Conjuring Light (sometimes, Reality Bites)

So this is a bit ironic. After teaching a class on how to find great light, I find myself having to shoot in non-ideal light conditions - near sunset and in long strips of shade cast by buildings, fog creeping in and severely diluting warm late afternoon light. A flash would've helped, but I didn't want to use flash on a 7 week baby close-up, even if his eyes were closed. I could've tried some white balance tricks, but it was getting cold, and he'd finally stopped fussing and gone to sleep ... didn't want us all to have to stand around more than necessary. Blue shade plus blue blanket resulted in a very blue picture - so I put my faith in photoshop rescue skills. You can see my embarrassingly blue picture at the bottom left.
Please don't dwell on it for long. 

I tweaked the colors using curves in Lab Color Mode, which I've mentioned in a prior post. Warmed up the entire pic, lightened the face, to further separate from the blue blanket, and added a wash of pale pink over the face. It is still a cool picture, but way better than the original. I just wanted to let you in on a bit of my reality. The ideal natural light doesn't always exist within the hour that I spend with a family, and sometimes I have to conjure it up.

Sharing the Art of Baby Photography

I am very fond of this set of newbie photos. A combination of great natural light from San Francisco style bay windows and a very cooperative, beautiful baby boy. I added some supplemental light using a reflector - I have a fancy reflector, but you can easily use a sheet of white card or foam board, card board covered in foil - placed to the side of the baby (right, left left respectively) so that the window light reflected back and filled in some of the shadow. I don't like to use flash on the very little ones, so given enough window light, this method works well in the place of flash. These pics also show the use of parent hands in newbie pics, the lovely backgrounds that textured white blankets make, and the vignetting potential of blankets.

If you happen to be looking for Japanese Birth or Wedding Announcements, check out my client's fledgling card design business:

http://www.momijicards.com/

I taught my first Natural Light Photography of Babies and Kids with your DSLR workshop this morning, with 3 students (moms). I'd spent the past week putting it together - first a detailed draft of what I wanted to cover, then compiled photos to illustrate my points, next made a streamlined, condensed set of teaching notes to correlate with slides, and finally a student hand out with the most important points. It reminded me very much of putting together a grad school presentation, and I was glad to have that experience (though at the time of MFA, I grumbled and stressed out about having to do so many). And it was nice to have such an attentive, interested and sanitary audience, unlike the jaded, slack-jawed art undergrads or roly poly, leaky-nosed 5 year olds - from my live bug teaching days.

The class is pretty specific. "Natural Light" does not include artificial/studio light, in which I dabble but do not consider myself an expert. "Babies and Kids" are different subjects from adults, and completely different from sport, wildlife, landscape, architectural, product, food and fashion etc photography, in none of which I have expertise either. It's not an unusual assumption by random people (like my clinic's phlebotomist) that I should (a) take interest in and (b) know how to do all those other types of photography.

Anyways, I realized, in the area of Natural Light Baby /Kid Photography I know quite a lot! And felt very comfortable in sharing my experience and accumulated information. There is some demand for a web version, as I have many friends with babies and DSLRs Not In San Francisco. We'll see about that.

Time to Teach

I saw a post; a mother searching for an Intro to How to Photograph Babies and Kids with a DSLR class. Oh, I can do that, I thought, and without thinking, posted back: If there's enough interest, I can put one together. Next thing I know, 10 moms are interested and here I am lesson planning. The first thing that comes to mind is that I've never taken any photography classes, and everything I know about taking pictures is self taught. I need to distill, select and organize what is most useful and easy for a hobby photographer to put into practice to improve his/her photos. Much of what I will say I probably have blabbed on about in my blog.

I'll start with the obvious basics, which are: What do all the little buttons and knobs on the camera do, and what do all the little numbers on the body and lens mean? The technical aspect.

Next, a discussion on light - as this is all natural light photography, I'll share how I find the best light in a given environment. Composition and creativity might be the hardest to teach, if one doesn't already have a critical eye. Presumably, people who have purchased a DSLR have done so because they see the qualitative difference between a point and shoot pic and a DSLR pic, and thus must be conscious of what makes one picture better than another. Then, somehow pull all info together to apply specifically to portraits of newborns, babies and little kids. Now... going through my archives for photos to illustrate points - such as what makes a good B&W photo?

