family photography perth dc

 

Nataly Danilova Photography

1350 Beverly Rd, McLean, VA 22101

(571) 699-4450

I want to share 10 ‘lessons’ as well as ‘tips’ that I’m understanding:

1. Documentary vs Symbol

While I had visions of taking a lot of ‘cute’ shots of Xavier in his first week I stumbled upon that what actually happened was that the first week of his life finished up being more like any documentary shoot. The focus of my shots finished up being of many ‘firsts’. First moment using Mum, first bath, very first time on the scales (he was just below 9 pounds), first attire, first manicure (he acquired long nails from morning one), first time meeting grandparents etc. I ended up getting a picture of him using every visitor that came (these will make nice gifts) and chose to leave the ‘cute’ shots until after we got back home and he’d settled a bit more.

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I did get a few more ‘portrait’ like shots because first week but then finished up being more activity structured ones, often with other members of the family. On returning home and over the three weeks since I’ve continued to consider the documentary style shots but have seen a move to take extra portrait style shots additionally. Quite a few of our friends have commented for the nice balance between models.

2. Finding the Sides

baby photography dc-1One in the biggest challenges in photographing dc babies i always know many of my friends battle with is finding a very good angle to shoot by.

In the days following birth it is especially difficult as babies are typically kept swaddled in rabbit rugs and all you get seeing of them for 99% of times is a little red head. Add to that the complication of the lumps, marks, scratches and misshaped minds that newborns also usually arrive with and locating a flattering angle that will make more than just the actual proud parents ooh and aah may be difficult.

Don’t give upwards though, all is not lost – here are quite a few things that you should try to help using the above problems:

Get Down Low – one key to many people natural baby photography dc shots is usually to get down on the level. I’ve spent a substantial amount of time over the a week ago or two lying on to the ground next to Xavier. It’s something I do think we both enjoy regardless but it’s also an excellent place to use ones camera. Getting down low and acquiring it close (see below) does present some challenges with regards to focal length (I’m using a 24-105 zoom – usually in the widest focal length) but it means you get with shots that feel as if you’ve entered the babies world as an alternative to you’re looking down on it from above.

Close Ups – another approach to improve the angles as well as make your shots seem more intimate is usually to get in close by simply either physically moving in or simply by using a longer focal length. I’d suggest a longer focal length for the really close shots provides improvement over getting too close as shoving a huge lens in your infant photography dc’s face may freak them out slightly.

Nursed Shots – a number of the bests shots I’ve taken throughout the last month have been taken when people are already nursing Xavier. This puts him in to a more upright position which makes him look a bit more ‘human-like’ and opens up the angles for your pictures. Try a number of positions (over the neck, sitting him up, laying him the government financial aid arms, lying him on the tummy etc) as every opens up different possibilities. Also remember that baby photography dc is not the sole potential subject – parents, grandparents, siblings, friends etc all can add context towards the shot and you’ll appreciate having more than just baby photography dc alone shots later!

3. Go Macro

We all love newborn babies because they’re cute and small (if solely they stayed that way). In its entirety they are cute but they also are made of many little cute limbs that present a photographer dc with a range of wonderful subject matter – in particular when you zoom in with them.

If your camera carries a macro mode or if you’re lucky enough to possess a purpose built macro lens use it to isolate a one body part (like any hand, an ear, any foot, a mouth etc) and use that since the complete focus of ones shot.

Doing this accentuates the detail that’s often missed in the shots many of us take – and you’ll come across they punctuate your full assortment of photos beautifully and could possibly make great feature shots.

4. Identify ‘Happy Times’

photographing dc-Babies-1Another challenge with newborns is they don’t tend to spend time smiling. In fact they don’t spend time doing anything much. Asleep, feeding, pooing, crying….. possibly there is anything else?

Keep on the consider those times in baby photography dc’s life when she or he seems most settled as well as content. They may not smile yet but occasionally in a daily routine which might be better than others for photos. I find in Xavier’s day quite a couple of moments which can be especially good. One is bath moment (he loves it) as well as another is mid early morning after he’s had half a feed and after we let him have slightly ‘play’ before finishing the feed off. These are times when we’re guaranteed to get spacious eyes and even any giggle or two.

