Parents hire newborn photographers to document every detail of their babies at that brief instant at the start of their lives when they are tiny, bright and new to the world. Newborn photographers can feel a lot of pressure to fulfill parents’ wishes. In the rush to capture the perfect shot, it’s easy to forget that the subject of these photos are incredibly fragile little beings. Safety should always come first.
Join ee for tips on handling newborns safely, reading their moods and needs, and prepping your studio for a newborn shoot. You’ll learn:
Safe posing techniques
How to operate a safe environment in your studio and on external shoots
How to understand newborn behavior
You’ll discover how to sanitize your studio, choose cleaning products and plants with the newborn’s health in mind, and make sure that your furniture and equipment meets newborn safety standards. I will also focus on safely posing and handling a newborn during the shoot. I will teach you how to execute poses like the Potato Sack, the Froggy pose, and other advanced techniques used to create composite images. You will learn about newborn anatomy and the environment they come from to help you better understand what they are capable of doing in a shoot setting: how to avoid imbalance, overheating, and injury.
Finally feel capable of communicating about newborn safety. If parents feel that they can trust you around their child, they will be put at ease and remember the experience of the shoot more fondly.
Very good information on how to work safely with babies. I own the course and hope to have time in the coming weeks to finish viewing. Thank you very much.ReplyCancel
So glad we are talking more and more about safety in our industry ! It is very much needed. What an amazing class that was. Thank you so much for putting it together.ReplyCancel
I’ve just arrived home from a print critique evening for our upcoming State AIPP Awards. Earlier today I was working on some posing videos for my WPPI classes next week in Vegas! 9 day old Tommy was a perfect little model!
*Tommy was laying safely in his Mother’s hands on my posing bag with a black backdrop throughout this entire setup.
Today was all about ‘Flow Posing’. Teaching what I love the most. How to transition a baby from pose to pose easily & safely. To get the most out of every session as quick as possible with minimal movements.
Today I photographed my last newborn shoot for 2015 and what better way then to finish the year off then with these gorgeous twin boys 12 day old Noah and Ethan.
To say that 2015 has been a BIG year is a total understatement! So big I’m not even sure where to start! It’s been filled with amazing opportunities, huge achievements both personally and professionally and a lot of life lessons.
It’s been another year of travel with me returning to CreativeLive in Seattle to teach my 3rd class – Newborn Photography Bootcamp and then onto teaching workshops and speaking at photography conferences in 8 other countries. We even stepped out on a massive limb and held our very own Photography Conference ‘The Baby Summit’ in August, which could not have been more amazing! It brought 300 beautiful photographers together to learn, be inspired and to make life long friends! Because of this we’re in the midst of making it all happen again next year in both Australia and the USA!
This year has also been filled with lots of beautiful babies in front of my camera – 86 of them!!! From client sessions, mentoring sessions and workshops. I’ve also had the privilege of judging 5 different photography competitions, and being awarded the AIPP QLD Family Photographer of the Year for the 4th year in a row and winning first place in the Newborn category at WPPI. But, my most prized trophy from 2015 is from coming 3rd overall in the AusMumpreneur of the year awards. Being nominated for this award and achieving this result still blows me away!
And then the craziest things happened! I became an AIPP Brand Ambassador and in November was announced a Canon Master, my biggest photographic achievement to date – in my eyes the absolute pinnacle!!!
I’ve received so many Blessings this past year that as I sit here looking back I still shake my head in amazement. So much gratitude!
2015 sadly also held a great loss. Loosing my Grandfather is something I will never get over. I know I will heal but never be the same. I miss our long conversations about anything and everything and will be eternally grateful for him passing on his passion for photography to me – the greatest gift of all.
So after all of this and achieving so many amazing things it’s crazy to think that 2016 is already shaping up to be an even bigger year for this little Newborn Photographer! I’ve spent the past week setting goals and making plans for the next 12 months and can’t wait to share them all with you soon! 🙂
Thank you to my ever loving, patient and supportive family & friends this year. None of this would have been possible without you and to my beautiful clients who trust me with your most precious gifts.
Wising you all a new year filled with happiness & joy and all the success you deserve. Here’s to 2016 and making your dreams come true!
Wow! I’m totally jelly of your gorgeous set up Kelly. The lighting and the poses these gorgeous babies are in = perfection! What a piece of art for these parents they will be thrilled xReplyCancel
vikki kourbelis -December 31, 2015 - 09:42
You are truly amazing Kelly, the most inspirational person I know.
