RUSSJACKSON’S5-STEPCHECKLIST-Tosavetimeinpostandperfectyournewbornphotographyincamera.

WhenIstartedinnewbornphotography,IfoundthatIpanickedmywaythroughsessions.IwouldalmostbeoverwhelmedwitheverythingthatIhadtoremember;gettingthelightright;posingthebabywellwithoutwakingthemup;rememberingalloftheposesandofcourse,makingsurethatthebabywassafe!

Thesessionswereacompleteblur,andwhenitcametoreviewingtheimagesonthecomputer,Iwassodisappointedwiththeresults.

TherewouldnotbeasingleimagethatIwasgenuinelyproudof,andIhadtakenhundreds!ItwouldthentakehoursinPhotoshoptocorrectthemistakes,butIknewthatifIhadjustpaidalittlemoreattentioninthesession,myimagescouldbesomuchbetter.

Soundfamiliar?

Istartedtoconcentrateonmyposingflow,andforeachdifferentangleofeachpose,IbegantovisualisewhatIwantedtoachieve.

That'swhenIformulatedmy5-stepchecklisttohelpmetogetthebestshotpossibleatthetimeitcountedmost;whenIhadthebabyrightthereinfrontofme.

Thissimplechecklistisperhapsthebiggestthingthathastakenmyphotographytothelevelthatmademeproudofmywork.Itworksandnotonlyhasmyphotographyimproved,bothmysessionsandmypost-productiontimehavebecomealotshorter!

So,whatisthe5-stepchecklist?

AftereachimageItake,Isystematicallyreviewthepicturebyusingmy5stepapproach.

It’sgreatbecauseitforcesmetoanalyseeachimageandfixwhatneedstobecorrectedbeforeImoveontothenextpose.

Italsoforcesmetoslowdownandconcentrateonthetaskathand.

1:FOCUSThefirstthingIcheckisfocus.Itisthemostcriticalaspectofanyphotographandthenemesisofthenewbornphotographer.

Iftheimageisoutoffocus,itcannotbeused,anditispointlesstomoveontothenextstep.

IhaveahandyshortcutonmyNikonwhereIcanreviewthefocuspointIusedat200%byjustclickingtheOKbuttonontheback.ThiscustomfunctionisAMAZINGasitallowsmetocheckmyfocusinaninstant.

Iftheeyesoreyelashesaresoft,IknowrightawaythatIneedtoretaketheimage.

Whydowegetsomanyoutoffocusimages?

Asnewbornphotographers,weliketohaveasoftdreamyimagewiththebackgroundandforegroundfallingoutoffocus.Forthis,weneedashallowdepth-of-field,sowegenerallyshootat‘wideopen'aperturesrangingfromf2.8tof1.4.Themoreopentheaperture,theshallowerthedepth-of-fieldandthemoreyoushouldexpecttogetahigherpercentageofout-of-focusimages.

Ishootatf2.8,anylowerthanthat,IfindthatIgettoomanyout-of-focusimagesandthatleadstomeovershooting.

Ilovethelookofshootingatthemorewide-openapertureoff1.4,butforme,thetrade-offisnotworthit.

Wemustrememberthatwhenweworkveryclosetooursubjects,thedepth-of-fieldisreduced.Forexample;ifweweretophotographachildintheparkandheis5metersaway,f1.4wouldbeaperfectaperture.Itwouldbeshallowenoughtokeephisfacesharp,andtheshallowdepth-of-fieldwouldbluroutthebackgroundtogiveusabeautifulbokeh.

But,withatinynewborn,wetendtobeworkingfarcloser(lessthanameteraway)andatthesameapertureoff1.4willnowgiveusapaper-thindepth-of-field.Weareaskingalotofourverysmartcamerastoconsistentlyfocusonsuchathinfocusplain,particularlyiflightingconditionsarenotidealandthereislittlecontrastontheareaonwhichyouwishtofocus.Ababywithveryblondeornoeyelashesismuchhardertofocusonthanababywithbeautifullong,blackeyelashesforinstance.

