Lessons

Lesson Info

Start to Finish Newborn Shoot: Baby Pram Prop

you want babies milk to come in I had three caesareans I gotta tell you I was in the hospital for five days my milk oh my boobs my scar off honestly it was so hard to get me just to go to the bathroom let alone going for a newborn session salute and so I feel like the two day stage is a little too early three days a little too early um we've turned five six days successfully if mom's nursing you really gotta talk to mama how is that baby feeding is that baby getting milk are you supplementing because if they're not getting milk what's gonna happen they're not going teo last a long time they're going toe cluster feed they're going to be starving because they're just not getting enough milk so sometimes it may require that visit to the pediatrician to say hey what's going on you also you know we do a lot of pregnancy newborn so we do educate our clients at the pregnancy stage so our clients are kind of prepared but we d'oh thank you let's talk about something that I feel like is going on...

in the industry right now the past two months we've gotten frantic calls from mom's saying they're told it's too late to photograph their baby that people are posting on their facebook page that if they don't pre book their baby now they're not going to get in and if they don't pre book before the baby's born they're not going to photograph them and if they don't come seven eight nine ten days it's too late they've missed the window and how many calls have we gotten lately where they're like I'm so sorry it's too late I'm like do tomorrow I'm there like packing for the hospital and I'm not going to get in and and home sister maybe it is already a week old and I went to three other photographers and they're like yeah it's kind of too late or or they haven't even talked to the photographer they've gone in the photographer's facebook page and the photographers like I'm booked till march I can't take nobody else I'm full and if you're a photographer and you don't need any more business and you want to say that your book to march fine no all power to you but what's happening hiss um there's scaring people away and we have had more calls in the past two months about people freaking out because they haven't pre booked and pre paid for their photographer while the baby's in utero and I'm like ease up ease up ease up guys I'm pretty busy I've got a big clientele I'm never too busy for a mom that's had a baby I also schedule my life accordingly meaning that I have room I'm closed sunday monday I only worked late one to two days a week I don't work every saturday what does that mean if I have ah it's my baby's twelve days can can you get me and I can get him in if your schedule is overbooked over packed and you aren't willing to get in new babies that's fine but I just want to say be careful what you're putting out there into the world because you're freaking mom's out and they're calling us up and we're like it's okay it's okay and then I'm getting calls from mom my baby was in the nick you I'm so sorry is it too late and my baby's had surgery and you have to understand how many babies aaron the nicky where you guys have you ever visited nick you I have friends and that our nick you nurses babies don't just pop out come home with mama and ten days later they're ready for a photo session that's a very small percentage men many many many many many babies have developmental issues have lung issues they need extra care never mind mom mom I've had mom's bleeding they need to go back in and I'm holding her I haven't given her to you because I'm like if I'm gonna keep her in any deeper um because making weak so put a cream like a cream something um doesn't have to be a for I thought that was saw something thick cream I think in that first batch so I'll finish my little soapbox we have to remember that we're dealing with newborn babe jeez I've had newborn babies without years without a finger um I've had babies a touch too heart monitors I've had moms that it had to go back in for surgery I've had moms who have had twins and have lost the baby you know I feel like right now everybody's so excited they just want to get that perfect newborn shine if you don't come to me with a seventy nine ten maybe I can't get it at the end of the day this is a baby you guys if it if someone calls me a four weeks and they're like is it too late no it's not too late am I going to promise the froggy pose no of course not you do different poses for difference baby stages right ah froggy poser me mainly getting a certain amount of time and you know what talk oppose you may only get mr meantime they only khun bend and flex for so many weeks those first couple of weeks when they're still like they're in utero is how they're going to be bendy um but I just want to encourage that all newborn photographers out there just think about what you're posting encourage and lift up mom's too so say you know I am looking went to two weeks out but I do have room for last minute newborns I am available to you as I said if you don't want to be available no problem pass them on to someone who does can I tell you something amazing that just happened recently to me while we're putting her in here corruptions would you um she sent a blanket no this's from prissy prissy props I think it just came with you know what that little soft one from customs photos homes that one is too dark let's just try it will be too dark to see that's pretty too no no oh yeah let's try um I'm gonna do a shout out to a photographer because she asked me to photograph her pregnancy which was fine I do it all the time for other photographers there's no big deal and then we did our newborn not once not twice but three times we had so much fun she just was like I want this and I went that and if we can get it great but what I think is amazing is she started referring her clients too because she's on maternity leave and I was like I want to see more of that I want to see more people say I'm on maternity leave here's another photographer because she didn't have to do that ah lot of people are afraid to do