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Posing with Props

Lesson 15 from: Newborn Photography Bootcamp

Kelly Brown

Posing with Props

Lesson 15 from: Newborn Photography Bootcamp

Kelly Brown

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Lesson Info

15. Posing with Props

From creating newborn wraps to turning a metal basket into something comfortable, working with props is an essential part to the art of newborn photography. In this live shoot, learn how to pose with props, from learning how to wrap newborns to how to line a prop to be ready for baby.

Lessons

Class Trailer

Day 1

1

Course Introduction

11:28
2

Flow Posing

1:21:36
3

Kelly's Home Studio

39:16

Day 2

4

How to Set Up Your Home Studio in a Week: Planning

34:23

Day 3

5

How to Set Up Your Home Studio in a Week: Foundation

18:23

Lesson Info

Posing with Props

during the segment we're gonna work with newborns and props and I'm going to go through a couple of set ups to showing you how I create the proper in itself with the lining so forth in the styling and then we're gonna bring your babies in and start posing with them so we're gonna do three set ups but I'll just take you through a couple of what I would normally do in my studio at home um I've got as I've mentioned lots of different buckets and crates and baskets and things like that but I like to use and they can all be used in different ways so coming up with a new set up every time consumptive times be you know a little hard when you're trying to recycle a lot of your props and fabrics and textures but mixing them up is can be really fun as well so I like to sort of go through and tried different things and you know use use on my blankets in ways and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't but the most important thing for me when I'm photographing with pops is props is obviously s...

