!

---

Studio Photography and Digital Backgrounds
The article given here was written for Adobe Photoshop 5,6,7,CS, and Adobe Photoshop Elements 2 and 3.

---

Black & White Photography
Photography is a diversified field of creating a spectral variety of art. It is a specialization that deals with different experimentations with colors, however it is also a fact that only shades of black and white can also do wonders in this zone of creative art. With the advent of the digital camera the scope of this wonderful business has opened up new horizons for the users and photographers who seek to explore new lands and trod the ground of innovative creation and thus it can be aptly said that black & white can become more creativity with the boon of digital photography and digital camera. This discussion is primarily aimed at exploring the incipient information regarding the blessing of the digital camera in black & white photography so that the novice as well as the expert photographers can become richer in knowledge!

---

Photography Has No Gender
Women photographers are fortunate. Unlike other titles, photographer has no gender. Women photographers don't have to force stilted language like "flight attendant" instead of "stewardess," or "letter carrier" instead of "mailman." "Photographer" doesn't have the historical male/female titles such as "author" and "authoress," or "actor" vs. "actress." Women photographers may not even have to battle the associated gender that "doctors" or "nurses" do. Did you know that bank tellers always were men up until WWII because it was thought that women couldn't handle money?

---

Online Photo Sharing: Not Just for Family and Vacation Photos
You may have joined the photo-sharing craze to share your family vacation photos, but have you thought about other uses for photo sharing?

---

CCTV Camera Tip: Apply Simple Common Sense when Picking CCTV Cameras and Lenses
Get a good face shot: Use Higher quality cameras at entry areas.

---

Picture Framing for Photographers - Part 2
There are two sources for obtaining the moulding for making a frame. You can firstly start with a straight piece of timber, and using a home routing system make your own moulding shape with a rebate to take the art work. Alternatively you can pick from a large range of ready finished mouldings available from your local frame shop or hardware store. I recommend the latter. It's easier, the choice is much wider, and it's more cost effective. However, one word of warning. Always look for a moulding with a good straight back and not too flat on the surface. If the moulding has a bump or some raised section in the top surface it will cut and join easier than a flat moulding. Most mouldings are made from pine or obeche. These are soft grain timbers and cut and join well. Hard timbers like ramin are more difficult to work with.

---

Seven Ways for Saving Your Digital Images Forever!
So, you have taken lots of pictures with your new digital camera, the memory card is full, and you are wondering how to store and archive your images.

---

Video Camcorder Formats and Media
There are way too many tape, disk and stick formats out there:

---

Photography site map      Photography Information New Homes Photos Ridgefield Washington Photos - Phuket Thailand