Rangefinder - September 2014

After photographing newborns for almost 15 years, I have learned to streamline my sessions to an efficient workflow—my goal is to achieve a sellable shot within the first 15 minutes.

One way to do this is to photograph your tiny subjects in
a transitional posing method, meaning making minor adjust-
ments during the session (of clothing, set and position) to create
various looks and unique images while barely moving the baby.

1: Baby Bundled

My session starts by wrapping a fed and burped baby in a blanket, and putting her in a nice cozy environment right away. Once I do this—and the baby falls into an easy slumber—the thought of moving her to an entirely new set is not a good idea.

I will usually place the baby in a basket just big enough to fit her, so she is snug and content. In this example at right, the baby has been placed on a soft beanbag. If I am on location, I will use natural light and a reflector; otherwise in-studio I use large softboxes. In this image, I am using Paul C. Buff’s PLM system.

I have turned the sound down on my camera so the clicking sounds are not audible, and we use a free white noise app on my phone, placed near the baby. I am shooting over the baby, and making sure my camera’s wrist strap is on for safety.