afety and then it's making sure that the baby is supported with inside that prop so lining it so the baby fits um we're gonna look at a couple of different wrapping techniques which I'm going to try and we're going to pose on top of a prop inside a prop and and show you just a few different ways that I do it and how I get the parents involved with supporting and so forth and then inside buckets we've we've done that which is lots of fun with toddlers and things like that so shooting them on their own and then with the total of coming in and then shooting them together and then more wrapping for baby sit I'm just a little bit unsettled during a session if for example you have a baby that comes in and it's not a settled after a fade or is wide awake at the beginning of the session you know just wrapping them will make them feel more secure stable and help them drift off into that deep sleep so sitting a prop up like this which is just a wire basket it's lined with a sheepskin and a rap and then using one of my stretchy raps to wrap around the baby in a way that looks stork's great but is making that baby feel really secure and comfortable as well and in my nest which is one of mine my favorite ones and that's just again using it a wrap around the edges of the baby and tying it to keep the little arms and legs from sort of like coming out and startling making it still feel secure without covering all of its arms and legs but yeah I think that's pretty much it we might start with getting out babies down here in a minute but we'll line a couple of thes we've got a little boy and we've got two girls coming down so we'll get these both set up so that when they come in where we're ready to shoot okay my cloth nappies baby jude is on his way in but needs a diaper change I believe before I can come on in so we have a little boy coming in first is he asleep no we might see if one of the other babies is asleep oh he's asleep pissed okay let's keep him really warm while we change his nappies so it doesn't doesn't wake up because some it'd be nice t get going with one of these poses but I'm actually going to wrap him so even if he does wake up a little bit while they're changing his bottom wrapping him is going to make him feel really nice and secure and helping drift back off into that sleep so we'll see how we go way so I'm going to shoot down on this particular prop and um and I'm gonna line up with my cough nappies around here and create a well in the middle for little jude to go inside so towns are a great thing when they rolled up and cloth nappies as well so start to line the bottom of it I've got some textures here with just some wool fibers it's pretty much just rule it's quite a deep basket and he's not a big baby so we'll make sure that um he's not gonna go sink all the way down into the bottom there I can hear him over there making noises isn't that so cute yes that's quite a big a big well there and and like I said he's not a big baby so I'm just going to kind of line is a little bit more around the outside there because I want him to feel really secure now just to cover the white I am going to put this over the top in around here but just to cover the whites and none of it shows through I'm just going to put the brown wrap and and then we're gonna wrap him with one of our stretchy wraps using different textures and fabrics is a such a great way to sort of style a set up like this but you know I only offer probably two props during during a shoot and my studio so I will take a little bit of time to set those up but I do have they're already pre lined with thousand things like that before the session starts so put a little bit of this in and then we'll put some more and once he's actually in here so this wall stuffing is from a prop shop forget the name correct called little fox prop shop in australia and it's just dyed wool he's just drifting off to sleep over there so keep going so hard not to go in get the baby I would just love to go on get in and now we've got this beautiful circle and when he comes and in here hayes wrapped in this we'll be able to put a few more sort of bits and pieces of this woollen around him and finish stalling at once he's placed in there we can use this if we want but we don't think it's gonna look really nice and simple we might even put it on just for a bit of texture I'm just bringing in this edge is there so that when I looked down upon it I've just got like that little bit of texture coming out from around the bottom so it becomes creates like a little bit of a circle effect so kelly uh mom is going to give jude a quick feed just as an update great radial while that's happening I might move on and set up my next prop for our other little baby that's going to come down shortly that wouldn't take long at all got a few more towels so I'm actually gonna fill this basket and position one of our babies on top in that type of pose like that was in my keynote and a little bit of color in here which is I didn't not something I do often but every now and then I like to get a little bit courageous step outside my comfort zone of brown my mother says so this is just something similar to what we use used earlier and I'm just gonna line the outside it doesn't have to go across the bottom but just around the inside here so we can see it through the wire which is gonna look really good there's a chair there if you'd like to sit down so now and pushing the blanket into the corners so you push the call felted wool is it because it's like building it's not a firm filled it's just sort of like a missing felt isn't it we'll start to see some of those colors come through now we're gonna be photographing it from the front so we're not going to see all the sides but we do want to make it so that if we do do you know it's gonna look nice since mary that we wanted to fix anything in for russia I want to bring my my um my levels up with the top of the problem so I can either use some more towels but I have got another blanket which will help fill it just a bit more no setting a prop like this up and make sure that at the very front where we're gonna have the baby positioned we've got that little shelf coming up so the baby will go down slightly towards the back but more supports going to be at the front so they start to make our shelf here wait don't want the baby touching anything at the front get a good gauge for how something is