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Frozen Themed Shoot: Mother and Newborn

Lesson 18 from: Family Photography: Capturing Connection

Julia Kelleher

Frozen Themed Shoot: Mother and Newborn

Lesson 18 from: Family Photography: Capturing Connection

Julia Kelleher

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Lesson Info

18. Frozen Themed Shoot: Mother and Newborn

Lessons

Class Trailer

Day 1

1

Introduction

16:55
2

Psychology of Parenthood

20:59
3

The Power of a Story

14:45
4

Composition and Color

27:50
5

Psychology of New Parent and Connecting

28:26
6

Pre-Session Questionnaire

33:31
7

Posing Basics for Connection

20:40

Lesson Info

Frozen Themed Shoot: Mother and Newborn

How are you? Thank you so much okay, so obvious step over this real quick and when I'm going to dio is have you stand right over here and we're going to talk about rapping mama and what I'd like to do first is I'm just gonna have you kind of hold that up over your quick so weekend I'm kind of trying to keep you modest, my dear ok, so what I'd like to get baby posed first and then I'm gonna wrap mama and some tool because I want everything to be all wrapped up in tool so again, the concept the theme love will thaw okay, so I'm giving this very icy frozen look our makeup artist did a fantastic job I went to the fabric store last night and found this velvet ribbon and the flowers and I said incorporate that into her hair give it a very ethereal ice queen look okay? And she did and she looks stunning and she put those long eyelashes on her it's very fairytale character s I have, like three makeup artists in my town who love to do this kind of stuff and they would give anything to work with...

