Complete Newborn Photography Guide Toronto

What is Newborn photography Toronto or Near Me about?

Newborn photography is the first growing family milestone. Newborn baby photography portraits are about capturing the baby, baby and siblings, close-ups and family portraits.

The baby could be captured in different ways: from the simple newborn baby photos on the bin to more artistic images with unique props,

backdrops and accessories. We love to create professionally looking newborn photos where the fine-art newborn, fashion and dramatic light come to one point.

Creative newborn photography is the modern newborn photography style.

The best time for newborn photos is when the baby is7-14 days old. This age helps to create more images with fewer efforts. We have done 1 and 2-month babies as well. It takes more time and not all the props and accessories feet the size of the baby.

The newborn baby photography is a great opportunity to capture gorgeous family portraits before the baby starts dating or borrowing the keys from the bike.

Safety is a very important factor in newborn photography.  The assistant helps to arrange the scene, take care of the baby and sanitize all the props and accessories plus an entire studio before and after the photoshoot.

The assistant should be able to keep the baby slippery by using old fashion techniques with the combination of the modern stuff like white noise or baby shusher.  The parents have to enjoy the process and some parents just falling asleep after a challenging night.

What is the Best Camera for Newborn Baby Photography?

We love to use high-end cameras like Canon EOS 1DX. The top Nikon and Fuji cameras will work as well. The colour of skin in Canon and Fuji cameras looks more natural indoors, especially when the strobes are used as a primary source of light. The Top Nikon DSLR is an awesome camera as well,

but more post-processing is required to get the same results as in Canon DSLR naturally and without any effort. The sync speed of these cameras is 1/250 sec and this sync speed allows using top-of-the-line Profoto Studio Strobes with excellent colour balance. These cameras are expensive (5-10K), but the images look fantastic without any minor post-production.

The Camera Gear that works for Newborn Baby Photography.

 

The goal of the selection of the camera and studio gear for newborn photography is clear. You need tools that work for you smoothly and are paintless. You don’t have time for playing with the gear during the newborn photoshoot. Everything should be prepared in advance to make the newborn

photoshoot successful. Some photographers use entry-level DSLR and on-camera flash or just one studio strobe. We use a different approach. The uniform lighting should be achieved at any single point of the photographer’s screen. Direct light is not acceptable for newborns and babies as well

due to safety concerns. That is why we use seven studio strobes at very low light power and three backlights (we like the hair light to create a dimensional look).  This approach is very expensive as every studio strobe costs today about 2K, but it allows us don’t think about the shadows or where the assistant turned the babyface. The uniform daylight lighting achieved with multiple studio strobes makes the photo shoot enjoyable and minimizes the costly post-production.

The best camera and strobes setting for Newborn Photography

This is a typical question relevant to newborn photography. The answer depends on your camera, the number of strobes, and the ISO that you have decided to use for a photoshoot. We like to use the best DSLR. The best camera could be used at high ISO( 2000-4000) without any issue with noise.

These levels of ISO allow adjusting the strobes at 10-20 % of their max power. This approach allows making the photoshoot easy for the customer, as the lights are not shooting with huge power and from another side, the flash duration is significantly below the sync speed of the camera and high-sync techniques at high ISO.

The newborn photography props, accessories, and backdrops for Newborn Photography.

We have started with just a couple of brackets, a bed and a limited amount of accessories. Over the years we developed vintage fine art and luxury style. We have sold all the old props. Today the studio is fully loaded with vintage wooden props.  We buy the props in Europe, we also make

the props as well. We have to build one if the prop is not available for ordering on the market. The endless accessories, outfits and about 50 backdrops allow selecting on spot multiple combinations to make sure that the customer loves it.

Fine-Art Newborn Photography Toronto

Fine-art newborn photography is a new direction in modern newborn photography. The photographers can’t keep all possible props in stock and not every photographer can’t afford to order very expensive props. Photoshop helps to create the templates and the photographer has to

capture the image that matches the digital template. We are consistently adding new props and digital templates. The digital templates are not included in the standard newborn photography packages. Please ask in advance if you want to add digital newborn photography templates to your package. The price depends on the complexity of the selected template.

