In the app marketplace, it’s a fact that Apple is out in front, mainly thanks to its huge iTunes website. There is literally an endless amount of iPhone apps, including fine serious iPhone photography apps, which we spotlighted not too long ago. However, as far as Android, Google’s smartphone operating system, is concerned, it is catching up faster and faster Continue Reading
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Here’s a riddle! Or the toughest photo assignment ever.
How do you shoot a portrait without any people in it? Or a landscape without any land?
While thinking about how Ansel Adams might shoot that second one is fun, we’re totally enamored with Camilla Catrambone’s response to the first.
She shoots portraits of people not by having them sit for her but by laying out a person’s belongings and photographing that instead!
Camilla shows us her grandfather with an old rotary phone, a watch, a well-worn leather briefcase. Her grandmother — a red comb, a collection of silver spoons, a pearl necklace.
It’s the things we choose to surround ourselves with that tell the story of who we are.
Photographing a person’s possessions is a way of bringing that person to life. What a way to solve a riddle.
Also, see: Scanography — self portraits via scanner and What’s in your bag?
Portraits of My Family by Camilla Catrambone
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by Lynsey Peterson.
When I first started doing professional photography, newborn babies were the coveted prize. An adorable sleeping creature that would look cute no matter what? Sign me up! Let’s put that baby in a stockpot! In a basket! Wait! –A headband that looks like a flower! In a field of flowers! With butterflies! And maybe a big gift box bow!
Then I realized that Anne Geddes is the landlord of that entire market. And that it’s rare for a portrait client to actually want a picture of their baby in a stockpot. What people do want is a picture of their baby, that looks like their baby. Because in about 5 minutes their baby isn’t going to look like this anymore.
In an ideal situation, you are photographing a newborn that is less than two weeks old (when they tend to be more “mold-able”), in the morning (when they tend to be a more willing participant), just after being fed (when they tend to be a little more tolerant), and in a warm room (where they tend to be a little more comfortable).
Having everything ready to go before shooting a single shot is taken will serve you well: various blankets for background and warmth, cloth diapers for when someone pees on you (let’s hope it’s the baby), any clothing you plan to use and back-ups of every possible thing. I prefer minimal clothing on newborns, but this is just personal preference. Amble natural light is important because even if you do usually shoot flash, it’s often disruptive enough to wake a newborn and rule number one in photography, parenting, and life is: Never wake a sleeping baby. If there is anything I’ve learned, it’s that.
Be prepared to work fast because babies can be ticking time bombs, but slowly because they are delicate ticking time bombs. You are methodical. You are confident. You are patient. You are the baby whisperer. Because we are speaking in ideals. And if you’re me and we are still speaking in ideals, you also have on your cute jeans and are having a great hair day. Because, why not?
Photographing newborns is one of the few times I make a point of asking clients what they are planning on doing with the end result. Often it’s for use in a baby announcement or just as “baby pictures” documenting this time. But if it’s going to end-up as a 24″x36″ canvas above a fireplace, I want to know beforehand. Or if I’m going to need negative space to create an announcement card, I’d rather shoot with that in mind then trying to backtrack later in post.
Another thing to think about is the ratio of images of the baby alone and the baby with parents or siblings; there is no right or wrong answer here but knowing what you or your client is wanting in advance is key. Newborn shoots are not (usually) guided by a free-spirited toddler and therefore require more of a plan from you than shoots with older children. And you never know when a baby will decide that pictures are just not what he wants to do today and let’s you know this in a very unsubtle and loud way.
The only thing I always bring to a newborn shoot is a large piece of black cloth. I have had it for nearly a decade and more babies have peed on it than I wish to think about. I have hung it on walls and used it on floors and beds as a back-drop. I use it every single time because it simplifies everything and allows the focus to be completely on the baby. Lots of photographers do a version of a black background of some sort and I’ve found that there is no need to get fancy.
Many photographers use a velvet, but mine is about 2 yards of a stretchy thick cloth that I bought at a fabric store for ten dollars. It washes well (luckily) and the light sheen of it makes editing out any wrinkles in post extremely easy. I carry thumbtacks and painters tape to hang it with if I need to and it’s thick enough to hang over about anything and not have backlight shine through. I cannot stress having a way to simplify a newborn shoot enough. If a black background isn’t your style, find what is that will clean-up everything and let the newborn to be the focus, and allow it to become your key piece for baby photography.
And why shouldn’t it be? Baby details are sorta amazing. I mean have you seen a baby toe recently? Talk about something I’d like to dip in butter and call a snack. We have all seen baby parts photographed in the same boring ways: wedding rings on toes, close-ups of belly buttons and umbilical cords (ew), tops of bald heads in big grown-up hands. I am guilty of doing every one of these, multiple times over. I now see that the shots that will stand the test of time will be very simple close-ups that highlight just how small newborns are: tiny hands holding a parent’s finger, brand new feet that have yet to see wear, yawns and other adorable expressions that only look adorable on a baby.
Oh sure, we all know they are adorable, but what are you supposed to do with them? They are flimsy and tiny and often naked. This is where I think we get into trouble and put them in baskets and stockpots. Because we can. Instead of creating scenes, it’s better to just think of “positions”. Babies can only do about two positions unassisted—laying down this way or that way. Work with that.