a photographer it cost me fifty bucks to have her come in and do a big makeup spiel job and then you give him images and they're just as happy as could be ok make find makeup artists in your area and have them come and corroborate with you and I told our makeup artist here I said just have fun with her I want to see what you do because that helps me be creative and I love this she looks fantastic she looks just like a asian version of elsa pretty much is what she looks like right? It's cool okay, so let's see baby here let me get some hand sanitizer in my hand I have a good night where is my uh my handsome just like I'm gonna come off screen here for a second. Alex by the way I bought this card at cost plus world market and I'm in love with it it just rule it everywhere and it just keeps my toys and my towels and my hand sanitizer my wipes and tape and scissors and anything else I need all handy dandy right near me so and I even set my camera down on this in the student not the best idea probably but um it's great then I also carry this age dci makeup it's just uh this is great for even just regular shoots but this is a powdered it's translucent powder that you could even put on men and what it does is it takes a shine that's all it does is take away shine so I have some cotton swabs down there if I see somebody sweating especially in the heat with babies you know in the this stuff works great and it saves you in post because you don't have to take sweat marks off on all that okay it's hd makeup by make up forever um hd high definition of powder is what it is so and I'm honestly I'm not sure but I think I got it at sephora honestly so it's the four online for dot com so okay I was a little baby doing okay my dear we're going to go ahead and pose you and she's totally out there going into prayer whether you think so okay we're gonna try to prayer position okay mama so I'm gonna have you standing face me you're doing great I'm gonna tell you everything to do so you don't even have to think I'm good okay? So with every newborn baby pose we do there's three points of contact for safety one teo and your chest is a third I'm going to be in your bubble a little bit so I apologize for being all nice and close when I want you to do is put your hands like you're praying like this split them open and bring them close to your chest perfect okay so the biggest thing this is a direct relax your hands I'm going to put little baby ruby with her head right here in our little butt right here okay, kind of on her belly if you're gonna be able to love on her, that we're gonna do is we're gonna just wrap you all up in some tool and make you look pretty so I'm gonna go ahead and just pop that in there, so we keep him honest. Here we go so everyone could see what we're doing, but we're not like showing you and all your beer glory there. Okay, so the biggest thing is to try to keep those hands with axl. Oh, it takes me a couple minutes to get the baby this position, so just bear with me and let me do the work. Okay? Okay, well, miss ruby dunne does go on eight days of freshness, you know? And when I get her in your arms just talked her, okay? She loves your voice. Your voice triggers lovely things. Oh, she had pretty good explain. So what I do is I want to know if she has good hip flexibility, so I'm taking this is why I always take the baby for mama. The minute she comes in the studio, I want to test things out a little bit for taco pose the legs and hips have to be under not every baby can do it, okay, so I put them in my arms and kind of bring their legs up and go can she do this? Can she be in this extended pose and she can but not real tight I have to be careful with her she's not as flexible as the other babies so I'm going to keep her legs more under her hips rather than bring them up to her chin okay for safety and for her comfort so it's something you need to test out when you and as you do it with more more babies, you'll see the ones that could do it and one of the ones that can't okay but be very cognizant because their hips are delicate and you don't want to hurt them. Okay she's making these little noises you could hear that on my microphone wake up on me again okay, she's kind of waking up so I'm she's probably cause she's um her feet are a little cool um it's probably because she's slightly cooling off babies wake up when they cool down so I might switch positions here if she's gonna wake up on me these cold in here miss julia covered my feet. Okay, we'll cover your feet. So any questions before we you could probably relax we're gonna be in that pose forever any questions while we kind of rock miss ruby to sleep here so we do have a question from patricia do you schedule your personal play dates on regular basis or only when inspiration comes about both how after both how often is inspiration come about what are you scheduling? I try I try to do it once a month but really realistically it's once a quarter sadly it would just get busy with my life and I was loved I honestly preached and tell students do it once a month but realistically it's about once a quarter or so all d'oh d'oh just because there's no time but inspiration strikes all the time and sometimes I'll schedule shoots specifically and then use an idea that I was inspired by and wrote down in my little book or sometimes it'll be oh my gosh I see that I better take this opportunity now and when I see that you just you just go for it ok any questions you may have more questions? Yes I have one question I feel as though when I'm shooting mom I tried to hurry up because I feel bad a lot of them come in with caesareans and I don't want them to be on their feet the whole time do you find that you try to hurry up with the mothers a little bit or do you just kind of gauge them by watching them and seen how they are during the shoot I gave them by watching them but I also know they want amazing images I won't try to do anything new if I see a mom who sorry. Okay, um, I don't know. Where was I? Sorry, I won't try anything new that might take a while if I know my mom has a c section or I'll do go to things that I know how to do that. I know I can get done quickly, but, you know, sometimes I wish that she's falls again sometimes babies the way can you just wrap him up like a ball like we did yesterday and shoot him? I mean, like I said, I'm a businesswoman and I'm interested in and using my art to make a living so there's a balance between getting the perfect image and getting a good enough session for the client a lot people might complain at me. Well, no good enough is not enough. Well, yes, it is good enough for me means that the high quality image it may not be totally perfect, but my client's not going to see those slight imperfection, they're looking for the connection on the love and the and the emotion and the image we're selling emotion, and if I nail that emotion in the image and that's, all I care about, if I can't get the emotion that all work until I get it, wei have some interesting concepts coming out or not people would love to get your thoughts that this one is how would you handle the theme of children growing up and going their own way oh we're going to do that image the end of the day yeah we're like yeah we're doing that image on the last segment today but with a father daughter