5. Keep Camera Close

Our baby photography dc is pretty predictable with regards to his daily routine (we seem to have got him very settled into one witout a doubt somehow) but there are moments the whole day that he does one thing cute, disgusting, funny as well as worth capturing. Without the camera helpful you’ll miss these moments as they may be fleeting. We tend to leave our DSLR in your livingroom where we spend almost all of our time with him but additionally have a point and shoot inside bedroom for other photos.

6. Keep Shooting

Babies change each day, especially in the first month or two, it’s exponential and quite amazing to see. However unless you’re trying to find the changes you can actually miss them so it’s it’s imperative that you take shots regularly.

We have friends who took countless shots in the first few days after their baby photography dc was created but who didn’t get any shots again until eventually he was 6 several weeks old. They realize the amount he’d changed and the amount they’d failed to photo him until they when compared their early shots using the 6 week shots.

7. Befriend the actual Airbrush

A lot of shots that you just see of babies in Flickr are quite amazing in how sleek and perfect they get them to look. The reality is that many babies are not pretty so ‘perfect’ (however very much their parents think that they are). Little scratches, sleep inside eyes, snotty noses, dried milk throughout the mouth, blotchy skin, birth marks and bumps etc are standard for all babies.

You may want to keep a warm, wet face washer helpful to wipe away some of these things but in some instances they will come out in ones photos.

I don’t mind them quite often – I think they show baby photography dc as one is and there’s nothing wrong to be able. However at times they could be a little distracting and for anyone special shots that you may want to give as gifts you may want to do a little photoshop retouching. Most post processing enhancing tools will have getting some sort of airbrush or retouching tool – discover how to use it, even if it’s to smooth over the principal marks and you’ll be amazed through the results.

8. Take Out colour

baby photography dc-1Another tip looking at for a little photo editing is usually to tweak the color of this shot.

We’ve actually converted a number of of our shots of Xavier into Non colored documents format. This has been useful for assorted reasons:

It’s great for managing the scratches, marks and blotchiness i always discussed above and significantly lessens the distractions they bring.

It is an excellent option for ‘birth shots’ or those taken right after it. I’ve written relating to this before and we found which it really did work.

The idea softens your shots fairly. Babies are soft, cuddly little things as well as taking the color out like this accentuates this.

Similarly you could also like to experiment using de-saturating the colors with your shots to a less extent than going paper. Leave a little color with your shots and you’ll end up with pastel like images that again soften the sensation of the shots and allow it a very different appear and feel.

9. Indirect Lighting

An issue that I’ve faced can be that it’s Winter here in Australia and that the lighting in your home is a little bleak. There have been several brighter days than some others when I’ve had some terrific results photographing dc them near windows in sun light – but in many instances I’ve needed to use a flash to some degree.

I’m no lighting expert but have discovered that my best results are already when I’ve used my flash within a ‘bounce flash’ way – shooting it up in to a ceiling so that it’s oblique. This diffuses the light a whole lot which leaves Xavier less washed out in the shots, and even more importantly means he’s not blinded through the light from it (we don’t need to blind our little people by our photographic infatuation – I actually inquired a pediatrician about digicam flashes and his advice was which it wouldn’t do damage but that to get a babies comfort that oblique flash (ie bounced and/or diffused flash) can be advisable. I’m sure different doctors would advise different things but I play the idea safe with my bounce flash – and steer clear of flash altogether where possible). It also gives a fairly pure looking shot.

If you don’t employ a bouncable flash try bumping up the ISO setting on ones camera and increasing the actual aperture setting – this may mean you won’t need to use the flash at all if you experience at least some sun light in the room. The other strategy is always to diffuse the flash slightly by putting some tissue over the flash.

10. Pick Your Moments

There’s two things I must say here:

Firstly timing your shots is very important. Babies don’t move much they subtly change their position and expressions with techniques that can make or break a photo. I’ve had my camera placed in continuous shooting mode since Xavier was created because I find that shooting 1 frame often misses ‘the moment’. I’ve also wound up with some wonderful sequences of shots by shooting off 3 to 4 shots in a strip.

Secondly I guess I wanted to remind us all that expecting photography dc is not really a photographic opportunity and that it’s imperative that you put the camera down every now and then. If you’re anything like me you may easily walk around with all your camera permanently to ones eye and forget to really enjoy the moment. Don’t just create wonderful images of this baby photography dc – create memories with all your baby photography dc – balance is a good thing!

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