going teo our baby's gonna go in there by just pushing down gently not really because baby doesn't weigh that much but you know knowing how far it's gonna go down you get that that right hi I'm setting up something like this being able to pull the fabric over here and then putting something on top means that you've got easy access to your thousand if you need to fold them over in any areas to give the baby's elbows a little bit more of a lift or to put something under here for um I don't know raising the hands to bring the chin up a little bit of well so when you are setting them up making sure that you can access those areas would be really great something like this that has got a really solid bottom on it like a wide bottom it doesn't necessarily have to be weighted down because we're gonna have someone in here sitting with the baby anyway but over here we're also going to be directly down inside so it doesn't necessarily have to be weighted down either but if for example with a prop like this if I had the baby baby's bottom in the middle and then coming towards one of the edges it would potentially tip over so we're going to make sure that the way that we set these out the baby is nice and secure and stable in the middle and then that way we can judge whether or not we have to put you some top type of white teo to secure it to the ground I think that's gonna be good there and we can change those if we need to days inn when we come forward and I shoot I'm gonna plan to shoot from here so our baby's going to have both elbows here head and then bottom into the back end we'll pop a little hat on as well and next one that we might do after this is a suitcase so we'll do three different props and then that way we're doing a back pose we're doing a front pose and then we're going to do a very similar parts teo the one that's on the on the kino just on the screen at the moment but without lifting the bum or the heads positioning them on a flat surface which is on top of the suitcase way set this one up obviously it's a hard surface so we don't want the baby touching any of that at all but we also want to make it nice and comfortable so we'll use one of these too they might do this one last it is more of a boy color and we only have one boy for this segment so we'll just see how it goes with this set up and if he stays nice and sleepy them or do this one as well waive any questions can riddle I do I'm wondering if you could tell us again would you have all of these set up ready to go before the clients come s o I would have most of my props kind of semi set up like lined and filled like this but not so much the colors like all the sort of layers like the wolf felts and things I wouldn't have those selected just yet because I'd like to discuss that with my clients and figure out what it is that they want from their session I would have the towels and and the cloth nappies lining the majority of my props so I don't have to spend that time doing it but if for example you know we finished on the posing bag and we're moving on to a couple of props that the baby's working for a feed while they're feeding gives me a good opportunity to start setting up some of this stuff so yeah I don't tend to select specific colors and props and things like that prior to a client session because I want to be able to do you know what they like and choose colors that they like I wouldn't want to use something that you know they're going oh you know I'm not a big fan of that hat but I'm not a big fan of big headbands and things like that so it's communicating with them and getting as much information as possible about that mama's still feeding so they've got a question in the audience do you tend to keep the dia bron for props like this and like some of the fibers that might be harder to wash or do you use puppy pads or any sort of you know like bed protectant like underneath one of the layers so you can kind of protect the rest in case they have an accident yeah definitely using especially with fibers like this using something like a nappy or a pair of pants that could catch any potential accidents because this is really hard to wash so if it does get soiled I tend to just get rid of it but when we wrap little jude I'm gonna wrap him in a way that you can't see his nappy so that'll be that'll be great great way to show you how we can protect some of her natural five isn't that way because you never know when they're going teo to have an accident I notice if you got three different colors going on their front backdrop to the middle ear to the top layer and same over dear is there a specific reason you choose three different colors yes so I'm keeping everything in the same color palette but I'm using different colors just toe add like a bit of a dip to it and create something that's just not so flat when everything is the same color it contend to look flat so I really want you know that crate to stand out so I've put a lot of color I wanted to blend in with the background so I've got you know a color on top that's very similar to the background and then I've got something that's a little bit deeper which is going to create a difference between the foreground and the background so I want everything to kind of have that dipped to it so that it's not looking flat and different colors well differently do that but keeping it in the same color palette I wouldn't kind of you know linus with a green or something like that I want to keep it really nice and even and pleasing to the eye go like dark light dark or dark so dark and light or is there anything that you actually follow a rule are just whatever that I don't have any specific rules but because little jude's got beautiful fair skin and and here what we're going to do is put him on top of the darkest surface and then it's you know he's going to stand out from that if I'd put him in um oh like a more skin colored thing like that he would tend to kind of blend in with his surroundings we want him to stand out and be the main focus of that image so we're kind of going from light to dark toe light with the skin tones and then using a similar color in here for the rappers well so that they stand out still creating that contrast and then the same kind of here with we've gone opposite we've gone dark light dark and then we'll go light again so building it up that way I wouldn't kind of put like light light dark dark because then