Quilt Making is to Beer Brewing

Another baby quilt; same pattern as the previous but with minor aesthetic tweaks. And this one has batting - that is, the stuff sandwiched between the front and back of the quilt for additional insulation. The previous quilt had a Minky Dimple back, which I though provided enough weight. This one; cotton front and flannel back, needed an extra something to increase the cozy-factor.

When I inquire about my husband's creative endeavors, he like to compare them to my own, in simile. "Music Equipment is like Camera Equipment" for example. More recently, "Beer Brewing," he declared, "Is like Quilt Making." Oh really.
Choosing brew flavors and researching ingredients = Designing overall quilt and selecting fabrics that will go together
Calculating ingredient volumes, temperatures = Making a pattern
Actual brewing process = Sewing the thing together

So, I commented, after his fermenting 5 gallon glass jug erupted a ceiling smacking, geyser of beer guts all over the pantry, What is the Quilt Making Equivalent Here?
There was no satisfactory answer to that.

I documented some of the damage, exactly like in those investigators on CSI TV shows. Unfortunately, while I did witness the geyser - Dionysus's lesser known cousin, the Beer God of Fury, Reincarnate - it did not last long enough for me to grab a camera.

Huge Bath Tub

Coming across another San Francisco scenic spot is always a delight - just when I thought I knew all the photogenic viewpoints in the city. Not so! I have much exploring to do, apparently. At the NW corner of the city is Sutro Baths, now a part of Golden Gate Rec Area. Way back in the late 1800s, a rich SF guy named Adolph Sutro made a huge public bath/pool, that was conveniently rinsed out by high tide. You had seven pools to choose from, dressing rooms, and the baths were even covered by a glass structure. It was apparently quite glamorous in the day, complete with movie theater and an ice skating rink at some point, and its own rail way stop. The structure was destroyed by fire in 1966, and all that is left is the concrete/ rock base that the modern visitor can clamber over at their own risk of falling in. It is quite popular with ducks and photographers.

Sewing Machine Love

I'd been waiting to post this, as I want the recipient to see the baby quilt for reals, and not spot it first on my blog. According to USPS tracking, it is "Out for Delivery", which seems close enough.

It was time to graduate from squares to other shapes, so I went with arcs - but kept things simple. Pre-shank the fabrics. I cut a pattern out of a large rectangular sheet of foam wrap that in a previous life padded Ikea chipboard items, kept track of the pieces by labeling 1 through 15 and assigned fabrics. Tried to balance colors. Traced pattern pieces onto the backsides of fabric, added 1/2 inch boarders. Measured out the white fuzzy fabric (also known as Minky Dimple) to cover the back of the quilt plus wrap around to the front edges. Used my Sparkly New Brother CS 6000i to sew the parts together.

I must stop to gush: it is an absolute JOY to sew with a great sewing machine. My old machine, which I am embarrassed to own, was purchased on a quick trip to Target during my art school days, without prior research. Much like my intro DSLR, I did get a lot of mileage out of it - but recently I started longing for a machine that didn't regurgitate the bobbin every other use, shake my entire work station, erupt in sudden caffeinated bursts of uncontrollably fast stitches, or make such a machine gun din that my dog retreated to the furthest corner of the apt.  

CS 6000i is a COMPUTERIZED sewing machine, as opposed to purely mechanical. It means more precision. Pleasant, agreeable, perhaps even Eager to Please temperament, such smooth, even stitches, quiet purr, a bobbin that sits contentedly in its bobbin nest - Plus all these specialty feet (a walking quilting foot!) and programmed stitches... I could sew for days on end.

This is baby quilt #3. The corners don't quite meet; where the arcs cross one another, but whatever. I'm pleased with the result. Next time I will keep an eye on the fabric pattern direction though. The abstract birds and the swirly swirl fabric doesn't matter so much, but I am a bit bothered by the deep pink, which runs in different directions.

Bindi Baby

Under 4 months, it's generally rare to receive a baby smile. But in the fleeting moments that you do - what a gem! (Even if it is an accidental smile)

A Brief Foray into Home Decor

Not my succulent, but one of many organically sculptural/architectural elements of my clients' new home. I was there to photograph the family of course, but I couldn't help but capture some of these interior design details. Below, an eclectic selection of vintage-y frames, unified by being painted painted an east-coast-beach-house-shutter-matte-white. Makes me want to dig around garage sales for frames and paint them all the same color.

