|
Looking for Photography ideas, tips, and information? Try our
Custom Photography ONLY Search Engine powered by Google!
Please Visit Our Sponsors!
|
| 31 Aug 2006 05:11:13 am |
 Best Time for Newborn and Baby Portraits |
|
|
I'm always asked when is the best time to have baby portraits taken. Well the answer of course is, "it depends". It depends on your child as all children are different. However, there are ages that are better than others for most babies.
For newborn photography, I highly recommend the first few days after birth if possible. Generally, within the first week, you have a much better chance of your new baby remaining calm throughout the process.
It's also important to be fast no matter what day you take them. The longer the session goes on, the more likely they'll get irritated and start crying. And once that happens, there done, and you're unlikely to get any non-crying shots after that. So make a good plan of shots that you want. Organize them for the least amount of changes in posing, props and lighting. You can even practice going through the list without the baby to uncover any issues you didn't think of. Then just follow your babies cues. If they start to fuss, end the session. Everyone will be happier if you do. Don't wait till it becomes an all out screaming storm to quit.
Depending on the baby, your session can go from 15 minutes to 45 minutes. You'll have more luck if they are well fed, changed, and rested. Try observing your newborn after he or she wakes up from a nap to determine if she needs a little time to 'wakeup' before heavy stimulation like a photography session or they are very calm immediately afterwards. Then plan accordingly.
As for the time of day to take newborn pictures, 99.99% of the time you want to have the session in the morning. After lunch, it's all downhill and your success rate will be very low. It stays this way pretty much throughout the first year of a baby's life.
I've had success taking newborn portraits up to 6 weeks after birth but it really depends on the baby's disposition. However, they start losing that newborn look in about 3-4 weeks after birth. So you're not getting a true newborn portait.
After those early days, getting another baby portrait is best left until they are six months old for most babies. You you can get some quick 5-15 minute sessions in and get those early smiles, but generally they get cranky fast and won't last for a full 45 minute or longer session.
So for family heirloom type portaits, I'd get photos of the early newborn days, at around six months or so when they are sitting up by themselves. And again when they are standing well on their own around one year. Go ahead and plan some snapshots though to capture all the ages and stages such as first smile, first head raise, first pushup, first rollover, first crawl, first climb, etc.
One final note, always start with portraits of the baby alone and then work in family members. You do this for two reasons. One, the individual baby pic is the most important and you want to make sure you get that before they decide they are done. And two, if they start to fuss, they will usually calm down at least for a few more pics if a family member is holding them. |
|
|
|
| |
Category : Newborn
| Posted By : Marcy |  Comments [0] |  Trackbacks [0] |
|
|
|
| The URI to TrackBack this entry is :
http://portraitblog.mkartworks.com/trackback.php/17 | |
|
|
|
|