it would look a bit like topped it top deck chocolate I'm not quite sure how to explain that but yeah kind of breaking up those color palette so that you get that difference in there and that depth as well yeah kelly we can keep preparing something other props if you want to keep kissing with those how we got what always still waiting I'll show you what I would do with for example with with this and it's it's like a trench bo but I found this at a kn antique shop on route sixty six while we were driving from ella teo vegas last week and what I liked about it was the color obviously the texture but what I didn't like was the fact that it's got three legs so I wanted to show people how I would create make that into a safer prop because if wait was put onto either end up here it would become unstable and could topple because there's only one one leg this end so if I was going to use this I'd probably set it up and you can kind of see how easy that would topple the backend he has got too so it's not really going anywhere but down here it's moving really really easy smooth so creating like a bit of support here I would probably pose the baby in a pose like this towards the front word is more stable and then I would use back here ah wait to some description like a small sandbag or um just a little sort of heavier weights that you would put on a no hand weights and then under the bottom I would start to sort of create a bit of support around that leg with some coffee please so it becomes a good strong base around here or if you've got a really handy husband you could actually have them you know attached to makes your legs give it to to prevent people from you know from anyone being able to see the photographer being able to see the support that I'm putting underneath then I would um two stripes um fabric over the top of it as well what kind of chocolate from the sides like this in the back put a weight in there and now you can see that it's not rocking as much but if we had a waiting there and we're putting out baby towards the front it's definitely not gonna go anywhere but I did love it so we're going to actually work on fixing that at home one once we get home but I just wanted to demonstrate that sometimes you know you might find a beautiful prop but it might not be you know ideally the safest prop to use in your studio's coming up with a way to make it safe and and you shooting it like that but we I know I can definitely do it this way I was thinking about it on the way here but I think what we're going to try and do is build some type of you know timber supports some more legs at the back of it to really make it secure because I love the color of it so when we shoot the suitcase because it's in these beautiful dark tones I would prefer to put a pair of pants on the baby because of the way it would be positioned I wouldn't want its little bottom exposed so we can use things like pants or overalls to pop on the baby in that way they're nice and covered they're not gonna look cold in image because they're naked and we're hiding all the bits and pieces as well if you are someone that loves naked baby photos then you know that's entirely up to you I prefer to have the baby's looking comfortable looking warm and you khun style it now with so many great colors and textures with these little outfits but another pair of pants in here I'm just trying to find you so little knit pants like that anything that's going to cover a baby's bottom yeah I really like those way have a sleeping baby she wass little jude's still having fade over there is a typical boy hungry so what we're actually will bring them back just in case mom or dad don't feel like sitting on the floor they can sit on an apple box which should be a little bit more comfortable oh she's beautiful she's smiling dimples okay now I just turn this on it is not some woman here but I don't want because she's snuggling on mom and she's got that blank around here I do not want her any point to feel cold or she's gonna wake up it's just gonna blow some warmth into that area make sure my hands on one before I'll keep that blanket around her just for a second he's here to grab them when they've got fabric it's hard holding a naked baby oh my god just grab him like that and I'll bring my hand and a great stuff hey so I am going to take her nappy off her for this one because even though you know her little bottom will be there we're not going to say anything from back there but if I'd left if I leave and not be on you're going to see it and it'd be nice in the background of the distance where it's beautiful and soft to have that skin fall off look at this gorgeous head of hair and how much does she weigh now it was probably eight thirteen baby good baby we'll pop a little bonnet on after we've positioned her actually probably shooted about there and which one of you's probably upto sitting beside me once once I got her into position whoever whoever feels comfortable you can sit on the ground or on the box I just always like to have a parent next to mei spotting the whole time and said same samos who from positioning them in the eye inside a bucket I want to bring that arms up and then their legs back you look like you have you been privacy just bring these arms up plautius stretching that's a girl so when they move it's it's nice to move with them just want to bring this little hand down here underneath and make sure his thumb is not caught there underneath her chin as well she's so sleepy cross these legs over trying to hide all the bits and pieces from the cameras normally I wouldn't be doing this for the blanket around me can I get you to grab that blanket actually erica so she was wriggling it'll swimming and I wouldn't have probably put her down straight away I would have had an extra hand in there from a parent just helping me it was like to let them just risked into that position make sure that they're nice and comfortable like this little foot in here it's too cute I'm making sure their feet and nice and flat with this part off the foot face down because if their foot is like that digging in they can push themselves forward which is not what we want and I'm keeping my hand at the top of the head here so that that way if she does any point decide to push himself forward she's not going to go anyway get the other foot nice and comfortable there there we go and again making sure that the knees