GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

Completed an infant shoot. Most difficult one so far.

The mother let the infant sleep just about all morning. Guess what happened when I got there at one o'clock.

Argggg!

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

It's a gig.

bluechris Loc: Grapeview, WA

I hope she liked the photos of the fussy crying baby.

insman1132 Loc: Southwest Florida

Does come with the territory! Would love to see what you got, considering the effort involved!

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

Shoot the mother, literally and go get a cold one.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

As I am going to be doing numerous infant shoots starting this coming Wednesday night when my wife and I meet our newest granddaughter I am curious as to whether you had given the new mother any instructions/advice as to what she might do to help you get better photos.

Dennis

cthahn

So what. You're the photographer and should know what to do. What do you want us to do?

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

No, I cannot imagine the horror, what happened? Please tell me, I am dying here because I don't know. I am petrified and unable to move, please tell me before I expire of asphyxiation because I am holding my breath!

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

A great answer.

In 100 years this experience will most likely be a minor footnote in the annals of history. Gosh, has it been 100 years already?

Dennis

RickL Loc: Vail, Az

No room for pissy comments on this blog.

snfapm1983

I'm confused. Would it have been better for the mom to keep the baby awake so he or she would be tired and cranky at the shoot? Mark of a professional is dealing with the situation using experience and skill.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Pediatricians say the same thing. Ever see a pediatrician put a stethescope on the chest of a screaming infant, so as to hear the heart? The only thing that he can hear is screaming, NOT the heart. But if he were not to do this useless thing, the parent would immediately complain and say "aren't you going to listen to the heart"? He can learn if the heart is przoperly perfusing the child by looking at the nail beds.

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

Congrats on the newest!

Yes I did give the basics, (I'd like to think they're basics at least).

1) The night before I mentioned things like DON'T let the infant sleep a lot so we can "mold" her into some of the shots you mentioned to me.
*She let her sleep all morning and probably most of the night too. The infant just wanted to be fed and look around... a lot!

2) Since it was to be at her home, (It's best at home for children since they are more comfortable and relaxed in familiar surroundings. Less than a few weeks doesn't seem to matter much for newborns), and her infant was three weeks old.

3) Try to have a flat surface like a clear kitchen table or changing table to set up the props with infant. My flat surface was a crowded master bed.

4) Try to set things up in a semi-bright room. Like one with a couple windows that we could brighten or darken as necessary. (This turned out well. They had two windows on two sides.)

5) I offered to supply backdrop and surface cloth but she assured me... She provided a small two sided cloth that was about 6 to 12 inches larger than the infant. (Okay, I can deal with that!)

6) Try to have any animals that are not to be used in the shoot, in another room. (They had four dogs, one greeted me outside and three were running around everywhere inside and would not stop barking! That likely assisted keeping the infant awake also.)

There were a few other suggestions too but those were the ones the stood out the most to me.

All things considered, it turned out well and wasn't really as bad as I made it out to be. All part of being a photographer! (I also made some new dog friends!) LoL

One thing I noticed. Her infant seemed to enjoy the clicking sounds of my camera. *(She's gonna be a great model in the future!)

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

See my other post. It's not really that much of a problem, except tripping on dogs and "things" around the floor. LoL As for the tight quarters to work with, just take more close up, and go for expressions and look for "cute" ideas. When I put a plastic colored egg in the infant's hand, (an Easter thing), the mom loved it! One other thing. When the infant is not sleeping you need to work real fast. The egg in her hand only stayed there about five seconds! LoL