that for competition she's in l a I'm in orange county I don't consider her competitors consider her colleague and I recently photographed one of her clients and I just feel like it was so nice I was like we need let's create a network amongst your community of other newborn photographers and when you're on maternity leave or you're sick I can't she when I'm sick right andi you're out or family calls why not have a network of photographers that you can pass things back and forth to and open up the community so that if someone is booked you khun say open so and so's not booked because she needs more work and I have too much work why not that so I want to say thank you to captain reid photography because she did that and I was like you want her bottom lower you yeah I think so okay well see so this is a teeny tiny bram noticed that I got her in position on my leg when you're using a prop this is the last thing we're going to do because we are running out of time it probably took a little too much time if I haven't done that second basket segment we would have done the beanbag because keeping my my say I do two to three so really that was to this is the third normally I would have done basket prop beanbag but that's okay because we have like five other babies so keeping in mind that were so still keeping that two hours shoo we're going to do this and then mom dad baby we're going to wrap it up and I'm getting her in the position that I want her in the prop okay we're going in so you take her bomb this is tight yeah thank you john no she yeah so I think she has to hang this way and I can't put her down she has nothing under I think she needs a big one living big ones things get a little flatter underneath way need like has a chapter of like a new born photographers for nigeria this hand gun under her chin and that way yeah it eliminates the if you don't book your baby now with me no one's gonna shoot photograph your baby could do that you gotta do it without competing with each other to shed a scripture bum back a little further there's little way so yeah she's like really cozy this way now this little graham thing from pissy props that was from detecting the source of the research she warned me it is tiny but it's really soft and safe in adorable now this is one where you see how should I have to hold her but do you want her head here do you want in front well look how cute face but um particularly because what I'm thinking is you bull racing I think I definitely can't look over no no no no no no she okay I have her but I feel like I've I've loved was trying to put this gonna take her out I lost you sorry I wasn't comfortable when you're not comfortable if you just pull it out this shot once I get it is two minutes so I would much rather just when I feel like she's like knew that I was seated holder just let her know it's gonna be okay wanting anything the harmer and I want to shove her in a teeny tiny thing there's actually plenty of space and there we just have to position it right I wish that top went down yeah that would be perfect yeah yeah can we put a light out or um well actually no john no you know why this was what I was saying it's more darker looking it's just her face and probably well are positioning I would maybe put like a sandbag here so that it wouldn't yes now that we have a saying here that's the way you put it there maybe while we're positioning and I'll move it away too so it's not going thank you back and forth e can I ask you a question creative photography wanted to know if you always shoot from above when you're shooting with props only when it's a basket like I did before okay now I'm gonna shoot you're going to see that I'm not shooting from above you have a bottom of her bottom can we take her head that was I needed to get her hands under her head and get her cozy the minute you feel like something's not working change it immediately approximately how many poses will you do in a particular send a two hour session keep in mind that I'm only doing about two to three setups within each set up I'm going to do about it four to five transitions so I would say unique poses thirty years for dio like a basket bucket or proper something and then being bad and then within each one I would say a few variations like hat rap headband on rap knew I could easily show forty different looks you need something in the way you have her I have to use the little disc already really it's under here and it seems like he couldn't do this buyer so what you here you need an assistant you can't you can't need a little more you might have to hold her head under the scythe how do you feel about this left hand over here so if you let go your hand I have ahead let's figure out where you're gonna be I need you let slide all of that off the staff her head is not not going to stay it's not going to happen I'm not even gonna pretend that it's going to happen there is no reason for it tiffany is going to put her hands here and we're gonna get the shot it's just that simple I am going to put a shout out to retouch up dot com who I know is one of our sponsors who I did a thousand re touches with last year I am not a re toucher I am a photographer I have no desire to be a retouched sir I know how to retouch I know howto photo shop I think everybody should know the basics but I've got better things to do with my day so this shot I will upload to retouch up dot com and hopefully if they're watching they will have to us by the morning and they're going to take tiffany out I am not I have no desire to take tiffany out if I can do this we're the weight out they're going to do this and I have to tell photographers who spent all night retouching why are you spending on lightly touching ru photographer or re toucher because I don't want to be a re toucher I would love her hand underneath her head but I am not going to stress I'm gonna shoot it and then perfected and if we get it it's a bonus I always say I get the shot and then I can perfect it and if I get it the way you want it then it's a good day so I see fuzz inner face so I'm gonna try and get a hand under it if you stay there and then we