are shoulder with the part so that her back end is really supported and it's not gonna topple from side decide our light source is off to this direction and she's facing that direction which is fine we can bring out other lied in and light it from that way but to show you how I would turn their head towards the window which is the way of kind of set the prop up a swell sure if my name's in the way they're alex is it now said it gently just bring her little head around towards the light I'm coming with the bows on the side of the head here and my hand is soft but supportive and I'm just going to take the weight off it off her hands and I'm rocking gently just here we go and she's gonna move it form a good girl my baby so I can see that we need to just give you this elbow at the back here a little bit of support so I can come underneath and just fold the corner of that cough nappy there under that elbow can I get you just to come a little bit closer your hands nice and warm and just pop your hand there on the back so I'm just going to fold that one there over and tuck it in underneath that over here we go we've got a little bit hot I'm gonna bring this sailboat back just a bit so I've just lifted her head and taken the weight of her head off her hand we're gonna perceptible bo back a bit and bring that hand in underneath her face and making sure that the thumb is out as well right there she's smiling away over here in a lovely little sleep um disposable nappies when they claim this one's clean it's not where it's not because you think she was changed upstairs which isn't she not so long ago when I was up there things like this are a great size to go underneath those layers just to lift that part up if you haven't got anything that small because these were obviously too big train and put in underneath her hands just to raise her face so I'm going to use this in a second to come in underneath but I'll pop this little hat on first you had to see a little bit of a here gather the tessa lt's up get the faces she's pulling okay and I'm gonna bring this side down in here and then left from here slide that through could go I'm not gonna tied in a bow but I'm just gonna loop it over so that we can see it off to the side there now we can start teo too perfect you so I'm gonna position my hands here underneath and give it a little bit of a lift so I can place my my little dyp diaper lepi disposable nappy in underneath hands up fluff over that they can't see it now I've got a little bit more height which is gonna help bring that face up so I got one hand on the other hand over the top her fingers is so relaxed it's not funny and now what I'm going to do is look at the hands in the perfect position I'm gonna lift her head up just a little bit and slide them in underneath kitchen sucking nothing to suck so cute you can see some of those little facials so I'm going to get a shot like this and then I'm gonna come back and I'm going to just the back of her feet on her legs there so when I might get you to do is just put your hand on durante that's it and just really gently just let her hate her head rest in your hand so we're not actually sort of moving her we're just letting her rest okay I might actually um get this light turned on if that's all right just add a little bit of phil because the light's really getting soft now so if you wanna sit sit where you're comfortable I've got her head if you wanna let go and get comfy and then another way that's great to have the parents sit beside you is if you come and actually sit up here with me and put your legs out that way and just slide down a little bit more that way perfect now she's not gonna be in my image when I'm taking that shot but we also have to be careful that we're not going to be blocking any line how light is coming from up here so if you can go slightly that way a little bit more looking at our shadows that way you could probably put this hand sort of here and just reach over perfect now if you actually just lift your hand for a minute and I lift my hand for a minute she's actually not going to move so that's good so what I'm going to recommend is if you just leave your hand at the back here don't take your eyes off her while I step back tio take a photo if she moves the hand straight into the middle of her back she's got some deeper heads going on seventeen seventeen mill here zoomed ride in so I get that beautiful soft background and I'm focusing on her eyes I'm going to go a full stop over exposed just to see where my life is make a little smile I think and I'm pretty happy with that exposure now on the count of three mom if I can get you to lift your hand directly up probably about a foot above the basket one two three perfect so just fix that is cute so cute so now I'm just gonna adjust her legs at the back here and I think should be fine just for a second there but what I want to do is bring her a little leg on this side just threw a bit so I can see her feet as well I can use my foot my arm like that my forearm to stop her from kind of pushing forward as well with a hitch and she's getting comfortable because I touched a little legs but I want to see some toes no I'm moving you I'm sorry I'm gonna cross this this foot here in between her um her calf on her thigh on this leg was gonna find her little foot she's tucked it right up underneath there there there it is so just scooping that through like that okay and then just bringing those hands back up to where they were when they start to have a bit of a wrinkle but you get a hand right just keeping your thumb and it's just the white of my hand I'm not pushing it I'm not forcing its just the weight of my hand on the back of her wrist there I'm sorry but she's gonna have fluff all through her fingers I'm just going to get hit it'll some ad here I've got my finger through and her thumb out so that when I left I can scoop her hand just underneath the chin wait wait I'm not going to bring your face around to the front e I'm actually going teo turn that basket slightly get these things straight again spending the time to get all this thiss right we've really good as safe shot so we've got an image if she was stirring or wasn't happy with the way that I was moving her she would let me know by now it was got one very killed up hand there there we go now that's better was getting that thumb back through she had it killed up like that which was