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Baby Photography Tips
Photographing a baby can be fun, rewarding and educational experience for the aspiring photographer, (as mentioned on one of our favorite blogs, Digital Photography School). But what happens after you’ve photographed all the ‘basics’ - the top of her head, her feet, her scrunched up newborn face and laying on her tummy? Then, looking at them, they all can get pretty darn same-same. You can only take so many photos of your baby sleeping, right? Well, here are some tips and ideas. Please feel free to add your ideas too!
{The obvious}
The most obvious ways to photograph your little one is to first get those priceless, fleeting moments. The way she looked freshly new born, her wrinkly little hands, those skinny little legs. It only lasts a few weeks so get those right away.
{Flip It}
Something wonderful happens when you flip your photos. It becomes a portrait! And a more interesting one at that. Many babies who are unable to sit up are perfect candidates for this, just lay them in the daises, and do the flip.
{Get High}
Find interesting ways to photograph your little one from on high. If you’ve never visited the Mila’s Daydreams blog you simply MUST! Her mom has become a bit of a celebrity for her clever portraits of sleeping Mila, all shot from above. I just can’t get enough of those photos! So find interesting ways to photograph babies from a different POV.
{Style & Location}
Let’s be honest, babies are babies, and the ‘laying on the tummy’ pose is the standard. (You are kinda limited, right). But to make them more interesting, try taking them in all different seasons, all different locations and all sorts of costumes, outfits and accessories. If you’re finding your baby photos same-same and uninspiring, add some style or take the same posture in a different location. With the advent of Digital Photography, you can now experiment and take all the pictures you want, so have fun! The real challenge comes in trying to keep them clean, especially when we do any photographs right on the ocean. Sand, sand, sand everywhere – which is another story.
How about you? What are you doing to be adventurous with your shots and angles? Please share….
Related Articles
- Different ways to Photograph your Baby (digital-photography-school.com)
- Daily cute fix: A baby’s dreamland (holykaw.alltop.com)
- How-To: Create Beautiful Baby Photos (craftzine.com)
Christian the Lion – DVD and Book
Hi Everyone,
I must tell you, I was overwhelmed with the 700 visitors since we posted the video about “Christian”, this remarkably gentle and intelligent lion (while not surprised, it is very touching!). Too, I was surprised how many of you were like me, that had never seen or heard of Christian before. Where have we been? 
To be of help, you may want to try and hunt these down. (so far, I have been unsuccessful). They are the DVD entitled, “Christian the Lion“, and the book entitled “A Lion Called Christian”. You can find out more about these in great demand items by following this link.
Happy hunting for these “Born Free” like treasures that you and your family will surely enjoy for decades, granted you can get your hands on one. Let me know how you do in your search.
All the best…
________________________
UPDATE: Right after we posted this, our friend Michael Rackstraw, shared this with us. It may be helpful to any who are looking to track down these items. Thanks Michael!
You can get a copy of the DVD, “Christian the Lion at World’s End” from the Born Free Foundation in England. By purchasing the DVD you will be helping them with their animal conservancy programmes. Try their website at http://www.bornfree.org.uk
Related Articles
- That Lion YouTube Hit to Become Movie [Crossovers] (gawker.com)
- Writers Hired For Sony’s Christian The Lion The Movie (cinemablend.com)
The Bettels Family
We had the pleasure of taking portraits of this wonderful family on the eleventh of July. We had a really fun time despite the heat and humidity (and some big mosquitoes). The twin 3 year old children, Chaz and Basia, both were great. They were absolutely full of energy with all the activities running around. The whole shoot was out at their beautiful new home near Mulberry, Missouri. The parents, Brent and Piper, were totally up for each and every idea (and had some fantastic ones already) for creating portraits that were of heirloom quality. The Bettels home lended itself to a very natural and minimally posed session so we could capture the real personality of the children as they really are, and (with Tim and a lot of Grandpa and Grandma’s help) we think we accomplished that pretty well.
I think it’s important to invest in some good family portraits every few years. The time just flies too quickly, and children grow up so fast! Thank you Brent and Piper, I had a fun time with you, enjoy this preview of some of your proofs.
NILMDTS Workshop July 13, 2008
Today, Tim and I drove to Owasso, Oklahoma, to the Bailey Educational Center for this NILMDTS workshop. Professional Photographers, Nurses, Hospital administrators, and Mothers who had lost children recently from Lousiana, Arkansas, Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and one from Germany, it was a full house with standing room only. Also, CBS News Channel 6 sent a news crew up from Tulsa to document our workshop and the healing value to families who have suffered an early infant loss due to critically ill or stillborn babies. Watch it here.
Our part in NILMDTS is to offer bereavement photography to parents suffering the loss of their baby to and help them in their healing journey. Every time we do a session, our goal is to create sensitive images set to music and provided them on a complimentary DVD or CD (that the family can be used to print portraits) so that these memories will not fade with the passing of time. Again, there are absolutely no fees for this service.
Due to the sensitivity of this, Tim and I were looking forward to attending this workshop and receiving additional training on this, and we had barely gotten through the opening introductions when the deep feeling of these sincere, wonderful volunteers began to be manifest in the tears and sniffles, Tim and I included. It is beautiful to see such human compassion for others and we consider it a privilege to be associated with NILMDTS.
One mother during our session today, who had lost her last two children, (most recently just two months ago – which is when she first heard of NILMDTS) shared with us that “this is the most wonderful service, it meant so much to me and my husband. We have all these pictures hanging up in our house and they touch our heart everyday. We are so grateful, NILMDTS provides an unbelievable gift, thank you!“
The training workshop was extensive. Our NILMDTS Certified Trainer, Loy Payne, covered code of ethics, actual shooting techniques, use of lighting, recommendations on mobile equipment , certification, templates and even copyrighted music (some of the most moving music you will ever hear), and much more. We were shown how to create beautiful, cherished, heirloom portraits of these children! A very thorough, and compassionate, training session, I highly recommend it.
“THE BEST AND MOST BEAUTIFUL THINGS IN THE WORLD CANNOT BE SEEN OR EVEN TOUCHED. THEY MUST BE FELT WITH THE HEART.” – Helen Keller
This service provided is an entirely non-profit organization, all are volunteers, and it is supported by your voluntary donations. If you have any questions or would like to know more about this, feel free to contact Tim or I. We are happy to share with you what we know so you can make a decision for yourself as to whether you would like to join.
“YOU MAKE A LIVING BY WHAT YOU GET, YOU MAKE A LIFE BY WHAT YOU GIVE.” - Sir Winston Churchill
With every good wish for you and yours,
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Family Portraits at the Arboretum
Tim reminded me that it’s been a while since we’ve had some family portraits posted here on our blog, so I thought I’d share recent photos we took of a sweet family at the stunningly beautiful Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens. They have walking trails all through out the garden, Tim and I even found some great locations for future weddings that we are doing.
I hope you enjoy these photo’s of Shawn and Julene, along with their children Lauren and Attie Rose. Spring and Summer are the best times for family portraits because the weather is good and we can capture you and your family outside doing the things you enjoy doing together, making memories that will last a lifetime…
Out Of The Mouth Of Babes
Gaven was in this week to the studio for portaits. What an outgoing little boy. Tim and I had so much fun with him, he was like a little Jerry Lewis, just so full of life and not one ounce of shyness in him. It was such a delight to have he and his mother in. I just had to share.
Thanks Gaven!
