Monday, August 3, 2009

8 Tips for Photographing babies

Posted by: Prajneet In: Photography| photography tips

Babies are and always will be the cutest subjects a photographer can find. Of course the flip side is that they hardly keep still and are difficult to settle for a picture. Nonetheless, their cute pink faces and big eyes work like magic pills and drain you of all your stress. I’m sure most of you love to see pictures of their childhood, and would love to revisit that time if it were possible. I, for one, would. But since that really isn’t possible, we would want to do our best to capture our babies’ first days in all their glory, so that he/she too can enjoy his/her babyhood even when they grow up. So whether it is your own kid, or somebody else’s, here are some tips that will help you get some wonderful pictures of babies:

1. Go Low: Squat, lie down, go down to their level so that you’re not imposing your size on to that tiny little thing. Besides, you want to make sure that the baby is comfortable and at ease, and this really helps. Being at their level will help you catch their eye, surrounded by some wonderful expressions too :)

2. Avoid Flash: We all know that flashes (especially non-diffused on camera flashes) can cause harsh shadows a lot of the time. But in case of babies, what is more important is the fact that their eyes are very delicate, like the rest of their body. Bright flashes of light will do them no good.

3. Let them be: Once you’re at their level, and the baby is comfortable in your presence, let them go about their business without interruption. This is the time where you can capture some great candid shots like the baby crawling towards his favourite toy, chewing on one, or simply rolling around on the floor going giggle giggle giggle :) Of course, in between you would like to have them looking at the camera as well, so snap your finger, or shake a toy to grab their attention.
You can get great candid shots of babies with people as well, especially with mommy and elder siblings and grandparents. Photos like that often capture both the persons looking equally adorable :)

Photo by David Terrazas

4. Capture firsts: You will obviously be taking plenty of uber cute baby portraits, but also very worth capturing are the babies firsts.. first crawl, first step, first bath, first moment with ma, first smile, first tooth, first nap.. okay, I might be getting carried away now.. what can I say, I love babies.

5. Zoom in: Close crops of the baby’s body parts like hands and feet can make some very compelling images. These are enhances even further if there is an elder’s hand/foot along with the baby’s, or anything else that shows the bond between the two. You may want to use a macro lens here to emphasize the texture of the skin and the tiny little fingers and toes.

Photo by apdk

6. Shoot them in the buff: Minimal clothing enhances your baby’s baby-like qualities and makes them look even more delicate. In fact, babies look extremely fragile when they’re sleeping nakey nakey. If you do decide to shoot them only in their diapers, make sure that the room they’re in is warm/cool enough, and let them be without their clothes for some time so that there are no unpleasant looking clothing lines on their soft skin.
If you decide not to do this and prefer to have them fully clothed, try and keep the clutter around them to a minimum.

Photo by efleming

7. Cover the head: A beanie or other similar head cover adds colour and balance to the picture. It also serves to cover the head which might still be taking proper shape :)

8. Shoot B&W or Selective Colour: Baby photos with selective colouring have their own charm. Black and white does something similar. You may use the Selective colour feature in your camera, or you can shoot in colour and make changes later during PP. I would prefer the latter since that gives me more flexibility.

In the end, just remember that the baby should be comfortable. If the baby starts feeling uncomfortable, take a break, and let the tiny tot calm down. Take a lot of pictures, but don’t take so many that they lose their charm. Keep a selected few, and delete the rest. You’ll enjoy and value them more that ways :)


Written by Prajneet Singh

Getting Pro Equipment at half price

Photography is without a doubt, a very expensive hobby, especially if your hobby doesn’t earn you anything (which of course would make it a profession and not a hobby). Anyways, the fact is that not everyone can afford all the expensive equip involved. But it is also a fact that many do end up with expensive equip without paying as much as one would expect. How?

Answer – Refurbished or used equipment. For those of you who are not aware, refurbished equipment is basically a brand new product that is being sold at a much lower price simply because someone opened it, used it for a week, didn’t like it, so returned it. It does NOT mean that the product is not good, but simply that the previous customer didn’t like it, for whatever reason. The products returned in such a manner undergo very strict quality control. They are taken apart and checked thoroughly for any technical problems, and also cosmetic issues. Once checked, the item is considered fit for resale and is put up for sale at a price that allows the company to just about recover their cost. Since it is technically not brand new, they have to sell it at a lower price point. And THAT is where we benefit. The quality control on refurb is as strict, if not stricter than normal. The only compromise is the warranty, which is usually reduced to about 3 months. But if something goes wrong in that time, some brands/showrooms/sellers replace the product with a brand new one! This I say by personal experience. So the point I’m trying to make – go for refurb if you can. A good place to find refurbished equipment – RefurbDepot.com. You can find decent deals at Amazon as well. I remember seeing a Rebel XSi with the 18-55mm IS kit lens for $500 refurb!

Another great option is getting used equipment. The advantages of used equipment actually make it pretty attractive.

-It is cheap enough as it is, and personally, I don’t mind a couple of scratches (obviously not on the places that matter) if it knocks off another 100 bucks.

-You’re sure that the product is good. With certain lenses having quality control issues and many ‘bad copies’ out there, you can easily check personally/ask for pictures to make sure that you have a good copy. And depending on who you buy from, certain sellers in forums have enough credibility for you to trust them without any issues.

-You can actually make a profit if you decide to resell what you’ve bought. It is not uncommon to see people selling equip they bought used at prices higher than what they paid.

But buying used equip has its risks, and we’ll dabble upon that in our next post on how to make sure you’re not duped when buying used equipment.


Written by Vernon Southward
Tips for Buying Used Photographic Equipment

Posted by: Prajneet

Following up on our previous post on buying refurbished and particularly used equipment, here are some tips for you to make the right choice when buying used photographic gear.

Michael Zhang over at PetaPixel has written two great posts which cover all major aspects that one needs to be aware of when purchasing second hand. In the first post, he mentions the advantages and basic tips regarding used equip, including where to buy from, what to buy, whats the right price, and plenty of other actually street usable tips.

The second post details on examining and testing the equipment before making the purchase. He also recommends meeting up and checking the gear personally as far as possible. This is where craigslist helps as you can find good deals in your own city, or close by. Buying from other sites like eBay or photographic forums is also fine, but then the risk is obviously higher. When buying without personal examination, it helps if you have a relative or a friend close to the seller’s location who can go and examine it for you and take delivery if you so wish. I did that and saved quite a bit of dough on a great deal being offered by a guy in the other corner of the country. My uncle who is an experienced photographer went, checked and approved the equipment before I made the payment and had it shipped. If not, then you should at least ask for pictures taken using the lens, and of the lens, clearly showing the glass on both sides.

You can read the posts here, and here. I’m sure you’ll benefit a great deal, because he’s written from experience (and the fact that all of his equipment except his camera body is used, does indicate quite a bit of experience ;) )