Your heart is so giving and you truly deserve all the happiness in the world.
Thank you for being such an incredible teacher and wanting to make a difference in the newborn photography world. I don’t know how you will top 2016 after having such an amazing 2015 but I know you will. Stay true to yourself and never change what your heart wants. xoxoReplyCancel
I cannot believe I only discovered you this year – maybe I just hadn’t been looking in the right place. Love your Creative Live videos, the Baby Summit and your beautiful images. So looking forward to the workshop in Sydney. Just getting my business up and running.
Congratulations on all that you achieved this year – you have worked hard for it.
Best wishes
JudithReplyCancel
You are an amazing photographer Kelly, and you deserve every bit of success that you have had this year. I hope that 2016 is even more amazing for you and exceeds your wildest dreams. I am grateful to know you and learn from you my friend. xxxReplyCancel
Little Pieces Photography ~ Newborn Photography by Kelly Brown
When clients come into my home studio the majority of the time they have no idea what is involved in a newborn photography session. And I just love seeing their expressions while I’m posing and taking photos of their baby. So I wanted to share with you a short video of some behind the scenes footage from a recent session. You will see the attention to detail and the care that I take throughout every session.
Little Pieces Photography. International award winning photography by Kelly Brown. located in Brisbane, Australia. Kelly specialises in baby portraiture and travels worldwide teaching newborn photography posing classes and workshops to photographers.
Hi there, could you please provide your quote for a new born shoot for my baby boy who we are expecting in January next year.
Love the video clip!ReplyCancel
Hi, I was wondering if could please have a quote for a new born photo shoot for twin girls towards the end of February. Thanks – Shaina 0431305088 email – Shaina.forde@my.jcu.edu.auReplyCancel
Adore your work and wish to attend to one of your workshops.ReplyCancel
Carole -August 7, 2015 - 06:56
Hi Kelly,
Thank you for everything! you inspire me everyday 🙂ReplyCancel
Melissa Kennedy -July 22, 2015 - 09:42
Hi Kelly,
Im just inquiring how much a newborn session with you would cost?ReplyCancel
Kathleen -July 12, 2015 - 22:33
I just love your work Kelly. I have been a fan for several years now and I am always amazed and completely in love with your style. I hope to attend a workshop in the US. I wanted to attend the Heide Hope collaboration but unfortunately didn’t have the funds. Please plan a trip back! Would be honored to learn from you!ReplyCancel
My Bootcamp is going to cover every aspect of the newborn photography world! And it’s not just for beginners it’s for photographers of all levels. For the newcomers to our industry it’s going to guide you on how to set up your baby photography business. And for experienced newborn photographers it will uncover new skills and services for you to apply to your existing businesses – so you can get to that next level.
I’m going to be sharing in depth with you…
Posing for newborns – Everything from the most-requested classic poses to more advanced and creative posing using the safest possible ways.
How to set up a home studio – What you need, what you don’t, and how to create a safe, polished, and inviting space.
Props – How to make your own props and safely pose babies in and around props.
Business and marketing – Pricing, policies, and generating the right publicity that will attract your target market.
Safety – Best practices for handling infants will be a key theme throughout the series.
And Post processing – how to give your images that finished look on screen right through to the final printed product.
I will also demonstrate my flow of posing for newborns and every variation there is to each pose, so you will have everything you need to get incredible shots. You’ll also learn how to create beautiful soft lighting and how to use it. And my favourite – shooting timeless images that your parents will love for years to come.
I’m going to be sharing ALL of my tips and tricks so don’t miss it!
For more information here’s a link to my course page…
I bought your Bootcamp class and am trying to hunt down the Facebook page for it. Could you point me in the right direction? I have looked high and low ?. Thank You,
Thank you so much Kelly for sharing your experience with us. I love your work and your videos. you are very inspiring and talented.ReplyCancel
Sharon -April 11, 2015 - 03:24
Thank you so much, Kelly! The boot camp was utterly amazing! For those who missed it live I can’t emphasize how valuable you have been during these 5 weeks in so many ways!ReplyCancel
Just love watching you work! Thank you for being so open with your knowledge!ReplyCancel
Mitchell Briggs -March 11, 2015 - 11:21
Hi Kelly,
I’ve just discovered your work, and as an amateur/enthusiast photographer myself, I must say your pictures are absolutely beautiful! I would love to attend one of your bootcamp/workshops in the future to learn more about this field of photography. Do you plan to hold anymore this year? Again, love your fantastic work.