Thechoiceofwhatapertureyouuseisyoursbutalwaysconsiderthefollowing:

● Alwaysfocusontheeyethatisclosesttothecamera.● Makesureyourfocusmodeissettosinglefocusmode(AF-SorOne-

Shot)andnotcontinuousfocusmode(AF-CorAl-Servo).● Learntotoggleyourfocuspointafteryouhavecomposedtheimage.

Theslightmovementyoumakewhenadjustingthecompositionafterfocusing(whenusingthemiddlefocuspoint)cansometimesthrowtheeyelashesoutoffocus.

● Ifyouareusingnaturaloravailablelight,makesureyourshutterspeedishighenoughtoavoidanycamerashake.

2:CAMERAANGLELet'sfaceit,nostrilsarenotpretty,orattheveryleast,notthemostbeautifulpartofsomeone'sface.Inportraiture,thegeneralruleisthatwewanttokeeptheheightofourcameraatmuchthesameheightasthesubject’seyelinetoensurethatwedonotlookupthenose.Weseethisallofthetimewhenwephotographoldersubjects:

Shootingfromalowerangleishardlyeverflatteringaswetendtomakethejawlookmoreprominent,andwelookrightupthosebeautifulnostrils!

Myrulewhenphotographinganewbornistoholdmycameraattheeyelineorabove.Thiscanbequitetrickyaswenolongerhaveasubjectthatisstandingorsittingup,butababythatislyingdown.Justremember,ifyou

seetoomuchofthenostrilsyouaregenerallytoo‘low'andneedtoadjustyourcameraangletobemoreinlinewiththeeyeline.

3:COMPOSITIONThecompositionoftheimageissomethingthatcanmakeorbreakanimage.

Compositionishowandwherewechoosetoplacethebabyintheframe.

Severalcompositionrulesaretaughtwhenwestudyphotography.However,wemustrememberthatphotographyisanartformandthereisnorightwayandwrongway.Ratherthanrules,weshouldperhapsseethemasguidelines.

Itisalsoimportanttorememberthatyouwilloftenbreakoneruletofulfilanother.Forexample:toachievegreatsymmetryintheimageyouwilloftenbreaktheruleofthirdsandviceversa.Italldependsonthepose,anditalsodependsonyouasanartist.

Herearethreeofthemostcommoncompositionguidelinesthatwillmassivelyimproveyournewbornphotography:

● TheRuleofThirds.

Thisrulesegmentstheframeintothreeequalsectionsbothhorizontallyandvertically.

Placingthemainpointofinterest(inourcasethebabiesface)ononeoftheintersectinglineswillmaketheimagefeelmorebalancedandinteresting.

ExamplesofusingtheRuleofThirdswhencomposinganimage.

● NegativeSpace

Thisconceptusesspacetocreatebalanceinyourimage.Thisextraspaceisreferredtoasnegativespace.Negativespaceisthepartorpartsoftheimage(mostlyinthebackground)thatareemptyorlessinterestingthanyoursubject.

Despitethename,itisnotbad.Usingnegativespacecorrectlywilldrawmoreattentiontoyoursubjectwhichcanonlybeagoodthing.ThekeyistoBALANCEyoursubjectwithinthisnegativespace,andthisiswheretheruleofthirdsoftencomesintoplay.

Examplesofusingnegativespacewhencomposinganimage.

● Symmetry

Usually,symmetryisusedwhenyouhaveageometricalshapewithinyourimage;theseincludetriangles,circlesanddiamondshapes.Imostlycomposeusingthisrulewhenphotographingacloseupofthebaby'sface.IfIamphotographingababyinaroundbowlfromabove,Iwillalsolooktocentrethebowlintheframetoachieveabsolutesymmetry.

Examplesofusingsymmetrywhencomposinganimage.

4:POSE(anddetails)Iincludedthisinmyfive-stepchecklistbecauseinthepastIhavecreatedwhatIthoughtwasabeautifulnewbornimageonlytoreceivefeedbackthatthebabylookeduncomfortable.

Now,Iwassurethatthebabywasinadeepsleepandperfectlycomfortableinthepose,buttotheviewer,itmaynotalwayslookthatway.

