A Practical Pair: First Indoor Infant Photography Session

I'm so excited! I had the opportunity to shoot a sweet newborn last week. I used tips from assorted photography resources to set up a studio in the family's home so they did not have to travel. Shooting babies indoors is much trickier than shooting them outside. A: Indoor lighting is usually terrible. B: Using a flash on a sleepy baby is just rude, poor thing! I set my impromptu studio (kitchen chairs, large blanket, and rubber bands) near a large glass door and got some pretty good shots!

Keep looking to see the rest of my shots!

I can't decide how I feel about this shot. I love the baby feet, but I'm unsure about the wrap.

Does she look like a boy in this picture? Or does the photo appear purple?

Pictures with sleepy baby hands by the face make my hear happy. I'm so happy she cooperated =]

We took the girls outside to get some casual, candid shots of the girls, too.

(children cooperate way more outside =] )

The two mama's were impressed with these genuine grins- apparently these cousins fight ALL the time! =]

This girl is so spunky; I love it.

I learned a lot from this shoot:

1. I need a light reflector.

Some of the shoots would have been greatly improved with a second light source bouncing from the opposite side of the window.

2. I need a beanbag. I was using a boppy pillow in a few of these, but the incline is just too much sometimes. Having the gradual "bowl" shape you can make in a beanbag would be great.

3. It's easier to shoot a newborn without toddlers around trying to steal the spotlight. I brought Jackson to the shoot to meet these friends and he was obnoxious- he loves the camera AND babies...

I've become more comfortable with handling other people's newborns since my first photo shoot. I used to be nervous that the mother would hover and worry about positions I was placing the baby in, but I have not experienced that. I'm also happy to be a mom learning to shoot infants- I have the "mom touch" for calming fussy newborns when placing them in new positions.

These photos were from my first non-family member infant photo shoot.