Where to Start with Newborn Photography

There are a lot of topics that have to be covered before you start with newborn photography portraiture. You will need to develop the style and acquire studio photography skills first.  We might suggest taking a couple of training from the seasonable professionals in your area. The second part is the studio equipment.

Please do the evaluation based on the available budget. The last part is the backdrops and props. The black backdrop is a good starting point for family portraits. Please order at least a couple of wraps for girls and boys. The blankets will different colours will help to develop the style. The wooden bed is a good starting point as well. Experiment with all the items that you ordered and ask others’ opinions about the captured images. Family friends could help by posing in front of your cameras.

Planning the Newborn Photoshoot and the stage

The timing is very important. The best time is 7-14 days old babies. Please ask the parents to read the tips relevant to the preparation for the newborn photography session. The morning time is the best for babies based on our experience. The babies are calmer in the morning. The siblings should be part of the photoshoot as well. The active time of the siblings should be taken into account as well, as we want them to be active during the photo session. Please discuss in advance the colours of the outfits, and prepare the backdrops and props based on the colours that the parents love.

Tips for the sweetest and paintless newborn photography photo session.

The success of the photoshoot fully depends on the newborn baby. The calm baby will allow you to use different props and accessories and to create a gorgeous family and sibling portraits as well. The studio temperature should be around 24-25 Deg. C. Please ask the parents what temperature they use at home, as some babies like lower temperatures. The temperature control in the studio is a very important point. The white noise or baby shooter helps to keep the baby calm as well. There are a lot of small tricks that comes with experience, but most woman is capable to keep the baby calm without any training. Keeping the mother away from the baby helps, as the baby smells the mother’s milk.

Tips for on-location or at the comfort of your home newborn photographer.

There are some parents that do prefer to hire an on-location photographer instead of driving to the photo studio. There are a couple of possible reasons: the parents feel more comfortable at home, they don’t want to drive with a new baby, the road conditions in the wintertime are not the best, the c-session recovery is challenging etc. The photographer can use lifestyle photos with minimum props and accessories. We do prefer to fully load our car with props, accessories, and studio strobes and to create the same quality photos as in the studio. It takes more time and effort, but the parents do appreciate this approach and they don’t mind paying extra.

Develop your own newborn photography Style and Try new ideas based on the try-and-error method.

It is a good starting point to pick up ten leading and established newborn photographers in your area. The legacy is important as a first step. We don’t suggest copying the poses and buying the same props. It is nice to have an idea about the trend and concepts.

The next step is your individual approach. Please try to develop your unique style that will help with the photography business branding as well.

 Smart Phones  and professional Newborn photography

We are not kidding. There is a new concept on the market to use smartphones for professional photography. The pictures could look amazing, but the quality of DSLR with the professional lens is still top of the line. The smartphones could be synced to studio strobes and with third-party applications, some cameras of the smartphone could be adjusted. It is no question that the control of the image quality and stability if the image quality in DSLR is the best. The smartphone applications do still not allow the simplicity and flexibility of the adjustments that might be required during the photo session.

The studio branding campaign and newborn photography.

It is all about branding today. We might suggest focusing on portrait photography in general. You will get the calls relevant to cake smash, maternity and family photography. The investment in newborn photography will help to develop another type of portrait photography. This will be a positive impact to your business.

Do we have to shoot JPEG or RAW?

We might suggest shooting RAW. The RAW format allows more flexibility in the image adjustment. We shoot JPEG and RAW and the same time to two different cards. This approach is excellent from the redundancy point of view.

What is the best software for newborn photography?

You can use any software that you are comfortable with. We use Photoshop and Adobe Camera RAW. This is the most flexible tool that is available on the market. Adobe Light Room is great software as well. There are a lot of software resources are available on the market, we love to use the top software due to flexibility, simplicity and a huge plug-in selection that are compatible with Photoshop.