SHOOTING STEPS
1 SWADDLE THE BABY Make the baby feel safe and secure by swaddle-wrapping them. Use a stretch wrap first, then hold them securely making sure the arms and feet are comfortable. Over this, use a second wrap to tie in with the colour scheme being used.
2 POSITION BABY IN PROP Make sure no part of the baby touches the prop and that they are safe and comfortable. Use a weight at the bottom of the prop to ensure it will not tip. Have the head positioned higher than the feet so the feet don’t become the closest part to the lens.
3 METER YOUR LIGHT Use a light meter to accurately set up your light and remove the guesswork from using studio lights. Set the shutter speed and ISO on the meter and take a flash reading to give your aperture. A trick to help soften the appearance of newborn skin is to slightly overexpose.
4 USE A GREY CARD White balance can cause problems when working with any subject. Grey cards are designed to help you set the colour temperature. Use the grey card as a neutral colour reference and starting point for your white balance. You can set this in-camera or use the tools found in Camera Raw or Lightroom.
5 POSITION THE LIGHT The position of the light depends on the style of image you’d like to produce. Newborn portraits tend to be lit softly using a large modifier to create a soft shadow and avoid creating too much contrast. Use the edge of the softbox to feather the light across the subject while the rest of the light will act as a filler.
6 SHOOTING ANGLES If shooting above a newborn, it’s important to keep your position correct to get the right angle. Make sure the camera strap is securely around your neck and place yourself directly over the baby. Use a 35mm or zoom, but don’t stand on steps in case you fall. Baby safety is paramount.