The Le / La Bump

ReD

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The Le / La Bump Series



I always regretted not taking photos of my wife when she was expecting. So now that my daughter is imminent I thought it wise not to repeat past mistakes. In truth the planning for the new baby is the reason (read good excuse) why I bought the X10 a few months back.


Posed photos are not something that I enjoy doing or feel comfortable with and I much prefer ad hoc wandering and snapping. So over the past couple of days I put some thought into how to go about it and produced a quick storyboard of the potential shots which I hoped could work. I’m glad I did this as it channelled my direction & helped to communicate the poses. My priority was not about capturing normal portrait shots as I thought the main star of the show ought to be the Le / La Bump. I also wanted the photos to show their loving relationship. (Le / La as they have decided not to know beforehand and enjoy the surprise.)


I had the wrong settings in the First photo session so results were not as good as I hoped for and the images required a fair bit of work in post processing to get a decent result. Not all time wasting however as it forced my arm into using Silkypix resulting in me now having a bit better understanding of the functions. The Second session worked much better or at least with less frustration.


Here is a small selection from the zillions


 
Nice series, nice work.

Some of these baby bump shots can get kind of silly, I'm glad yours stayed classy. :)

Thanks - it didn't occur to me to search but I just browsed bump on flickr - its a difficult subject not be over-sentimental about but I think I avoided most of the cliches.
 
These are excellent and I don't say that lightly :) I usually really, really dislike this sort of photo shoot together with engagement ones, on the other hand I'm a sucker for wedding pictures! Yours have remained down to earth and you captured some lovely moments without being overly sentimental or cloying. They have a certain flavour that I can't quite put my finger on. Having had three myself, putting on 3st each time and avoiding mirrors at all costs I had no wish to be reminded in photos. The only ones we have are taken in Kew Gardens in 1983!
 
Thanks Christi - In my case the ones I detest are the sickly twee baby ones posed in baskets. Some Australian lady makes a fortune doing these & set the trend. I have no thoughts of how to photograph the baby when it arrives - there is the real challenge.
 
I think newborns are particularly difficult because of the nature of their complexions. Also, they have ridiculous proportions and crazy wrinkles.

I think b/w is key to evening out skin tone issues. Also, I think close-ups and details where you play up the differences the differences in scale. Natural light is key (I think) and I would try to shoot the wee one as softly as possible.

Also get some shots conveying the bond between the newborn and whomever is holding him. I am quite famous amongst those who know me personally for saying that "I don't like children", but get me around one and I melt. When you capture moments of "connection", the photographic stuff matters a LOT less (who cares about WB or rules of composition when you see eye to eye contact).

Consider starting a thread here to share non-keepers (the parents don't need to know you're sharing "flawed" photos of their child :LOL:. Seriously, it may easier to push you in the right direction based on what you are already doing than to just give you blind Shooting Babies for Dummies tips. Sometimes, I think it's just a matter of processing.

And also, don't worry.....any shots you get with your camera are shots that no one else has captured, so even the ones that are less than perfect are a record of a moment that is long gone and has value in that way alone.
 
Congratulations! No need to worry, he's perfect of course :). One advantage in these first few weeks is that he's going to be sleepy and still albeit a trifle pink and scrunched up ;). I would only use natural light and try to get it diffused by some light curtains. You get to do all those shallow shots of his little tootsies now. Don't forget that loving, half scared look of the new parents and Grandma's joy. I like this lady a lot (link to follow).

Newborn and Babies
 
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Congrats on your grandson, Roger.
One thing I'd be concerned about would be the ideal shooting distance (focal length) for close-ups like the one above. Too close and you get distortion, too far away and you lose some of that beautiful intimacy. I'd also consider using a grey card IF (big IF) there's no white around to get the white balance spot on for the skin tones (no need to mention RAW) but I guess you know all of that anyway. Other than that I can't think of anything to add to what Luke (edit: and Christina - cross post) already mentioned above.
Keep us updated!
 
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Thanks for the comments all of which have hit the nail remarkably well but I am aware even after a week that I am running out of time with practice shots.

Yesterday was evidence of that when I took my parents to visit. Contrast of two 90+ year olds with a nine day old. Joy mixed with trepidation & nervousness in holding the baby. Mother’s concerns and expressions.

My own personal journey is educational and emotional.

Up until now my daughter has been my little girl, on the day of the call to say she was ready we waited in their hallway. She came down the stairs and there in front of me stood a woman. I grew up at that point. Now I am looking at a mother and father with me trying to capture all of it, some of it.
 
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