# Newborn Photography Help - Hanging in Cheesecloth?



## rebekaanne (Jan 30, 2012)

I am wanting to try a shot like this:

http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1112/553150021_9c11c2abbe_m.jpg

I tried this once but could not see the baby as clearly - is it possible my cheese cloth is just too course for this shot? Or is there some secret lighting tip I'm not utilizing? Any help would be wonderful


----------



## MLeeK (Jan 30, 2012)

That's more like gauze, not cheesecloth. Try some tulle.


----------



## luvmyfamily (Jan 30, 2012)

i focus more on photographing people, have seen a similar shot like this before, I think mleek is right, try some tulle.


----------



## MWC2 (Jan 30, 2012)

rebekaanne said:


> I am wanting to try a shot like this:
> 
> http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1112/553150021_9c11c2abbe_m.jpg
> 
> I tried this once but could not see the baby as clearly - is it possible my cheese cloth is just too course for this shot? Or is there some secret lighting tip I'm not utilizing? Any help would be wonderful



first this shot is a composite, it's at least two shots merged together  in PS.  Please do NOT try this without knowing how it is really done.   The baby is only about 1 to 2 inches off a beanbag chair/cushion and  someone's hands are on the baby at all times. 

'Cause it's harder than it looks... | Facebook


----------



## MTVision (Jan 30, 2012)

MWC2 said:
			
		

> first this shot is a composite, it's at least two shots merged together  in PS.  Please do NOT try this without knowing how it is really done.   The baby is only about 1 to 2 inches off a beanbag chair/cushion and  someone's hands are on the baby at all times.
> 
> 'Cause it's harder than it looks... | Facebook



I was going to say the same thing......
Same as with the popular head in hands pose!


----------



## TooShay (Jan 31, 2012)

Behind The Scenes&#8230; Pullbacks Of My Newborn Photography | amyrobertsonphotography.com

This photographer has a whole set up here. Probably not as safe, but better than those who just attach them to sticks and have nothing to catch them, lol.


----------



## Robin Usagani (Jan 31, 2012)

it is cheesecloth.  It is strong enough.


----------



## ababysean (Jan 31, 2012)

It is cheese cloth...  but please do NOT attempt a shot like this if you don't know what you are doing.

Have you not seen the mess swirling around facebook yesterday?

You need an assistant, if you want this shot.  NOT MOM, NOT DAD, but someone you have trained and knows what they are doing....


----------



## lapequesalsera (Jan 31, 2012)

ababysean said:
			
		

> It is cheese cloth...  but please do NOT attempt a shot like this if you don't know what you are doing.
> 
> Have you not seen the mess swirling around facebook yesterday?
> 
> You need an assistant, if you want this shot.  NOT MOM, NOT DAD, but someone you have trained and knows what they are doing....



What mess? I am concentrating on newborn photography and this interest me, I have not done this pose before, by the time 2 hrs are done with my sessions I already have enough great pics to choose from.


----------



## jaicatalano (Jan 31, 2012)

Yes find someone who is trained to do this with the first few times. You need 3 people including yourself. I know some that use 4 but you can get away with 3.


----------



## CCericola (Jan 31, 2012)

There is going to be a baby photography seminar on creative live. It's free if you have the time or you can buy it afterward. She supposably is going to take you step by step through the process. And no, don't use regular cheese cloth it is not strong enough and babies may have a reaction to the fabric. You need to look for the right fabric and wash it in dreft or the like to make it safe for baby.


----------



## ababysean (Jan 31, 2012)

Dreft always made my babies break out... just sayin'  That stuff is so ridden with chemicals and smelly stuff..... 

It is cheesecloth but it is not the kind you buy at walmart in the bag hanging next to the spoons.  You need high quality thick cheesecloth purchased in a kitchen store, not bed bath and beyond, in a high quality kitchen store. They also sell it online.  But if you don't know this, you probably should not attempt to hang babies in anything until you've a bit more practice and reading up on the industry...


----------



## 2WheelPhoto (Jan 31, 2012)

This thread delivers


----------



## ababysean (Jan 31, 2012)

I'm sorry if I sound like a ***** but newborn safety gets me going!


----------



## Robin Usagani (Jan 31, 2012)

come on.. mom holding the cheesecloth is fine.  Lift the baby like a couple inches from the bed and photoshop.


----------



## ababysean (Jan 31, 2012)

Schwettylens said:


> come on.. mom holding the cheesecloth is fine.  Lift the baby like a couple inches from the bed and photoshop.



No it isnt!  Mom has no idea what the eff to do.  lol  I don't trust mom.  I don't trust anyone actually.  Which is why I don't want to hang baby in anything....  Plus get mom around the baby and it will start to fuss/wiggle because it smells her, her first reaction is going to be grab up at the baby, not lay it down...  I don't know, plus if I'm charging what I charge, I don't want mom to have to work.  That is why I have an assistant.  You don't go to a restaurant and then wash your own dishes....  I want mom to relax, lay back, stay AWAY from the baby if at all possible....  Let me take control.


