# Newborn Photography.. The hardest!?



## willis_927 (Jul 14, 2011)

What do you guys think? Whats the Hardest type of photography that you have done? I have only done a few newborn shoots, but for me, they are hands down the hardest. Tonight for example, I went to do a shoot (small room with poor lighting, so I had to Set up some speedlites), the mom and dad spent about 1.5 hours rocking/feeding the baby trying to get it to stop crying, but it just didn't happen... Sooo I tried to take some shots of the grumpy baby but it was just pointless, I took about 15 (very unflattering) shots until we desided to re-schedule. Sooo for me, newborn photography is the hardest, you just never know how how they are going to react.


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## Kerbouchard (Jul 14, 2011)

It's all hard if you don't know what you are doing.  

It's all relatively easy once you learn the basics...
You know... like not scheduling a newborn shoot when the baby is awake.


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## willis_927 (Jul 14, 2011)

lol, last time I checked a newborn doesnt have a sleep schedule, so it would be pretty hard to plan a shoot for when it is sleeping.


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## Kerbouchard (Jul 14, 2011)

Of course newborn's have a sleep schedule.  They sleep like 20 hours of the day.  About the only time they are awake is when they are dirty, wet, or hungry.  That sleep schedule can also be altered.  Chances are, the parents put the baby down for a nap a few hours before you got there.  If they would have played with the baby, fed it about 20 minutes before you got there, and then let the baby take a nap, it would have been a different situation entirely.  

A huge part of getting great photos for clients is letting them know what they need to do to give you the best chance of getting great photos.  That is the part that should be discussed during the client briefing when the shoot is booked.


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## willis_927 (Jul 14, 2011)

Kerbouchard said:


> If they would have played with the baby, fed it about 20 minutes before you got there, and then let the baby take a nap, it would have been a different situation entirely.
> 
> A huge part of getting great photos for clients is letting them know what they need to do to give you the best chance of getting great photos. That is the part that should be discussed during the client briefing when the shoot is booked.



mhmmm, I know what your saying man, and this was all done. The thing is, it doesn't always work out that well.


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## Kerbouchard (Jul 14, 2011)

willis_927 said:


> mhmmm, I know what your saying man, and this was all done. The thing is, it doesn't always work out that well.



Well, I can agree with that.

As far as your question;
'Hardest' is relative.

Here is my list-

Hardest in terms of:
patience: extreme macro of living subjects with focus stacking
equipment: indoor sports (or possibly good pictures of Pluto...I've heard that can get pretty expensive )
environment and conditions: war photographers
skill: doing any of it at a top level
overall: probably national geo wild life( skill, extreme patience, and top notch gear)

So, for me, no, Newborn Photography would not make my list.


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## NikonME (Jul 15, 2011)

Kerbouchard said:


> As far as your question;
> 'Hardest' is relative.
> 
> Here is my list-
> ...



You've done all of those?


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## Kerbouchard (Jul 15, 2011)

NikonME said:


> Kerbouchard said:
> 
> 
> > As far as your question;
> ...


No, never have managed to get a clear shot of Pluto.


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## NikonME (Jul 15, 2011)

Kerbouchard said:


> [No, never have managed to get a clear shot of Pluto.



I think he was asking what is the most difficult photography *you* have ever done. 

And it's not really hard to get a photo of Pluto, all you need is the disney channel and a high definition television.


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## j28 (Jul 15, 2011)

Sometimes all the magic tricks in the world won't save a newborn session.  They have their own ideas on how things will run and it isn't like you can reason with them or even bribe them.  All of the tips mentioned are great ways to increase the chance of success, but there are still no guarantees. 

For me newborns are my favorite and high school seniors/adult sessions are the hardest, mostly because I am not as skilled in posing adults and the flow of adult sessions.  I greatly prefer the newborn stage so that is where my practice and education have focused.


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## indeedies (Jul 15, 2011)

Newborn photography is by far the hardest for us as well. We went for a shoot yesterday and spent four hours there. In that time the baby was fed twice, had his diaper changed four times, and had to be rocked back to sleep three times. It was incredibily difficult. In that four hours I'd say we had about 1.5 hours of shooting; which was enough but it was extremely stressfull.


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## flea77 (Jul 15, 2011)

I will start by saying I do not do newborns, not my thing. With that being said, for me, anything that can be rescheduled is not really that hard and stressfull. Weddings? You betcha! One chance, no retakes, get it right or get sued, now _that _is stressful. Sports? Can be as well. Ever been the one photographer who was chimping when the one thing happened that could define the game? Been there, done that, it sucks. (play ended, awesome midair block of the football, did I get it?!?!?! Yes! Look at how cool this shot.......fight? What fight?)

Allan


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## camz (Jul 15, 2011)

I'll have to say photography that you can't reshoot like mentioned is probably the hardest photography and in portraiture I think it's weddings that take the cake.  

Newborn isn't hard at all(when they're sleeping as mentioned).  Being that they're fragile is what intimidates photographers I think it's not the photograhy itself.  Once you get these little guys asleep you have all the time in the world. What I do is give instructions to the mom's to change poses.  I'm hands-off most of the time when I shoot newborns.  I just feel more comfortable behind the camera while I give direction.

My wife on the other hand has it easier, she loves manipulating the poses herself.  Being a dude and all moms just warm up to my wife that's why she took over newborns. I'm stuck with weddings...lol


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## mbruno (Jul 20, 2011)

Oh my, there is SO much involved in properly photographing a newborn.  I  purchased a great instructional DVD that I swear by, you can find them  on the Shoot Baby website or eBay.  This is a good price for the same one I have!

There are tons of tricks to settling a newborn...if a feeding doesn't work, I strongly suggest asking the mother to leave the room...Believe it or not, a baby can smell their mothers milk and it can often make them fussy as they would rather be eating than taking photos.  I also ALWAYS bring ambient noise (I have the sound of a mothers heartbeat on my ipod and I play it quite loudly in the room).  Also, a space heater is a must, the room needs to be extremely warms, 78 degrees or higher if you can...you will sweat your bum off but the baby will be very comfy.  Those are a couple of the tricks I use, there are tons more!

Good luck with your re-shoot!


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## Formatted (Jul 20, 2011)

The hardest type of photography? I sincerely hope you are trolling...


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## Robin Usagani (Jul 20, 2011)

The hardest photography would be taking pictures of Kim Jong Il.


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