You just point and shoot – right?
Er no..! When people think about baby photography they often only think about the actual ‘click’ of the camera without any idea of the hours of preparation that go into creating the perfect moment for that shot. In reality in order to create such beautiful images it takes between 7-10 hours of my time. Here is a snapshot guide to the behind the scenes prep both before, after and during a shoot to give you an inside peep to Echo Baby Photography – and your session if you have booked already :)
So first, LAUNDRY!
Blankets and wraps are washing and dried prior to each session. I use a non-bio liquid called SureCare which is gentle for baby’s skin and has nothing in it to cause irritation.
Once the wraps and blankets are clean and soft I pack the ones needed for a baby photography shoot – I have a box of boys wraps, one of girls wraps and one neutral colours which I bring to each session. For blankets it follows the same pattern – I have a box for each gender and at least two boxes of neutrals. People often ask me where on earth I have the space to store it all and… voila here is the Echo Hub…
It is my haven of calm away from normal family life with 2 little ones :)
Step One – Load up the Car
Backdrop
Lights
Counter weights (4 x 6kg bags for weighing down the bottom of light stands and props)Newborn Posing Beanbag
Fabrics, wraps and hats
Backdrop Poles
Pegs, Wing nuts
Flash & extra batteries
Small Space Heater (for making the room nice and toasty)
Extension Cables
Heartbeat soother (mimics sounds from the womb and used as a soother)
Camera Box inc backup camera
On the day…..
The session will take around 2-3 hours so we can do the shoot without rushing the baby, allowing time for feeding, changing and settling & unloading and packing up at the end. I warm the room up to a toasty 26 degrees and get a variety of shots including beanbag poses, family shot with both parents and individual poses moving on to one prop, usually a tub. I take closeups of feet and tiny hands and try to use a good selection of different wraps and textures within the session. It’s a relaxed session with plenty of time for any feeding or changing that the baby needs. I pay close attention to any cues they give to pre-empt the baby’s needs and keep them safe and comfortable at all times. For setups including the tub I always ask one of the parents to act as a ‘spotter’ to ensure the baby is safe at all times and within reach.
In this shot you can see the baby inside one of my tubs with the backdrop clipped to the stand behind. The light from the window falls softly on his face and while his Mum is sitting close to him I can move further back for a pull back shot.
After capturing lots of beautiful photos it’s time to reload the car, say goodbye to those lovely new parents and their gorgeous baby and head on back to Echo Hub. Here is where the time consuming part happens! On getting home I upload all the images to my hardrive and keep the files on the camera SD card as a backup. Each image is zoomed in to 200% to check clarity of details such a eyelashes and I select the best of the best for reviewing.
I use a wacom tablet and touch pen for all my editing as it makes for faster working and is more comfortable than using a mouse or touch pad. This initial selection usually takes one hour.
On making the first selection I will then resave those images to a different working folder before beginning the first edit. The soft edit is for my clients to have a preview of their images in their online gallery. Decisions about cropping, cleaning up backgrounds, adding vignettes all happen at this stage.
Editing….
Image from camera
After Editing…
The differences often are subtle but are all aimed at drawing the eye to the baby and creating a soft, calm look. Each soft edit will take from 10-15 minutes per photo, depending on the level of detail. Most babies have flakey skin which I soften by careful editing:
Sometimes the clamp is still attached to the baby’s belly button which I will carefully clone out:
So, after editing 20 images (total approx 3 hours) I will then create my client’s private gallery on my website for them to view. Once they have selected their package included prints I then go ahead and do a fine tune edit for printing. As my screen is calibrated with my print lab, any editing I do will look exactly the same after printing with colours matching correctly. Each image is resized and saved to the colour profile for Lustre paper before sending off to the lab.
It’s a Wrap!
Once the fabulous prints arrive (always an exciting moment for me) I carefully wrap each set in cellophane before wrapping in tissue paper and presenting in my special Echo box.
And that about wraps it up! Each newborn session takes 7 – 10 hours of my time. The care and attention I give each and every shoot means my clients receive great customer satisfaction and absolutely beautiful photos of their newborn baby.
Reserve your baby’s shoot now
To book your session now contact me here! I look forward to hearing from you :)
Trackbacks/Pingbacks