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Shoot: Family with Baby and Toddler Part 2

Lesson 18 from: Bumps to Babies: Photographing Motherhood

Kelly Brown, Sue Bryce

Shoot: Family with Baby and Toddler Part 2

Lesson 18 from: Bumps to Babies: Photographing Motherhood

Kelly Brown, Sue Bryce

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Lesson Info

18. Shoot: Family with Baby and Toddler Part 2

Lesson Info

Shoot: Family with Baby and Toddler Part 2

So this is all I do to drop the light down in my studio sex a ll the light away from them all the way around them bring it around and in behind the ago, okay, so straight away my image changes significantly, and I don't even do a lot of, you know other changes because now I'm shooting a stop under instead of a stop over my camera reads the black scenario in the black outfits is being instantly all we need more light, and it wants to bump the exposure up straightaway. This is where I trust the back of my camera over there since so that's in it, so I watch it because I need to drop down the silla weird as much as I can. Now, at the moment, you're still really high contrast, and mike cannon is shooting at neutral with two stops lower in contrast that I'll be able to get a lower silhouette than this than what kelly's getting from her cannon because she's away shooting up so you're good stuff and earn our cow two stops okay? So kelly's camera is quite high in contrast in as you can see on t...

he screen it's coming up quite high, but I'll be at the drop that down and raw, so have a look at this what I'm not getting is this not quite so low? I've made rachel's body looked really good but I've made tyler look too small so I need to bring his body around a little bit more so come around to may stay the writer you stay there you know you consider okay I'll get you a little cushion or something like that she can elevate on they should just have to sit on a foot like a tune side onto us any you gotta tune back yeah that's it and tyler you gotta come around I can't let him e I can't turn away from us where you were two tuna way that's more all right so we'll sort here here out there look at connor he's so calm now he's this but he's not smiling okay so we've spent too long talking all right well just ignore him for a stick and everybody like don't laugh because he's doing it because you were laughing at him and just let him come in when he's ready there we go now what do we do with gotta cover tyler's arm we're goingto use tyler's arm to make rachel's I'm look good rachel you can have your shoulder up a cz long's your chin comes towards it so down this way there that push towards me now the ago they're both locked in now I've just got to get connor in connor and nice and class and came I just need to come around a little bit more uh no smiles right or just lips together tiny little smack the yugo just pull back nice and square tiny little smart okay I need a reflector and they're for rachel but I'm not going to put one up because obviously you guys are gonna block that's going to block you it's gonna block the camera but just to take the doc out from under her eyes and that cilla wait see what's happening now there's a slight light on that black cardboard that's bringing in their highlight it's dropping the highlights down beautifully and when I retouch this what I'm gonna do is use that highlight roar and just bounce it up beautifully now this is where I'm going to use all the silhouette shots and I'm gonna do this single sustained up cow I'm gonna shoot tyler standing a moment a dead don't need to be sitting down together sitting down on their own sitting down together means they can interact with each other but everybody's body looks better standing and stretched out okay the whole point of posing is that you making bodies look longer and fearful bitter so tireless stick back into our zone now just have a look at the light that's hitting him and as you can see where does he look best on it like so I can put this all the way around here like that and then I looked from the front at where the light looks beast on tyler okay now mean don't need a reflector locate the stronger that lighters the more masculine he's going to look the bigger his muscles will look that the strongest face will look the girls all need a reflector okay, so from here you can go and now all I have to do is get tyler to look at the camera give him in a good arm position that's it and we'll get connor just him towards him a little way but more coming closer cow here and really wide can you bring his little face towards you? Tyler that's the one so you're shooting off to the black out there way way wait okay, if you do that, then you lose dead so he the walks away and comes back for a second so just let him shake him and move him that's when you step back that he starts getting, they start getting thing and then I went, yeah, and then we're really you look back at us and we get his attention again but if he talks to the baby, then it's all like me talking to the baby and it's another photograph it's like that and that doesn't end up working for anybody okay, so we let him go and then I can make a different noise kana uh I'm gonna give you my old kana police okay, we're two thousand I said we're shooting at four point I could do this a two point eight four point is safer I'm on the fifty mill where fifty mil on the twenty four seventy right that you were twenty four seventy wait a minute says if stopped two point eight now it's okay if before it's two point eight lanes all right, so we're one thousand so have a look at the screen and have a look at the silhouette that I'm going to get from there now have a look at the difference in skin tone between tyler and connor okay that's going to be a really grand to straight away I'm going to have to adjust it in my role window I have to adjust baby skin with it out skin I can't know that looks really good with tyler because he's a man he can look hard, you can look stronger but it's that rachel it doesn't fly so let's swap them over and I'll bring in a reflector do we have a half size reflector it's a little large it's kind of like a better camera, but I'm just going to take one shots that's what private? And you can get connor perfect okay? You have a look at the difference here I'm not gonna photograph right when they had like I'm not going to photograph her in that contrast I've got to come to where this angle is here okay? And I've got to reflect the light back to her faith and I've got to do it here like this okay? And I've got to put that up there toe lighten here up so kelly's going to get their attention and I'm going to do exactly the same shot so assumes she's comfortable in her arms okay and we're working it shoulder now no short arms no short shoulder so you may need to put this on under his bomb that's a girl and then put the sum either around on his back now I need you to come round launch into the front working that front shoulder and try and bring him to your cheek all right now see this light hitting rachel no reflector reflector now reflect a big difference e look at him he's so sure isn't turning around and coming nice what you're cheap so what's the take t take if I could get you tickets you're perfect way no nicely done you got a you got it all right there it is so on the black is question when editing that you will you will cut the kind of crazy he'd swap I'll do what I have to do okay it's the expression we weigh the fuel again I'll do whatever I have to do it okay what would you do with multiples like if those twins how would this whole scenario this morning? One twin scenario to mei is no different than having toddlers if they have twins they both have to have a baby it's the only way you can do it at least a newborn and you're creating a big cradle for two which you know would essentially be quite amazing but the truth is is that the end of the day to kids is one parent has to have each won the second appearance has a child in the other parent has a child the parents are no longer connected you know it's so interesting so you have to find a way for both of them to hold a bigger child in a smaller child and come together in their love heart to give it in. The sitting close has got to be the best way so that's sitting pose where we got where we did actually get landon tio teo go onto his back we'll get him on tyler's back like a piggy back when we actually did do that and it really worked well. The other twin would have head to a vein either on his lap or on his but you would have just had to have made that were because a little twin wouldn't have been our go behind all the previous shot where you said she needed a reflector because of the dark under her eyes would you ever be concerned about over doing it of the light on him or would you fix that afternoon never ever because I can make him darker but the thing is is I'm always going to let's say tyler's