relationship and the whole theme there is ah father's using his life lessons and knowledge to uplift his daughter and allow her to grow into the woman she's going to become that's pretty much what the images about so figure ahead of you're head of shoes shoes in front of the ball a beautiful theme the yacht will be exciting for that one so many ways I mean and I encourage you to find your own inspiration but look at things that symbolised growth so if I was going to take that a different conceptual way I would ask myself okay what symbols signify growth let's try it right now what symbols objects, shapes, colors, ideas symbolize growth let's just brainstorm fire way my dear maybe this is random but I'm totally thinking of a song that has made juices flowing bye rascal flatts my wish my wish for you dunning could do so much with so let's take that further music notes song through your image that has a feeling it's not a direct contact to that specific song but what if you did growth so in plants were plants, trees, seeds, vines what I'm going to be using today's is butterflies. Butterflies grow and transform and change and they're going way. We're not going to shoot the actual butterfly today were photoshopped him in tomorrow, but in the little girl's going to holding strings that are attached to the butterflies. What if you put the words of the song a lot in the string? What if that was the string? Not this string itself. What if you suddenly put in my wish for you and the lyrics down the string? Okay, you guys go anywhere with this. You're like? Yeah. That's. Awesome. Let's. Do it. Okay, let's do it. It's a good one for a mind map to a very good one for a mind growth put in growth and then say what signifies growth? Find a color. Find a object, find a shape, find a, uh something in nature. An animal. What signifies growth? Jessica also says along the tree's light light, especially with the tree is the light. Oh, yeah, because like signifies opening up into something new. It signifies ideas change. Quick question for you from patricia. Are the majority of your concept shoots in the studio, or do you ever do anything out? Doors that's a good question I tend to be a studio shooter because I feel like I have more control and if I'd shoot anything in studio I can put it anywhere in the world I want which is gives me freedom but yeah, you could totally and this is a great question for people who are on location and don't but any window could be a studio who's to say you can't use a beautiful window, shoots somebody and then extract him off the background put him anywhere else you want that this is a window, guys it's all it is it's around window okay, so any window in the world will work, especially if you had a backdrop a cz well yeah, especially if you had a backdrop a swell particularly but yeah outside like why not take go into some location that thrills you and use costuming, makeup subject matter posing to create an image there that's a serial in storytelling, etcetera, etcetera and then you can add things in I've seen people do it all the time like I have an idea for a minute someone else many shoots session of, um mud pies and fireflies for little kids I don't like moms can hire me to shoot their kids making mud pies and playing with fireflies so obviously have to shoot ducks there's no fireflies in bend, oregon okay so I'm gonna have to obviously photoshopped the fireflies in the mason jar but I could bring a mason jar outside I have my little kid look at the mason jar put some bugs in it and later we'll do the darkened it down and put in a little fireflies and make it a cute image about a child with fireflies so yes, you could do it indoors outdoors whatever okay, miss little ruby is asleep. We like that okay, so I'm gonna go ahead and have you let's hold this up in front of her for me sweetie put your hands in prayer position for me perfect. You can hold it down. I just want to cover her waist so she's not she I don't think she minds but I'm trying to be kind I would be when I had a baby I had like thirty pounds lose and I just did not want that to happen okay close to your chest always post your chest perfect kick you drop them down just a bit more your hands perfect wait going relax, huh? I'll fix it. Like I said, it takes me a minute to get her in the post so just gimme a second. She dropped her down a bit if you need to separate your hands a bit to make it work hard and you gonna bring your hand on her head just a little bit more so you can support her head can you crawl your head up your hand up her head get here there we go perfect now let's take this hand and kind of put it under her I'm gonna turn her over just a touch to go ahead and hold her hand for me any way you like it this is going okay mama this hand I want to be more like this and it's coming out the front of her there you go perfect we're gonna go ahead and stand up straight for me there we go good girl perfect so happy do you feel like you can hold her if you feel like she's good okay we're going to move around a little bit you know she's trust me they came out that they came out that end and it's way more violent than she's going on right now so she can actually twist her head and a lot of directions but she's good I'm gonna tuck this arm and so it helps her a little bit when I want to do is try to keep those those feet for me okay and I want you to kind of keeping your hands close to your chest I want you to rotator forward so just got there we go perfect she covered her privates are better on our belly look more so go ahead and what brought on this hand for me just laurens at that end so don't worry about it okay she's going to help you out on that okay kind of squish her like that so she gets those cute little back wrinkles going on there we go. Okay, beautiful moment now just try to keep your risk, give that tension so she stays right there for me okay, I wanted to do is take this hand and cover her little privates just like that you're helping her be modest modest to ruby okay then we're gonna take longer she does have beautiful arms ok, so go ahead left your hankie back so I can pop her little finger in there and I want you to do this kind of squeeze us to see the little back wrinkles I wanted to kind of stay like that can you kind of keep her so she goes like that? Okay, now we're gonna wrap mama so ok? And, um lauren's gonna be right there to help end of my tools to start on the back I have no idea what I'm doing I really don't just kind of winging it I've never done this before so go ahead and get me a little hello clamp? Yeah or of safety pin actually that's kind of the stay pretty good I think how you doing, mama okay, careful, your belly, your butt area okay, so not too tight in other words I get it e just kind of wrapping around like a mummy. Can you get that end of the tool for me now? This is gonna be a little puffy honor. Do you see that? But I can always liquefy this later, like, liquefy the fabric, and I don't want to be too tight because she told me to be cognizant of the fact that she's in a little bit of pain and so, um, I'm very aware of that, and I'm really just doing kind of ah, a portrait from from the waist up, so I don't need to worry about her bottom. Okay, that makes sense. You feeling good? You did. You? Did you have a c section? Okay, so