Hi all! My favorite clients (AKA my daughter, her husband and my 11 month old grandchild) recently requested a winter portrait session, not too “Christmassy” as they wanted to be able to display these photos at all times of the year! Instead, they wanted a more “wintery” vibe, which I think we achieved. This was my first time photographing a wiggly baby, which adds a whole new element to posing and getting the shots “right!” So I thought I would focus this post on baby photography tips that I used to help make this session a success!
As for location, we settled on a tree farm well after the hustle and bustle of the holiday had settled down. And of coarse, before I even get started on tips, we decided on a time that worked well with the babies schedule. It is very important to factor in nap time when scheduling a portrait session with a baby!
First, if you are photographing a baby consider having an assistant or even a family friend to stand behind you at the same height as the camera to try and get the baby to look at or near it. Second, a favorite toy in the assistant’s hand helps to keep the babies attention and the mood light. Third, have the parents give you an idea of the babies favorite noises to make to get their attention or a favorite song for the assistant to sing, don’t try to do these things yourself if you can help it! Forth, shoot in continuous shooting mode and take several shots of each pose, a millisecond’s difference in timing might make a huge impact on your image.
Lastly, give up all expectation that any and all of those methods will work perfectly! Babies are on the move. They wiggle. They giggle. They want to look anywhere but where you want them to. And in the end, I think the best shots are the ones where you are merely capturing moments, not curating perfection, which simply does not exist in life with babies!
All in all, I think I captured the wintery vibe the family wanted all while tweaking my process to accommodate this precious family! For my Photography friends, I used my Canon 6D with an 24-70mm f/2.8 lens for this session and I bumped up my ISO to 640 to offset the lighting conditions, with an aperture of f2.8-3.5.
As always, if you’re interested in chatting with me about photography or if you want to inquire about a portrait session, feel free to contact me at lisabraunphotography@gmail.com. And if you’d like to share your favorite baby photography tips, please do so in the comments!
Thank you for supporting Lisa Braun Photography, happy shooting! -Lisa
Lisa Braun Photography 
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