----------



## CCericola (Jan 31, 2012)

You would be surprised how very little you need to lift the baby to get the shot. Just a few inches. Besides, babies bounce! (just kidding ). That said. I for one, think it is a creepy looking shot, though most of Anne Gette's trends are creepy.


----------



## cannpope (Jan 31, 2012)

I have yet to attempt a newborn shoot, but I will one day.  I was infuriated when I ran across a couple of pictures on another forum of a newborn shoot and saw the head in hands poses.   I don't know what this woman was thinking, but the poor babies hands looked like they were going to snap in half and they were red as beets.  I could've cried if I had kept looking.   Some people will do anything to get the shot they want, but safety comes FIRST.   Just use common sense.


----------



## Robin Usagani (Jan 31, 2012)

babies are more flexible than most of you think.  You yanked that little sucker out from the mom LOL.


----------



## JS_280 (Jan 31, 2012)

CCericola said:


> You would be surprised how very little you need to lift the baby to get the shot. Just a few inches. Besides, babies bounce! (just kidding ). That said. *I for one, think it is a creepy looking shot*, though most of Anne Gette's trends are creepy.




Glad I'm not the only one...


----------



## Tee (Jan 31, 2012)

So what was swirling around Facebook yesterday?


----------



## ababysean (Jan 31, 2012)

newborns are very squishy but that doesnt mean you can hang them from something and not worry about it.  They are also very fragile. and I'd rather be over the top with safety then under.


----------



## ababysean (Jan 31, 2012)

someone attended one of the top 3 newborn photog workshops and took a cell phone pic of her holding a baby several feet off the ground with no spotter or support under the baby.


----------



## MWC2 (Jan 31, 2012)

ababysean said:


> someone attended one of the top 3 newborn photog workshops and took a cell phone pic of her holding a baby several feet off the ground with no spotter or support under the baby.



really?  WOW!  It's one thing if it's your own baby, you can take the chance of dropping it, but someone else's baby, no way.


----------



## 2WheelPhoto (Jan 31, 2012)

Let's get back to reality, no one is suggesting pulling a "Michael Jackson" over the rail!  A few inches from a safe surface is a few inches. The baby is more at risk when mom stands up while breast feeding.


----------



## MWC2 (Jan 31, 2012)

2WheelPhoto said:


> Let's get back to reality, no one is suggesting pulling a "Michael Jackson" over the rail! A few inches from a safe surface is a few inches. The baby is more at risk when mom stands up while breast feeding.



I'm not saying your not wrong, but it's one thing if a parent drops a their own child, it's a whole other ball game when a hired photographer (or a friend doing a favor) drops the same baby.  There would be no way in H-E- Double hockey sticks I would take the chance of droping a friends baby just to get a photo.  Talk about a way to ruin a friendship, sorry I dropped your 5 day old baby, but no harm no foul, it was only 2 inches....


----------



## 2WheelPhoto (Jan 31, 2012)

MWC2 said:


> 2WheelPhoto said:
> 
> 
> > Let's get back to reality, no one is suggesting pulling a "Michael Jackson" over the rail! A few inches from a safe surface is a few inches. The baby is more at risk when mom stands up while breast feeding.
> ...



Yeah I can't disagree but I'd ask the mom "if you want this shot will you hold baby 1 inch over this pillow for a sec"  =)


----------



## MTVision (Jan 31, 2012)

2WheelPhoto said:
			
		

> Let's get back to reality, no one is suggesting pulling a "Michael Jackson" over the rail!  A few inches from a safe surface is a few inches. The baby is more at risk when mom stands up while breast feeding.



No way is a baby more at risk when breast feeding standing up IMO. The mother is actually holding the child - and the mom would be pretty hurt, physically an emotionally, if she dropped her newborn. 
Big difference between a mom standing up breastfeeding versus someone holding a branch/pole/whatever a few feet off the ground with a baby hanging in some fabric.  

A few inches isn't so bad but there should still be someone underneath the baby and not just a bean bag. Your suppose to support a newborns head for them and not let it flop around, so I don't get how people think its OK to let a newborn infant "flop" over or fall a few inches.

Granted, it happens. I'm sure newborns have accidents and fall but it's an accident. Not because their mom is hanging them in fabric or putting them on bookshelves or putting them in glass vases for the sake of photography.


----------



## 2WheelPhoto (Jan 31, 2012)

Yeah I was being sarcastic.  But back to reality i'd take the one inch shot with mom holding her child


----------



## fsquare (Jan 31, 2012)

I wouldn't let anyone photography my daughter in that...not even about safety, just freaking weird.


----------



## Austin Greene (Feb 9, 2012)

Nothing like baggin' up a baby, just to get that one shot. 

Stuff like that posted photo makes me wonder sometimes...


----------

