Pixiq

Babies don’t negotiate, they don’t care how much you’re paying them or even if you’re paying them. You bathe them, outfit them and suddenly they burp up their entire lunch and they don’t care, it’s all the same to them. Sometimes the mere act of picking up my camera sends them into hysteria. Are there tricks of the trade for getting better baby photos? Absolutely.

Patience is essential. You may be ready, the light may be perfect, the camera is focused and you peer through the viewfinder to see the little bambino ready to burst into tears. What do you do at this point? Of course: Take the picture!

Some of the cutest expressions come at the most unexpected times. Click with reckless abandon, if nothing else you can put together a variety of head shots that show the little cupcake’s personality.

SHOOTING LOCATION
The first step to great baby pics is deciding on where to take the pics. Pick a place in the home that gets lots of sunlight, the more the better. However, don’t put the little bug-a-boo in direct sunlight but diffused light. Diffused sunlight across a baby creates soft tonal changes with low contrast. Babies in diffused light are beautiful and angelic.

If your home studio happens to be in direct sunlight you’ll need to either move it just enough to be in the shade or tack a white sheet over part of the window. Make sure to use a white sheet so a color cast isn’t added to the baby’s skin.

PROPS
Props always add interest to the baby picture. Walk around your house, garage and storage rooms, keep an open mind and look for possibilities. Always remember, “keep it simple” and “less is more.” Avoid building a studio scene with too much that competes with or distracts from the beautiful and handsome sport.

CAMERA SETUP
Camera set up is done even before “Cutie-pie” is placed with the props. I set my camera to Aperture Preferred, however you may chose other settings like Manual or Shutter Preferred. Fully Automatic doesn't always work, so try to learn the other settings.

SHUTTER SPEED 1/160 second or faster.
That’s One / One hundred Sixty, NOT the well known 1/60. If you zoom-in more than about 200mm, shutter speeds faster than 1/160 sec. are needed to avoid blur from hand shake.

APERTURE: f2.8, f4.5 or f5.6
Aperture settings below f5.6 will result in low depth of field so some of the baby will be out of focus, but the wide aperture is needed for a faster shutter speed. Unless you have an artistic approach to the composition, it’s essential that at least one eye is in focus, I mean, tack sharp, the sharpest part of the image. Be sure to set your camera on SPOT focus, it gives you the power to decide the exact point of focus. Lock focus on the eye, recompose then shoot, repeat for every shot.

ISO range 100-800
The higher the ISO the lower the image quality due to noise. The amount of noise will vary among camera’s but it’s usually safe to stay in a range of ISO 100-800.

FLASH OFF
Remember to turn your flash off. You’ll want the baby in light that is diffused, the light is soft and wraps around his soft skin. Shadows are gentle and subtle, they blend almost imperceptibly into bright areas. The shots of the little lad will be wonderful, even with milk breath.

WORKFLOW
Set your ISO on 800, the aperture on 5.6 and test the shutter speed. If your in the ball park of 1/160 sec. or faster, that’s good, if not open up the aperture to f4.5 or 2.8 to speed up the shutter. If you still have a problem reaching the goal, then the light is insufficient, you’ll need to go to a tripod or move to a brighter area. Don’t risk blurry pictures due to handshake. I agree, tripods are limiting compared to handheld but at least the images will be sharp.

FINAL TIPS
Lenses with fixed focal lengths have less moving parts and less glass than zoom lenses thus they are sharper. I use the Nikkor 85mm or the 50mm, both allow wide apertures and are very sharp. Fixed lenses will require you to move forward and backward more than a zoom lens. If space is limited you’ll probably do better with a zoom lens.

This is a good time to mention a couple of precautions. When shooting over the baby always wear your strap in case the camera slips and make sure your lens is clicked into position. I had a lens fall off the front of a camera because I inadvertently pressed the lock button and spun the lens. Be very careful about your camera on the tripod, they can be very unstable, top heavy and dangerous.

If the little fellow is positioned precariously let mom’s protective nature be your guide. Spotters are essential because babies can roll or have “falling” reflexes without warning. There’s a saying that more kids get hurt on daddy’s watch than mommy’s so when in doubt go with mommy’s intuition.