They may just lay there, but the beauty in this is that they often let you adjust them however you want. Tuck legs up under bodies, pull flailing arms into blankets, curl them up into someone’s hands. The baby is the star of this show and is plenty cute to pull off this role without a big supporting cast of props. A key to getting the position you want and having it stay that way long enough to get the shot you want is to keep your hands on the baby longer than needed after positioning them.
Think of it as long hug—you don’t need that extra ten seconds at the end, but it feels nice. Get the baby settled and then stay there for a bit longer. The warmth of your hands and the consistency and reassurance is often exactly what the baby needs to “hold” the position you are seeking.
I like to include siblings as often as I can, no matter the age. This gets tricky because the very definition of tricky is a two year old holding a newborn while exhausted parents watch the situation go down. Enough pillows and promises of lollipops though will get you a shot or two and a little variation in the final images. Interaction is the name of the game here—look for whatever the emotion is that’s happening and play on it. If it’s pride, comment on it to instill confidence and document a sweet moment in sibling history. If it’s indifference, engage the older child so they forget there is even a new addition in the photograph and are happy to be your star for a moment.
I love a good worry and consider myself to be quite good at it. But as jobs go, photographing newborns is about as close to shooting fish in a barrel as you are likely to get. It’s easy to feel the pressure given that babies are so fragile and grow every single second. The truth is any picture you take of a newborn is a gift. Just as any time spent getting to photograph a newborn. I don’t get sappy often, but newborn babies are pretty special. Enjoy it.
Especially if the newborn belongs to someone else and you get to walk out of there without a crying baby and go home to a bed where you’re permitted to sleep through the night.
Check out more of Lynsey Peterson’s work on her website.
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
7 Tips for Photographing Newborns without Becoming Clichéd, Derivative or Boring
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You’ve always wanted to catch one awesome photo of lightning striking down on Earth’s surface.
Turns out we’ve been doing it wrong this whole time.
Phillip Stearns figured it out: Step 1 — throw out your camera. Step 2 — expose your film with 15,000 volts of electricity.
Inspired by the science between cameras and our very own eyes, Phillip turned to experimenting with peel-apart instant film.
He starts by pouring household chemicals (like bleach) onto the film to manipulate color and then touches a neon tube ballast to the film to electrocute the surface.
The result is a dreamy rainbow of lightning-like images emblazoned onto a final print.
It’s no wonder that Phillip’s main work has dealt with digital glitches. You might call this the ultimate analog equivalent of a glitch.
You can watch how it all goes down in this awesome video.
Extra cool thing: Learn how to make emulsion lifts with instant film!
Phillip Stearns’ Electrified Instant Film
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There are only 7 basic notes in music. There are only three colors on a computer screen. So, digital photography should not be that difficult. But ok, forget it, we all know it is too good to be true. When all you have is a set of bricks, building a castle does not become easier. Enough metaphors for now – Continue Reading
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Once upon a time, every photographer needed a tripod. Early cameras were too bulky and heavy to hold by hand. Later, it was absolutely essential to have a tripod in order to get a steady shot. Indeed, tripods can help achieve sharp, crisp shots with your DSLR camera. However, tripods aren’t without fault. They can be expensive. Tripods can also Continue Reading
The post 6 Tricks for Shooting Steady Shots Without a Tripod appeared first on Photodoto.
HOW TO VIEW IN 3D: 23 August 2010 Update: Please note that the 3D menu is now embeded into the new YouTube player. Just mouse over the button labeled “3D” and the menu will pop up. Click on the “3D View Style” menu then select how you’d like to view. You can only see this menu on the video page itself and not on a channel page. You can get out your 3D glasses and choose “Red/Cyan” which are pretty common. If you don’t have glasses, then select “Cross-eyed” or “Parallel” and cross you eyes slightly or focus behind the screen to make the 2 videos overlap into 1. If you’re not able to overlap images with your eyes, you may want to just purchase a cheap pair of glasses somewhere online or buy a 3D movie from the store and use those glasses. Don’t forget to click the full screen button on the bottom right of the video player if you are viewing with glasses. It looks and pops out way more awesome. Sorry, Disney’s fancy RealD polarized glasses don’t work here on YouTube. IF THIS DOESN’T WORK FOR YOU: – Cross-eyed or Parallel viewing can be difficult if you don’t have control over your eye muscles. Try sitting away from the screen a bit or just get some practicing. There are a lot of cool videos like this on the net and tutorials on how to view 3D without glasses. If you still can’t get it right, maybe you’ve made the wrong selection for “Parallel” or “Cross-eyed”. – If you’re using glasses and the image seems to be inside out or not working at all, then use your glasses the …
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Sony has introduced two 4K-capable modular cameras, including the PMW-F55 which has a Super 35-sized sensor with a global shutter. The specifications of the two cameras are pretty overwhelming – 16-bit Raw recording, parallel 2K and 4K recording, but the biggest news is the global shutter – the ability to capture all pixels simultaneously, rather than one line at a time – totally eliminating rolling shutter effect. (via EOS HD)
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