behind here and I reflect to her like have a look it's quite interesting bullshit it's perfect on the other side tyler okay, now turn this way so that you both can see your faces they just come towards me that cuz both of their faces now I really only care about hiss but if I hang up tio he still gets a little bit of it but he doesn't get all of that right and that white light magnificent that's two stops to the face and trust me in terms of re touching you you cannot when you get that big black shadow under the eyes you can't retouch it it looks like somebody's punched you and then you've retouched it but when you do get any lines under the eyes you're really just getting a little shadow. So the look on her face right now when you see that light on her face and now I bring that up that is so significant, isn't it? And a lot of people just aren't doing that now when tyler, even if tyler's faces right cuddling up to here there he's still not over reflected she's getting all of it also did I just get you then they hit you in the eye last night kelly dropped to dinner at the restaurant like the plates he went shin drop the dinner and I went and she just stood there when like this and I said well at least you didn't drop a baby but I just hit one alright so from here I feel like I'm lighting here up but I'm what am I doing? I'm making the white baby weiter ok because he's got that virgin skin that is just so perfect and flawless and never seen son but the thing is is if you look at their image rachel clearly is yellow er than him he's pinker and whiter and I do have to lay a mask that in front of shop that's one of the things you have to do is even skin times often means tones even if the yellow tanned our reader in the face and women they have a higher blood pressure the case and men often go darker ridder older men often bright red so you've got a red dead, a yellow mum in a white baby and so between the three of them you're gonna even them out but leia masking and using skin times is you get really good at them all right, any questions so I don't know how many scenarios we actually got through basic scenarios we got through but I would consider this to be one of the hottest a three year old in a five and a half months old is pretty match. Also, if I was really going for the money shot, I would be multiple clicking my camera. I wouldn't be taking two or three and going that's enough. I would be banging out until I made sure that the expressions on all of their faces were absolutely perfect. My favorite shot was the backlit white ottoman. And I quite like the flora's. Well, when he came in on the side, did you like that? Yeah. What else? Any questions? Yes. So a lot of people are realising how difficult this is. And quite a few people, including s, m v portrait and c w and utah would like to know if you both work with us or kelly. If you would work with assistance for shots like this and you know it would be nearly impossible to do this on your own. People are saying my own in the studio. I can direct a couple just the same way. So did I. With a baby in my arms. And when I get them perfect, then I put the baby into the situation and just by using you know terminology that's easy for them like for me with a newborn shot savory basic when it would be a k just bring your your left, end up, place it on your collarbone and turn your palm out towards me so you're giving them really clear instruction on what they have to do because we have to remember they don't know what to do. We have to guide them so you have to talk them through it and when it comes to reflectors have abuses using a small one and I have a really big one that I could just lean up against the wall in my house and I wasted I have a bit of a joke because it's so big and I say this is my assistant on I bring it in and lean it against the wall. Sir, I just position that wherever I just my assistant polly yeah, but I have little big reflectors. I have hundreds of them my own belts stephen of these are all different sizes. And to me I would never have a reflector like this and hold it mind would just be standing. But if I put it out there nobody's gonna be out to see what we're doing and so that's the thing about being a natural light photographer did you like the transition between the white wall and bringing in the black the flat these black deflect cost sixty dollars they're also white on this side, so if you have a grey wall at home or a different colored wall absolutely significant that I can change the entire lighting structure of often image by just pulling this in I feel like if this was newborn, this would be less about portraiture on a dark background and a little bit more about still awaiting so we're going to do that when we get a newborn. When I sell a wit, I take the mood down the faces go down from the camera, it's more of a mood of what's happening in the room, not so much an interaction of the people to camera, so when I go into that black silhouette, so this is a family portrait that I probably drop into gatsby, black and white, you know, because they're wearing black, you know, they fear here and the the baby's looks good and I could take photos of them like this, and I would do a whole series in the black and got see black and why, but if I was going to do a silla wit, I would actually probably late gonna go into it's pushed here I would let land and run around, and I would probably just do a beautiful shot of them as a couple so that they have their in the serious as well. Remember I want to sell is many photographs as ican beautiful photographs is a can of this family as many combinations as ican do landen end landon out connor in connor out connor with dead condom with my mom and dad to get a mom and dad interacting the more I can create is the bidder so, um anything else you wanna ask me? Yeah, absolutely. We've got some in the studio audience go ahead. Yeah, no, I know for sure just like the rest somewhere just like on your blog's and just like you were talking so money about the v flats just like any other mind is just like where do you get them? This one comes from glaciers, which is a camera store and it's a polyp better it's actually cord foam core or gaeta foam and thanks you come in sizes and we get tape them together white get tape on the side black on this side and don't make this simple mistake when you get to be player two big polly boards you put them together and you get tape them then they don't bean this way. You've got to actually leave a little gap between them so that they convened at right angles on both sides because otherwise they don't and try and make them look as clean as possible and try and shoot backto one side and then you're not removing the central same but when you've got a lot going on, you got a five month old baby who's not that bendy he's wiggling his teething you got a three year old that's tearing around you've got appearance, you know, hoping that they look good in the scene. Terran you're in control of all of it. You do what you have to do and you remove the scene but try always to shoot to one side. Another quick question do you think about assistant? Do you think just like asking parents? You know, like if you can bring grim parents and friends someone you know, like when miller for adult will you bring me on as an assistant, but I would bring them into photograph of them because the more people that come and get photographs down by photographs so I'm quite happy to have a family of twelve and there you wanna bring twelve people you bring bring him on down, we'll make a day of it because it's twelve people every adult in that room is buying a photograph, and to me a collective sale of five thousand dollars is better than an individual sale of eighteen hundred dollars, but more importantly, the baby book that karen and I have designed for you that's about this is my auntie, this is my uncle, this is my name, this is my pop this is mike poppy, this is my bedroom. This is my we've given you the opportunity to photograph on location environmentally with given you the opportunity to prompt the people into having multiple scenarios of photographs so that you can build baby books for them that covered every one of those genres. And I think that's absolutely is a marketing tool. Educating your client on your baby will one day look at this book and you've got a photo of baby's bedroom and a beautiful portrait of you in there in that room and let's, face it when you have your baby, you dig that baby room out? I've seen those baby rooms, my girlfriends, I look at my girlfriend's and I'm like, how much did they cost? They missed women is called nesting. Women start nesting and they're buying stuff on ebay, and next minute, that room looks like it's from house and garden, you know, and it's odds fabulous, and I think you could just go and photograph in that. What better way to do a high I'm born home study or anything of a child for the a baby book?

