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.
A
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©
ANA
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NDT
TRANSITIONAL
Newborn SETUPS
Posing
BY ANA BRANDT
1
the how-to issue