Thanks so much for doing this Kelly, you are so inspiring and your work is absolutely beautiful. I cannot wait to learn from the best newborn photographer out there!ReplyCancel
Patrice -February 27, 2015 - 10:15
I am excited to take your class on Creative Live. Thank you for doing a second class. Happy photography. 🙂ReplyCancel
A quick post to share with you my beautiful new light.
There have been A LOT of articles written about natural light verses artificial light. I’m not going to go into which is better and why because quite simply it should be what you’re comfortable using plus it always ends up in a debate and I’m way too busy for that 😉
Over the years I have used both flash and natural light and have always preferred to use natural. I’m just not a fan of large bursts of light on a newborn that could potentially cause a startling effect or you know yourself when a flash goes off in your face that your eyes take a little while to adjust afterwards. And then there are the parents who are trying to relax in the calm environment that I have created – I want them to be able to sit and enjoy watching the session without the impact of light every few minutes. But hey that’s me personally.
My studio is filled with amazing natural light, I have large sliding doors that are north east facing and I filter the light with sheer curtains to make it beautiful and soft for my baby photography. But when I travel for work I don’t often have the luxury of natural light which is why I have purchased the Jinbei EF 200 watt sunlight LED with the 50cm soft ball diffuser which is a continuous daylight balanced light. I can set up during a session the exact same way I would with a window.
After posting a picture on social media of my new light I had a few requests from photographers wanting to see some resulting images. So I thought I would share with you some photos of this handsome little man using both light sources to show you the results. I have also included pull back shots of both set ups.
I used large black sheets to block out the natural light for the Jinbei image and then turned the light off and pulled the black sheets down to use the window light. You don’t have to block out the windows as this light would also make a great fill light on low light days or for other similar scenarios. I just wanted to show the results using it on it’s own – the same way I would a window 🙂
Full details about the light with links to where you can find it are at the bottom of the post.
ARTIFICIAL LIGHT – shot with the Jinbei EF 200 watt sunlight LED
***
NATURAL LIGHT – Large windows to the right filtered with sheer curtains.
I will always love natural light and will continue to use it in my home studio but I’m so happy to have found a light that I can travel with that will allow me create beautiful soft light in any environment. The results are so similar to shooting with my large window. And I have to admit I love the little catchlight in his eye from the Soft Ball.
A few more details about the Jinbei EF 200 – it’s a 200watt light which equates too a 2K output in Tungsten. Unlike tungsten it is daylight balanced and extremely bright , you also have the ability to control the output from the camera with the optional transmitter. The light does NOT overheat because of its unique built in silent fan system, which is it’s best feature if you are shooting Video like I do as there is no noise. No other LED monbloc currently has this quiet fan. The Soft Light Ball is available in 30cm and 50cm and both give unique soft direct light as well as reflected.
WOW! These images are stunning! As a fellow newborn photographer, I really appreciate your stunning use of light and angles that provide depth and interest. You have a true gift. The parents must be thrilled with the art you have given them. Gorgeous work!ReplyCancel
Grace -September 1, 2017 - 02:22
Thank you for the article. I would like to ask why you prefer the ball diffusor instead of another option like a softbox or an umbrella. Is there an advantage to it?ReplyCancel
Hi Grace, this is just personal preference. Kelly actually uses a range of artificial light modifiers, and the ball diffuser is just one of them that creates a soft light. Try out a variety of them and decide which works best for you. -MelindaReplyCancel
Thank you so much Kelly, for sharing your lighting knowledge with us. Upon your suggestion I purchased this lighting system about a year ago and I absolutely love it! I am a natural light photographer but this baby gets turned on as the light progressively gets dimmer on some days. It does a wonderful job of mimicking natural light and everyone seems impressed by it’s unique look in the studio. I think it’s important to turn it off between takes to give it a chance to cool down though. This is not something I suggest to leave on for hours at a time. It’s perfect for photographing newborns but it is also perfect for capturing small families.Wonderful purchase all and all.ReplyCancel
I’m a natural light photographer too, not sure what it is I just love the challenge of working with what’s available.