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

Keynote Slides Day 1
Baby Book Templates
Birth Announcements
Keynote Slides Day 2
Keynote Slides Day 3
Online Proofing Cards
Session Reminders
Baby Scrapbook JPEGS
Marketing Book
Scrapbook PSD Files
Font Guide for PSD Layers
Family Posing Guide
Maternity Posing Guide
9 Months In The Making
Photographing Motherhood Part 1.mp4
Photographing Motherhood Part 2.mp4
Photographing 5 Week Twins.mp4

Ratings and Reviews

Candice Tizzard
 

I love kelly, LOVE LOVE LOVE her. She is a wonderful photographer, so calm and patient. That is the style that I have when photographing. I liked Sue's portion, however, I did skip over most of it, because I found that she kept talking about the same things. Sue has a great personality bubbly and funny, she just over talked the some topics.

a Creativelive Student
 

i LOVE this workshop!Sue Bryce is AWESOME!! I'm enjoying learning how to pose the mum to make her look beautiful. and I want to specialise in maternity and newborns... Thank you soooo much! I'm learning so much.... Kylie, NSW Australia

tur.tatiana
 

I LOVE this workshop, it is absolutely amazing material and I enjoying watching it again and again! Every time I learn something new from it. And you can't imaging how thankful I am!! Sue and Kelly - your are the best in maternity and newborns!! Love you both so much!!!

Student Work

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