got it we got two parents and a couple questions yes make notes for your retouch er's if you do see linda you do see certain things that's my first part my question and the second is when I look in your photographic work your color temperature your style seems to have a certain feel to it do you also give them direction for how you want that toe look okay first part of the question I do put notes for sure I'm gonna put her hand under I will say my notes for this retouch will be remove adult remove sand bag that's it I will do everything else they do not process my images I process my images all they d'oh who may have lost her all they do is retouch so the reason my images there we go have the same look and feel is because I'm doing that larry asked retouching the original file all I care about is taking tiffany out and removing the sandbag I get everything else so they're doing the heavy photo shop lifting correct great that's great good to know thank you it is that is that the workflow take the photo send pretty much the raw to them they'll do the retouching and then you do your processing now okay what's that workflow here's the workflow we load images in my room and we do what I call a quantity at it I can take five hundred images and knock it down to sixty in no time no one can do a quantity at it but me a quantity at it so you're calling it a quantity and a calling okay my assistants don't want to do it they can't do it I know what I want I don't want duplicate poses my client doesn't need to see five hundred images I strip it down then depending upon time I either will do the cropping in light room or an assistant will do ninety percent of the time the assistant will do it but I am very fast so I can buy concern sorry I can I can do it pretty quickly so if I have the time I will do it um do me a favor it if angle the cream a little may be asking too much just turn the whole thing a little bit to you just a little bit just a little bit and then do it and then just do me one favor right here with your fingers are can you just tuck that in tap tap tap tap tap tap there not a big deal not a big deal breaker so I'm gonna go vertical on this I'm gonna go horizontal on this I can probably get rid of this front hand but I'm not worried just just leave it right there I'm fine holding she likes you she's holding on to you okay so I do a quantity at it then we go in for cropping let's say the assistance crop it now does it look weird when they re touch it because it'll look like your hands and just see if you can just relax it so I could like overhead yourself just keep her head I'd rather you keep her head there we go so I'm going to tell do you need the handle of the pram we think hair with the handle right here now we got it so um forget it that's a wrap let's get parents so I will tell you so I will do the crop let's say my assistants do the cropping then they'll say anna do you want to look at this before we export I will go in and use any filters adjustments minor minor minor touch up I do not retouch images before the clients see them what I do is I picked three to four I'm gonna hold her head when you take her body I'm going to do three to four beautiful and you could just hold on okay I will pick three to four for sneak peeks we're gonna pull this way and pulled a boner yet for sneak peeks for the client and I will ask the client do you want me to sneak peek because sometimes they believe it or not are not on facebook shocking I know but I will on ly in light room after we've cropped when I see one that I love I love that I pop it in the photo shop I use portraiture to smooth the skin love portraiture portraiture too smooth skin and if the parents are worried about pimples or whatever they're worried about you should pick one of those images that they're worried about the most clean it up to perfection for my little spin on it I only do this for three images maybe five five times usually one two three I will pick one image like this that requires retouch send it to retouch up they we schedule ordering appointments within seven days of them coming to see us so I sent it to reattach a protection has a back usually in forty eight twenty four to forty eight hours when they come in for the when they come in for the ordering appointment I will let them know that the images have been cut down for quantity and they have been pre cropped meaning if I cropped it vertical they wanted horizontal usually we can do that um I've only touched up a few every single image they buy will be touched up at no charge so they don't have to worry about that what they need to focus on we'll just pull it all the way down what they need to focus on is the posts and not worry about anything else so if you see acne if you see if you leaked on your shirt I don't care about any of that let's just look at the post and we'll go from there there is more to that because now you go into the whole selling which I think we're talking about a three yes I think that we're going to show images day three and go through this process great and you know people say I'm up until four in the morning because I need to clean up every single image thing to see my touch my flare no they don't you need to educate them on what you do is so that it puts value to that image they don't know they're up till four in the morning that your kids are mad at you because you never talk to me in bed last night and your husband cook dinner you're mad let's put papers away so you're mad because you stayed up all night then they didn't spend enough money to to justify the amount of time and energy that you spend editing their images I mean I have a client spend one hundred dollars I could have a client spend five thousand dollars there is no difference between those two dollar amounts based on my energy right tiffany isn't that true it's true I can do a thousand dollars sail one day and a three thousand dollars bail the next day and an eighty dollars sale the next day and I have not changed my process once at the end of the day it's going to be about their budget and what they're capable of doing and it's not gonna be about your editing