making her hand girl like that's it was pushing that some back through so it would sit flat way go pull that down oh good lord now I just want to fix that foot at the back where she's kind of gifted out on good company but the hands right so what I'm gonna get you to do is if you put your fingers there because I don't want to let go of her head up here I'm just gonna lift when I left if you could just gently push a shin just underneath there we go perfect now we can see those toes again so really really gently I'm just gonna turn her slightly now if you bring your hand in here and just lifted above her just like that she moves to spring it back damn okay on the count of three I was going to get you lift your hand one two three and back down again some exposure hasn't really changed because my lighting hasn't hasn't changed but that is pretty much what I would do for a prop like that and then I'll come in and get a close up of her little face which I will very quickly before they take her away because she's cute oh so cute so I just shut that at two point eight um I think I was in an eightieth of a second so pretty pretty low shutter speed but I'm pretty used to shooting at that way that that shutter speed and if you know you know don't but it takes a little while to get used to it already a few minutes yeah is that what it be possible to try to use the same baby e t in the next proposito well do you think she's ready for that you know we can definitely do that trash so our other baby isn't quite ready no that is absolutely fine what I might do then really quickly um I wouldn't you really use a brown with a little girl like this but what we might do is um because she's naked anyways position here on top of a little suitcase but we'll use use this color backdrop and we'll just pick it up over the top of this one stuff everywhere so if we can get that one rolled up and we'll pick it over the top of this one yeah yes please can I get you to sit he very because she said comfortable I don't want to move her but what I am going to do is just bring it all back here so that the weight of her head is not on her hand wait so I'm just looking for some colors in here that are gonna go really well with this and way might use this thank you so I'm going to use the suitcase and we're gonna position her in a really similar position so it's going to be easy to transition her over to this suitcase but while she's in there and that's all weida surface I'm going to pop the pants on because they will be much easier to put on from there and a few other things I'm just looking for the matching hibbert I can't find do you have any questions cantor at all while I'm looking for this yeah we do have a question if we could just grab the mic for her right here I was going to ask when you had that last set up done when you get them into position and you've tweaked the feet the hands are all perfect and you add a hat will you then make minor adjustments to the baby to continue to get more shots using the same prop maybe take off that hat used a tie back or no hat or just the pose slightly different hand on the cheek or anything like that or is it just one prop kind of one one master image and move on yeah I would tend to probably do just the one sort of set up with each post because what I'm aiming to do with my with my galleries for my clients is get twenty images that are completely different I don't want to be adding images in there that is so similar that they can't choose or you know they're not getting that variety that they want but if we're shooting for specific product then you could definitely use that same problem but I think I do more of that type of thing when I'm on my posing bag where is if this is just a prop that I'm probably gonna only aim for around two images from each one which would be a complete pull back and then it close up unless of course you know they're on this stomach and I can come above and get a beautiful beautiful side shot a profile shot of their little face or even you know some little belly rolls as well depending on how their positions but yet if it's a really versatile prop with some really beautiful neutral colors and things like that for sure but I pretty much try toe try to make everything is different as possible in the gallery and I notice that there's a little bit of red in here and we've got this kind of little vintage set that my mom has made so we'll pop that on I think that's colors going to be good so what I'm gonna do let's just bring this little elbow down and this little one here um can I get lacey would you be able to just come and turn this heat around over here I can feel because the rooms obviously hated up the air con is ducted set set to a temperature so it's actually starting to cool down there when I can feel the cool breeze coming in having a stretch leg through here a bit more so it's easy you put these pants on if you can keep your hand just there I'm gonna turn her gently onto his side so we don't overextend that shoulder there can I just bring it up underneath have a good cal if you keep your hand on the back all work on this bit down here this is where I get to know my client's really well way sitting we chat talk about life events but you know we've had that opportunity to get to know each other obviously pride of decision but well at this point in my my studio I've worked on my beanbag on my posing um flow so we've already chatted about you know so many different things and it's such a lovely experience you know not just for my client but for me as well like I make friends with a lot of my clients which is so lovely what you talk about things in an able in session you wouldn't talk about with people on a first date I'm just trying to keep in nice and sleepy here as I pull these pants on we've rolled onto aside that little arm is nice and comfortable there up there now give those a really good pool once we've got her on her belly okay so while she's happy there and you've got your hand there you keep your hand on the back I'm gonna bring this basket just forward enough to roll that expect dropout any type of movement inside of prop needs to be spotted at all times thank you I'm gonna shoot this fairly square on put the snappy down just to make it soft but still nice and firm my little bit of texture yeah so I'm gonna bring her up onto my lap first get her into a really good position in my hands before I