let's, go and leave it at that. So what I'd like to do is get a little clamp for safety pin. Perfect way. Just keep this in place right here. Okay, my dear, I would like you to take a little step this way and keep those back wrinkles going on. There we go. Perfect. She has sparkles on her from the makeup. Okay, so go and keep those back wrinkles. There we go to beach, real gentle when you were with her, and now I want to kind of false. For this direction with your hunt with your hand there we got beautiful mama perfect just bring her cheek a little too you okay small movements thing and have you go like this what your chin up feels weird it looks beautiful small movements okay there we go gorgeous get warm in here ok let's go ahead and in this hand like that okay I'm not gonna see that should be beautiful can you bring your wrists a little bit more together keep those back wrinkles going on for me like that way he's so cute and can you wait let's try that what happens okay so obviously mom doesn't look at the bottom we don't care okay all I care about is that gorgeous okay lighting's a little bit off that's ok let's go ahead mama can you take a couple more steps forward I'm worried about is this right here? Okay she's doing awesome little baby portrait there we go thank you so much okay turn this way for me to step forward are you feeling all right okay we're gonna be quick about this we're almost done it's amazing how much set up you have to do for one shot I kind of want this framed here to give it that ethereal look and then later what's gonna happen in photo shop is not going to be adding snow and whether to it and gazi and blurs to make this look very heavenly and ethereal okay thiss fabric on the right. Can we pop it down? It's? Not quite enough. And once it's funny how? Once you look in camera, you just know you're like oh, that's not quite right. A perfect mama. Beautiful. Okay, mama. What? You kind of look at me and just lean your body a little bit forward. Perfect that's too much. Not just like back then at the waist like your come stick your butt out line if that's. Okay, can you do that? Okay. And now, if I hadn't just showed up in fall asleep on her for me, beautiful women is you look gorgeous and go ahead and turn your body your whole body slightly towards this big light. Just ahead. Perfect. Beautiful. Do you see how that changed the light? You guys? Gorgeous. We're creating a beautiful vertical portrait, and then I'll play around with it a little bit horizontal. But what I really wanted was that blew in the background. I love how that blue kind of brings in the the heavenly feeling of it. Pretty. Are you doing okay? Sure. Okay. You're oh, yeah. Albert. I know. Are you okay? Well yeah okay because we can stop and go to our backup if it needs to be no okay so let's go ahead and wrinkles just a little bit more and I kind of wonder children this way so her face that's kind of why was having you lean forward and bring that singer back like that beautiful and I actually love you kind of looking down at her like that but sweetie I want your chin up just a touch and now just cast your eyes down there we go gorgeous don't move okay I'm seeing babies little butt mr touch he's like oh um so I'm going to fix that with a little bit of strategic and lift your hands like that there we go my dear beautiful can you stay right there now we're seeing the claw here if I really make this perfect I'm gonna have mama go like that and keep your hands like a ballerina hands there we go and then the back wrinkles so fix this finger here make it straight it's really hard for people to like think of all the arms and limbs sometimes so you is a perfect just like that I want this line just like that perfect beautiful mama should not just a touch just a touch small there don't move I'm a lot taller than this mama so I'm trying to work quickly because I can tell that she's a little bit uncomfortable and go ahead and touch your lips to her wherever they may land now touch your lips to her temple you can lift her head just a little bit towards you bring her head up like go ahead and look at me just bring her head up a little bit towards you uh not not I made a mistake I didn't communicate right let's bring her head this way but up like that does that make sense so then you can can you go and hold her like that can't keep her in that position and now just touch your lips to her head right there just turn your nose towards the light just touch your lips and close your eyes for me sweetheart good girl beautiful the hands are a little off but I'm not going to can you go ahead and close your fingers on your right hand sweetie there we go gorgeous that's what I wanted well shoot it on both sides compositionally to make myself get some options now, sweetie, I want you to just go ahead and fall asleep on her once more on the count of three you're gonna look at me one two three beautiful mama has really dark eyes we'll make sure that like it's in there beautiful we're going to do over it'll collect this and then I'm gonna give you a break okay good girl well so stunning I want that blew in the background and close your eyes going, touch her lips to her gorgeous. Okay, I think that's, good let's, give her a break, unwrap her from this mess. I just was gonna take her in just to get her out of this position, and then I'll give it right back. Teo yeah, ok, you know, take a break, because I know how uncomfortable that can be. I'll let you, lauren, if you wouldn't mind taking her, so she doesn't trip. Be very conscious, that of the mother's health. Um, she's obviously just had a baby. It's, charlie rising to have a baby.

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

BD Design Cards
Butterfly ClamShell Lighting Set Up
Newborn Posing Design
Newborn Prepartion Sheet
Standard Lighting Set Up
Studio Gift Card
Keynotes
Gear Guide
Downloads with RSVP

Ratings and Reviews

Natalia Malinko
 

This is the second course with Julia I have seen. And it's amazing and very inspiring in so many ways! I appreciate so much the honesty of Julia, her spirit for doing things she loves. Like a photographer and artist myself, I feel identified with her perception of world and the passion for artistic and family photography. This course is about never give up, it's about hard work, and also it's about cultivating creativity and honesty. I highly recommended this course to every photographer who want to grow and understand himself and the business of professional high-quality photography. Thanks, Julia and Creative Live, for this one!

a Creativelive Student
 

So glad I bought this class - well and truly worth the investment. This course has helped me realise why it is so important to make an emotional connection and how to use it to my advantage {while giving my clients the very best too}. I cannot wait to try some new printing/mounting techniques...so glad Julia was kind enough to share this! I got a lot out of this course and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to take their newborn photography business to the next level.

Jenny White
 

This class was amazing!!! Julia does a great job of showing her process, how she captures beautiful images from start to finish. It was worth every dollar I spent!!

Student Work

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