I was just about to take some pictures of my latest baby when I realized that I would love to know where and how you take photos of your babies.
For example, do you take pictures indoors, outdoors, in your dining room, sunparlor, using standing lamps, natural sunlight, etc.? I once read of a reborner who poses her babies on the top of her stove under the lamp of the range hood!
Many of the photos in our Artist Showcase are so professional-looking that I'd love any tips to help achieve that effect--showing off the little ones in the most natural, realistic, flattering ways.
Thanks so much! I love this forum!
-- Edited by Nai Nai's Nursery at 16:05, 2008-08-17
I have noticed that the daylight is better! all the details of teh paint shows very well and the baby looks so natural! I like to create a special spot whit blankets on my kitchen table where the daylight falls in a beautiful way. I guess that some pics whit standing lamps can be beautiful too... The important thing is to capture the most special quality of your baby! =)
Being a photographer, i tend to use natural light through a large window, (not direct light otherwise you will get a washed out appearance) i also tend to use my flash for fill light to highlight the shadows a bit more, but dont do this if you only have an on camera flash or again you will get a washed out look. to brighten up the shadows without using a flash in the photography world we tend to use whats called a reflecter to reflect light back into the shadows, this can be as simple as using a large sheet of WHITE cardboard, dont go using another colour or you will get a horrible colour cast and your bub will look weird, if you want anymore information on photography, i would be more than happy to help out, i might not know much about reborning yet but photography that side of things i can help with.
hope this helps Sammi XoXoXo
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.*.*.*.Some People Only Dream Of Angels....I Held One In My Arms.*.*.*.
Thanks for the tips Sammi, Tamotoe Jam 77 has gone into photography and just bought a new camera to do weddings, but she lives one and a half hrs away, I ordered phoebe to do for the cover so I will have to take a trip down with her to get some decent pics. You and her would have a lot in commen. She hasn,t been on here for awhile, unless she was checking up on me to see what secrets I tell. LOLJune M from Oz. PS I was told you use a blue background to bring out the colours, is this true or not.
I personally wouldnt use a blue background because blue, (including green and red) give off some awful colour casts i would stick to Black or white or very light pastel colours
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.*.*.*.Some People Only Dream Of Angels....I Held One In My Arms.*.*.*.
Sammi, I've noticed the if you have pink on some dolls and pink under them especially pale pink, their complection is pale, why is this. June M from Oz.
1. the colour of the doll could be lighter than what the human eye is seeing, therefor when placed with other shades of pink then it becomes more noticeable
2. it could be the settings on the camera or the post processing after the photo is taken, my avatar baby is a bit darker to the human eye but after using flash ( i bounced the flash of the ceiling) her skin tone looks alot lighter,
I was told by a local lady that does reborning never to do it at night as you will wake up in the morning and regret it, guess what i did it and yep i regreted it, my baby was very off colour for what i was seeing at night, because of the normal household light being in the red spectrum i thought my baby was looking a nice shade of pink yet in the morning when i woke up she was almost only the flesh colour and no blushing... now if im working at night i will actually setup one of my studio continuouse lights which are colour corrected to daylight temperature. and my avatar baby is the result of this.
hope i have helped answer your question,
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.*.*.*.Some People Only Dream Of Angels....I Held One In My Arms.*.*.*.
I usually shoot indoors but in a well light area, i do use a fill flash too, but nothing more fancy.
i've done a little photography but really it was just trial and error and a learning curve, esp with posing and angles and photo-composition.
the best thing i did was study the reborn artisits' i most admired on ebay and look carfully at how they possed and framed their shots. Blankets, toys, textures that are part of the shot are very important too. the corner of a pillow, part of a soft toy in the photo looks effective and you don't even really notice them there till you look, yet they add so much to the frame.
eventually i printed out some of the photos of others and tried to re-produce simalar looks and layouts.
Now i just play... i get down and around on all kinds of angles and i take hundrens of shots (well sometimes only 70 or 90, but other times it kickes up past 190). Then i upload to my computer and sort through deleating ones i dont like, that are blurred, or shiny or just unflatering or too many of the same. I try to weed it down to 20-35 pics for my listings... this can be the hardest... trying to pick *the perfect ones*.
its a learning curve for sure though and some of my ealiest pics which i thought looks very naturally posed i now look back at and can only see "dolly" posing. As with anything it takes time and practise.
Thanks, Naomi. I've been hoping that you would post an answer to this topic, because I love the way you pose your babies--from their heads to their toes. Your babies always look so natural, relaxed, and real. Your colors and props always enhance.
I like the idea of printing out pictures of artists that you admire!
though a good lot of my pic's in the artist showcase right now were just very quick shots and nothing really fab, quick snaps i took just to quickly show of the lastest baby i'd completed leading up to the show thing i did. my ebay listings have nicer pics with much more purpose and thought put in.
my website has a few pics splattered over the different pages, but i've still not gotten round to doing the gallery of adopted babys - that page is still under construction. at some point i'll get there, but there are just so many pics for me to sort though and try choosing from!!!