before I place a bet damn let's get that out of the way so if you just keep your hand at the back there while I slide mining underneath hers she is sound asleep when you be lifting a baby you know from one surface to another when you pick them up you have to make sure that they're white is evenly distributed in your hands so that they feel safe and secure okay so we've got her in a very similar position in my hands to where she wants to pay just giving her a gentle rock crashes cute and making sure that his feet across tova underneath this they can see them so when I play sit down I'll get you to put your hand back on her back again for me god she way might do here is she likes to keep that foot like that doesn't shane oh my goodness I just kidded around there and that's a bit flat so this is the same concept of the bum up in the air pose now the pants here a bit loose at the back but I've left the test sel out here so I can pull the string you can see how that's coming in so I've made that nice and easy to be able to tighten that up so it sits probably around her back but we don't want them to look like they're falling down way okay you're okay there comfortable somebody's got the hiccups so they can get you to just pop that under your thumb there perfect okay so I'm just gonna lift her little head up here and I'm going to not lift her head this way but turned her nose up towards the ceiling so instead of going like that I'm going like that because I don't want to over extend her neck just to take the weight off and pull this side of the hat through let me help out of the way I'm coming in with my two fingers on this side of the head here it's really nice and strong just to give her a little bit of a lift there wake up I wanted to talk that little bit of wine down so we couldn't see it paying attention to to details like bo's makes such a big difference in an image if your bow is too big and bulky it's competing with the face of the baby so you want to make sure that they're they're part of the image but they're not distracting in the image so what I'm going to do now is just bring her little elbow in towards her body and make it so that she's nice and compact there just tucking that elbow in there we go she did it for me you're like the perfect model and then sliding my hand down in here underneath the shins I'm just going to lift up that's it and tuck those legs up underneath her even further and you can see we're starting to create some of those gorgeous little little rolls we've got a full cheek that we can see we're not squishing that make sure the bonnets nice and even and we have got like a little bit of a harsh shadow coming in from that light so what I'm going to quickly do a you okay there for a moment I'm just gonna turn it down just a little bit and bring it around in my ok to bring this around just a bit I don't want to create any shadows under that nose and these lights of such incredible light it's so soft but when they're up to hire the wrong angle they can still create quite terrible shadows so you are okay exactly where you are and then when I'm ready to take the photo I'll do the one two three gin but what I'll get you to do is just bring your hand back on your knee and I'm going to crop this quite time so I'm just gonna get an exposure I'm gonna focus on the top I not the bottom I because the bottom eyes got thie lace coming down it's also got some shadows and it's also near my dark backdrop so my camera could identify any of those and focus on them as opposed to the eye but if I move my focal point to the top I I've got a better chance of nailing that focus oh look at that face up there so I could bring my exposure up just a little bit I can already kind of see what I'm going to do in post by adding an iced in yet and and warming this image right up with one of my color tones okay on the count of three I'm gonna get you lift your hand one two three and back again for lifted my exposure than just a little bit but on my history graham I've still got plenty of room left um with my exposure before I start to overexpose any of those highlights so when you were saying before about um you know what what would I do differently with some of my poses like to this particular pose on my beanbag I would shoot it from here I would shoot it from above I'd come in and get a detail shot I'd probably get four different images from here because we've got some really great textures going on in this gorgeous little hat and bonnet I can come in and get a nice close up of her face from above so if you just keep your hand actually if you bring it down here that way I can get away springs and more took that little finger in in the elbow now the light is still coming in I'm not really blocking it gorgeous I'd perform radio so we'll move on to our next pop do we have a little one that's ready to go a little but that's another little girl isn't it yes before we do that kelly I just want to remind everyone that this one is so awesome to see you place and pose the baby's within these props themselves so that was that was an awesome segment yeah thank you it's fun I mean I do love using props and creating something different but I try to keep it to a minimum because you do spend more time on them during a session and for me and trying to get the babies in and out of the studios as quickly as possible not just for them but for you know the comfort of my parents I don't necessarily want them having to sit in my studio all day while I do fifty sit ups I want to keep it really short and sweet and get beautiful photos I don't want to wake her out she's sound asleep already here so I'll pick her up and if you stand up all possible up to you and you can take those off there thank you so much thank you oh good I have she stays like that all afternoon for you and that's the hardest thing like you you want to keep playing like when you got a baby like that you want to keep shooting but it's knowing when to stop so if you continue to shoot you're gonna end up with a million images and then you're going to find it really hard to call those images and plus you're going to have parents sitting there going what is this going to end next segment we're gonna be shooting for sin composites were going to be working with some props in some siblings and putting together some imageswhen when little total is wine exactly doing do what you want them to do in a session