Another wall piece; a large surface, say the size of 3 doors, pinned with cutouts of chrysanthemum prints. I'd seem something in the same vein at an Anthropologie store - an entire wall covered with pinned on paper cutouts of flying bird silhouettes. Aim some studio lights at this wall and get some amazing shadows. I think felt cutouts would work great, as well as (cardboard/paper-backed) print or textured fabric, pinned onto a painted cork board. I might not be able to resist giving this a try...

Exact Change Only!

You may note the hint of rainbow decor in the backgrounds of the above photos. We are of course, in the heart of the Castro. Pretty much anything goes here. And so it was probably not a surprise for the tram operators (the grown up ones, that is) to receive a request to permit a pair of transportation-enthused tots the free exploration of the resting tram's interiors.

Yea for Chubby Cheeks!

Six months old is very photogenic baby age. Filled out with baby chub, smiley and giggly, does not yet have the hints of toddlerhood, such as longer limbs, as babes head towards one-ish. And here is his big brother.

About Eyes.

If you live in San Francisco, you will recognize the familiar diagonally striped glass that comprises a MUNI bus/tram shelter. As it turns out, they create great diffuse light for photos. Isn't that sweater and bear head gear texture just the best? And if the little boy looks familiar, it's because his baby pic was featured on my blog a bit over a year ago, and gosh he must've been one of The Most Amazingly Cute Babies I'd ever photographed.

A quick note on close up photos of little ones. Or anyone, really. If you scroll through my baby/tot close ups posts, they all have one thing in common - Catch Lights in the Eyes. So important to bring life to the picture. Even in shade, there will be some light reflection  in the iris at some angle. A small thing that makes a huge difference, especially in dark colored eyes - without it, eyes lose depth, and the picture doesn't have the same magnetism. Having said that, please make sure the eyes are in clear focus, unless there's some intentional focusing-on-something-else going on. None of this focusing-in-the-general-direction-of-the-face. Clear eyes will make close up portraits that much awesomer.

This might mean turning off the auto-face-finder-focus function on your camera (you know, when the little rectangles appear over faces as viewed through the lens finder). Instead, tell the camera (usually a few button presses) to use the one center-most focus rectangle only; aim that rectangle over your subject's eyeball(s) and press shutter to Autofocus.

Chances Are

Sometimes dogs are easier to photograph than kids and babies. Some dogs, I swear, are posing.

I have some stats for you, having recently compiled my 2010 business info. I could create a series of pie charts... but just telling you will be faster (I know I will spend too much time pondering pie wedge colors).

Category: Subject Matter
60% Babies
(not able to run)
29% Toddlers
(learning to run)
15% Kids
(easily run away from me)
And all this adds up to more than 100% because a shoot may consist of more than one subject, and it's just too complicated to sort it out.

Category: Gender
44% of babies are Girls
56% of babies are Boys
No big diff between numbers of Girls vs Boys Tots and Kids

Category: Location
65% San Francisco
35% Everywhere else (from Santa Cruz to Tahoe)

Chances are, I'm photographing a Baby Boy in San Francisco.

Twins to Welcome You to 2011

Hello Twins! A mere 16 days old, these two help demonstrate the difference between a white reflective and black absorptive surface. In general, I prefer to photograph babies (especially ones that have floppy necks and need to remain lying down) against light surfaces. When lying on a flat surface, it is hard to get light all around the head. It's an aesthetic preference, but I like minimizing shadows on baby faces, to enhance the freshness element of the picture. A white blanket helps a lot, as it subtley reflects light onto the sides/ back of babies heads. Some shadow remains to give form.

Black backgrounds absorb light, so while the foreground of the baby pops in contrast to the black, the edges of the baby's shape are not as defined as against a white background. More artificial light is needed to prevent babies against black from being overwhelmed by their background. The two pics definitely feel different; natural vs studio-esque.

If you thought photographing one newborn was a challenge, try photographing two at once! In newbie sessions, there are a lot of feeding and crying breaks. With two newbies, we have to hope that the moments of contentment and sleep overlap at some point.