Baby photography is an exciting and attractive subject. There's no doubt. You have seen hundreds of photos of babies that have touched you or aroused a smile and surely you have ever had to photograph one or have taken to photograph it. There are many pages or articles in magazines that give us advice to get a better picture of the baby, even so, the same mistakes happen repeatedly. And what does a good photographer do with mistakes? Learn from them, always. That is what we are going to do in today's article, to rename those mistakes so common when photographing the precious and innocent creatures that surround us to learn to avoid them. Do you fancy the challenge? Well, here we go.
20 MISTAKES IN PHOTOGRAPHY THAT YOUR BABY WILL NEVER FORGIVE
- Use the flash The first and most frequent of errors. Using the flash with babies has two major drawbacks, it can be harmful to them and it also scares them, and a scared baby will not be a good model. Yes, I know, we do not always have enough light to get a good image, so I recommend that you read this article or that if you use it, do it always bouncing and with diffusers. Do not bring the flash too close and even less approach it directly to your eyes.
- Choose a wrong fund. You can mess up a beautiful photo with a totally inappropriate background. If you choose a background that is too flashy, the baby will lose prominence, as if there are too many distractors, tangles, furniture, people ... In the first photo we see a clear example of elements that divert attention and spoil the image. Everything is left over except the baby and the carpet .Pack it with the second image.
- Dress the baby the wrong way. You may want to dress the creature with his best clothes, or with the pijamita that his godmother has given him, or with the most colorful of his wardrobe. Error! If what you want is a memory of that garment, OK, we accept boat, but if you want a nice image worthy of a good photographer, the best thing is that the clothes do not detract from the subject. Use smooth or soft colors that do not distract the viewer's attention.
In this photo the look goes everywhere except for the beautiful face of this baby, a shame because it is very sweet! - Do not choose the right time. As you are hungry, sleepy, cold or something hurts, do not intend to shoot the best picture or by any means. He is a baby and will not understand that you only want five minutes to portray him. Your photos will be moved, the baby will appear crying or with little flattering gestures, you will end the nerves and the card with images that will serve nothing more than to throw in the trash. Wait for the baby to have all your needs covered and return to the load.
- Put it in the arms of the older brother. The snapshots with the brothers are a wonderful and really tender memory, but if what you want is to give prominence to the newcomer this is not the way, since in the arms of the elder he will look so tiny that he will lose the main role. Try putting them face to face or in a funny gesture as in the following photos.
In this image, however, all the protagonism is played by the older brother - Rush. That the rush is not good is not something new. In this case they are not good in two ways. When our baby is born we are eager to present it in society and we portray it at the slightest opportunity. If you use that photo to notify the closest relatives that everything has gone well, okay, but if what you want is to show off your offspring, do not do the job of spreading your photo just out of the parlor to all friends and family or even publish it on social networks! It will be swollen, very wrinkled and surely also very red or purple. Wait for your skin to take on its natural color and lower the swelling to make its first "official" portrait, in the future it will thank you;). On the other hand, take the time you need to do your photo shoot with a baby, if you rush it all will go wrong, you will get nervous and the baby will end up noticing your mood. Better a relaxed session.
- Do not take care of the lighting. This handsome baby would look more if his face were seen. There is a lot of natural light around and yet the face is obscured by shadows. A reflector would have helped a lot.
Example of regular lighting - Take moved photos. It is clear, it is a baby and if he is awake he will not be still, no matter how much you ask him. If your photos are moved it is because the shutter speed is too low, upload it to better freeze the movement and to compensate, if they get dark, try opening the diaphragm or raising the ISO.
- Unfocused eyes. If you are not looking to clearly highlight another detail of your face or your body playing with blur, focus your eyes well because they are the most important and strongest part of a portrait.
Placid Dream - Cut body parts or face. As much as we tell you to get closer, do not get close enough to have to cut a part of the baby's face or body, if not with a clear interest. Cutting an ear, chin or hand is a very common mistake but very easily solvable.
Baby without chin - Keep too much distance and do not move to look for different angles or perspectives. Many times for convenience, or because we are focused on other tasks, or simply because of the available space, we shoot from inappropriate angles. Look at the differences between the following images. The solution is easy, move and get closer.
Baby away Cerquita better - Ignore gestures and emotions. Missing gestures like this can make you regret for a long time. Sleeping inns are beautiful, but don't forget that the baby begins to have his own personality and show it with his gestures and expressions.
Lifetime. - Forget the importance of eye shine. The brightness of the eyes produces a very attractive sensation in the portraits, observe the difference.
A little sparkle in the eyes would have enhanced the photo. What is not the same? :)) - Crooked horizon. The lines of a photograph must always be straight. This picture could be wonderful, however, to me the crooked lines make me dizzy and make the image lose strength.
Caution with crooked lines - Shoot in black and white. We are in love with black and white, but my advice is that you shoot in color and then turn them to black and white with a computer program, otherwise you will lose a lot of useful information when processing them.
- Print without going through the computer monitor. The impatience can lead you to go directly to the store to reveal the photos with the camera card, but if you want some advice, better try them before to adjust the color, brightness or other parameters. On the camera screen they may be correct, but when you see them on the monitor you can realize that they are not as you really want.
- Not having the camera ready. Right now in this moment that surprises you with its first smiles, or with a gesture that makes you fall in love the camera is stored in its case in the depths of a closet, or you have it at hand but without battery or with the card full ... what a task! You just missed a delicious moment.
- Laziness. You wake up with your precious baby next to you, not one, but dozens of photos, but you are tired (or tired) and want to continue sleeping taking advantage of this moment of peace. In a few years you will not remember that tiredness, however the photo will remain ... Never leave the photos for tomorrow, the baby will grow and there will be no going back, take every opportunity!
- Do not reveal on paper. Accumulating hundreds of images on the computer and not printing them is a bad habit that has spread in the digital era. Before the impatience to see them threw us fleetingly to the development store to be able to see the result, now we see it instantaneously and the development is not in a hurry, so we are dedicated to filling the hard disk. What are you waiting for? Make a good selection and enjoy the pleasure of seeing, touching and showing off your images on paper.
- Do not shoot enough. Precisely the digital era gives us the opportunity to shoot as much as we want without revealing everything, shoot, shoot and shoot. The more photos you shoot, the more likely you are to get the ideal photo.
- Mario Bonus: Do not invest in a decent goal. (I certainly can't help recommending the 50mm f / 1.4 ).