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

Home Studio Checklist
What To Expect At Home
What To Expect In Studio
Preshoot Prep for Mothers
Marketing Plan
Pricing Guide
Posing Guide
Prop Guide
Resource Guide
Adorama Gear Guide
Syllabus

Ratings and Reviews

user-b7116e
 

What an awesome class! I actually started watching this, not because I was interested in newborn photography, but because I thought I could pick up some good ideas for photography in general. Kelly is such an inspiring person and so professional and such a good communicator that she has a lot to offer any photographer. I actually have been inspired to try newborn photography and can't wait to implement the multiple ideas Kelly has so generously given. I think it is wonderful for the profession of photography that she has the spirit to freely share what she knows to help those who are seeking advice and knowledge. Thank you!

Jennifer Traylor
 

I cannot say enough to relay the feeling of gratitude and appreciation for this class. I was very fortunate to be chosen as a studio audience member for this course and what I have taken away from this class will never be forgotten. Kelly pours herself into this class both on the head knowledge of photography and the heart knowledge of building a business and making it work in your life. She is such an amazing soul and I will treasure this experience always. This class is so thorough and works amazingly both all on its own or as a supplement to her other classes. You will not be disappointed. Her knowledge, her demeanor, her care, is brilliant. She pulls you right in, and even as an online viewer/purchaser for the previous two classes, I was able to feel her connection with the audience. She is an amazing teacher!!!! Kelly rocks, Kelly amazes, Kelly loves! Buy it today!!!! You will not regret it!!!!!! And don't forget, purchases get TONS of amazing bonus materials including extra videos and PDF's and manuals. This class is a bargain!!!!!

user-a1ed27
 

I really have been so happy & blessed Kelly to learn from you! You are gentle and I love your spirit in which you share your "Art". I am a Nurse and worked Hospice for many years. Many of my co-workers and I recently lost our nursing positions due to department integration and have decided that my passion and love for taking photos of children and babies is something I would like to pursue. I am learning so much Kelly from the way you take the time to gently get the baby in position, follow the baby's lead and enjoy the parents and each moment of the creative process. I am not at all a professional and am just really learning, but am enjoying practicing on my friends children and babies and of course my 4 month and 4 year old grandchildren. Thank you for providing free classes as I would not be able to afford any classes at this time in my life. You have a beautiful gift. Thank you for sharing so eloquently! You have made a difference in my life. Patty from AZ

Student Work

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