Your studio sounds amazing, do you have any blog posts with photos of your space?ReplyCancel
Hi Kelly, thanks for sharing. I really like this softball, do you still use this ? I’m living in the netherlands, so not that easy to get this item 🙁
Do you think, there is enough Light for photograph older kids? Can I do my shutterspeed high enough? On this moment I used flash a lot… but, I didnt like that light so much. ThanksReplyCancel
kim -October 18, 2015 - 05:02
Can anybody tell me where I can Buy the soft ball ? I’m living in the netherlands, maybe someone have an idea for me 🙂
And, is it heavy to take this set on location? gr kimReplyCancel
I’ve got it from Italy ( I’m living in Italy) in totally happy with this light. Big Thanks to Kelly <3
You can search and find it in Europe, my husband found one link selling this light from Germany 100w & 200w, 2 size ball 30cm &50 cm. I bought the 200w with the ball 50cm about 600euro but I just release that too much for my small studio, may be with 100w and the 30cm ball is good enough. Hope you can find the link and get the right one for you;)ReplyCancel
Samantha Cartwright -September 11, 2015 - 06:51
Hi Kelly,
We have just bought one of these but have read on the Facebook group page others are struggling with intensity and WB. What were your camera settings and light settings for this shot? ThanksReplyCancel
Rebecca Morozov -July 6, 2015 - 12:07
Hi there, your photos are amazing. I was wondering if you can help me please? I would like to learn and set up a mobile newborn studio in my town of Geraldton WA and am confused how to handle lighting, it may not always be possible to use all natural light depending on house I am photographing from , and the Jenbi lighting you use is rather expensive. I would like something versatile that I can also use for families, pets ect. Is shoot through stove going to be ok for infants ? Continuous? Not continuous? Soft Box?
Thank you so much for your help,
Regards RebeccaReplyCancel
Kelly, thank you so much for your willingness to share all your helpful information about props, lighting, techniques, and everything else that you are sharing with all of us. It is so greatly appreciated. God Bless!ReplyCancel
What f stop does this light go down to?ReplyCancel
ana -March 11, 2015 - 08:30
Kelly I am big fan of yours, I purchased your class on CL. You share and mentor in a beautiful way. Wholehearted like your photography. Thank you xxxReplyCancel
Thank you for all the information you are sharing with us. Via your blog and via the courses (I purchased all your courses from creativelive). I (also) prefer natural light but from time to time there is just not enough light available (dark rainy days) and then I also use artifical (continuous) light. I wonder, with what aperture/shutter speed/iso you can shoot using the artifical light you use?
Awesome idea! Do you have to get a continuous light with this. I have strobes so they wouldnt work.ReplyCancel
Hope Connolly -February 2, 2015 - 09:38
Hi Kelly
Thank you for this, some beautiful images and great info!
Love the bucket! Do you have a company that does them or was it a random find?ReplyCancel
Lyndsey Good -February 1, 2015 - 04:34
Thank you for sharing! I have been looking for a continuous lighting set up… and now I have one I trust to give amazing result 🙂 thanks again xReplyCancel
Thank you Kelly, for sharing this wonderful information. I wanted to learn more about the nests you use, but the link in the article for Island Vine Designs doesn’t seem to be working. I was wondering if you could share the link again. Thank you in advance!ReplyCancel
Jessica -January 30, 2015 - 02:09
What white balance did you set on your camera when using shot with the Jinbei EF 200 watt sunlight LED? Thank youReplyCancel
Jessica -January 30, 2015 - 02:08
What white balance do you set on your camera when you use shot with the Jinbei EF 200 watt sunlight LED? Thank you for the article. I have never used anything but natural light but looking for indoor lighting options and this looks great.ReplyCancel
Thank you for this blog post, Kelly!
Just wondering if your white balance was the same for both set-ups or if that artificial light you are using is close enough to daylight and you don’t have to worry about changing your white balance 🙂
Thank you!ReplyCancel
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Thanks for the valuable knowladge you share!
good
Very nice information to know. Nice photography.
Newborn Photography Adelaide
Very good information on how to work safely with babies. I own the course and hope to have time in the coming weeks to finish viewing. Thank you very much.
This is great! I see so many unsafe newborn photographers. SO important!
So glad we are talking more and more about safety in our industry ! It is very much needed. What an amazing class that was. Thank you so much for putting it together.