fotoboi: Tips for Mom and Baby Outdoor Photo Shoot

NEO Dirty Look Preset Filter @ 80 percent

Original. Fuji 16-80 lens. Autofocus. 17.7mm. f/5. No flash.

Post Reflection Points:

--FLASH: Using a flash for most of the pics was a winner. Always bring backup batteries. My flash died early and fortunately was able to repurpose some AA batteries from one of the baby's toys. This would have been very embarrassing and unprofessional had I been paid.

--LIGHTING: Set up photo shoot in the evening about an hour and a half before sunset. Perfect lighting but you can't lolligag. Also be aware lighting is constantly decreasing ever so gradually. Start by taking impromptu pics and easy staging pics to get your bearings. Save your best staging for the middle of your photo shoot for best lighting.

--SETTING: We took the pics outdoors at a ranch and had a lot of different areas/backgrounds to choose from. I chose the area because it had a decorative rock bed and a tree with some character in the foreground, a wooden fence in the midground, and the tree line in the background. The sky was clear and uneventful so I tried to minimize it. We added the hay, saddle, iron wagon wheel, and a gunny sack material to set the baby down for props. We had to clear the area of some horse manure and watch out for patches of sticky grass thorns.

--ATMOSPHERE: It was a clear, hot, upper 90's, humid, Texas summer day. Have cold bottled waters, handkerchiefs for wiping sweat, and take short breaks. Pay attention to faces and sweat beading.

--BABIES: Matias, the baby, is one year old. His mother (Georgia) and grandmother (Patti) were great at jumping and calling to get his attention to smile, hold head up, and look at the direction of the camera. Be patient when taking toddler pics by themselves. When he cried, which was often, I paused quickly to allow the mother to play and settle him. I didn't want him to cry so hard as to get emotionally upset to the point of no return. Sometimes you can avoid it, others times it is what it is.

--EXPECTATIONS: I shot 90 pictures and maybe had 10 that were worthy of mention. There is maybe another 10 with potential and good for personal sharing. A 20% return rate is exceptional in my experience. What helped this shoot is the lighting, backdrop, and a baby that did really good considering it was really hot and humid and he was in an unfamiliar place. Good job Matias! Good job Georgia!

Now for some final pics to share.

Enhanced skyline.

NEO Composite. Added sky. Sepia filter. Also created the Wanted poster using another picture, clipart of Wanted Poster, and BeFunky.com to turn it into a drawing.