Asnewbornphotographers,weallknowthatnewbornbabiesareveryflexibleinthefirstweeksafterbeingbornandwhenindeepsleep,theycaneasilycurlupintothebeautiful‘womb-like'poses.Itisveryeasytoover-extendortilttheheadalittletoomuch,notharmingthebabyinanywaybut

makingtheangleoftheheadlookalittlestrange.WhenIgettothissteponmychecklistIaskmyselfthequestion:

Doesthebabylookcomfortableinthepose?

Becarefulnottotilttheheadtoomuch.

OnthisstepIalsotaketheopportunitytoquicklycheckthatallofthedetailsareniceandneat:

● Istheheadbandstraight?● Arethefingersopenandrelaxed?● Isthebonnetonstraightandsymmetrical?● Arethereanywrinklesinthebackgroundfabric?● Hasmumtakenthehairelasticoffherwrist!● Arethereanyotherlittledistractionsthatcatchmyeyeanddrawmy

attentionawayfromthebaby?

Byfixingthesedetailsduringthesession,youwillsaveyourselfhoursinphotoshopandpreventyoufromgivingyourselftheproverbialfacepalmwhencullingtheimagesinpost-production.

5:LIGHTINGLightingformeisjustasimportantasanyofthefirstfourpointsinthechecklist.Itreallymakesthedifferencebetweenamediocreimageandonethatistrulyspectacular.Followthese4stepstohelpyouonyourwaytogettingthelightright.

● Have the right gear

Youcan’tgetthelightrightifyoudon’thavetherightlight.

If,likeme,youchoosetousestudioflashmakesurethatyouhaveaflashunitthatisnottoopowerfulfornewbornphotography.Asnewbornphotographers,weliketophotographatwide-openaperturestogetaniceshallowdepthoffield.Anythingfromf1.4-f2.8isconsideredtobetheidealaperturesforourgenre.Thesewide-openaperturesmeanthatwedonotneedalotoflighttoobtainaperfectexposure.

Ifyourflashunitistoopowerful(atitslowestpowersetting),youwillfinditchallengingtophotographattheseapertureswithoutoverexposing,sobecarefulwhenchoosingyourequipment.

Nowyouneedtomodifythelightbyusingalargeumbrellaorasoftbox/octabox.

Followthissimplerule:

Thelargerthelightsource,thesofterthelight.

Asnewbornphotographers,wewantsoftlight,soyouneedtohaveanicebigmodifierplacedclosetothebabytocreatethatbeautifulsoftandnatural

lookinglight.Inmyopinionyouwillwantasoftboxorumbrellathatisatleast125cmacross.

● Keepitsimple

Keepitsimplebyusingjustonelight.Usingtwolightswillruntheriskoffillingintheshadows.Ifyoufillintheshadowstoomuch,youwillhaveflatlightingwhichmeansthatwehavelittleornoshapetotheface.Wewanttocaptureshapebycontrollingtherelationshipbetweenthehighlightsandtheshadows.Ifyoudonotliketoomuchcontrastintheimage,useawhitereflector(orplaceyourbeanbagnearawhitewall)tobouncelightbackintotheshadowedsideoftheface,butbecarefulnottoaddtoomuch‘bounce’,youwilllosethatlovelyshape.

● LightFallsfromabove

Thisconceptisquitesimplebutwhenababyislyingdownonabeanbag,wecangetalittleconfused.Iamalwayslookingtogetthelighttofallfromthetopofthebaby’sheaddiagonallydowntowardsthechin.Thiswillcreatealooplightingpatternandisverypleasing.

● Featherthelight:

Ineverplacemyoctaboxorumbrellapointingdirectlyatthebaby.Instead,I‘feather’thelight,sothebabyisIlluminatedbythelightthatisspillingfromtheedgeofthemodifier.Thislightissofterandmorepleasing.Aswithmovingyourcameraangle,theslightestmovementofyourmodifiercanalsomakeallofthedifference!

TolearnhowtolightthemostpopularnewbornposescheckoutmyStudioLightingforNewbornPhotographyCourseoverattheAcademy

Sothatisthefive-stepchecklistthatImentallytickoffaftereveryshotthatItake;

1. Focus2. CameraAngle3. Composition

4. Pose5. Lighting

Itmayseemlikea lottorememberbutafterasessionortwo,youwill findthatitonlytakesafewsecondstorevieweachimage.Onceyouaresatisfiedwithallfivesteps,youcanmoveontothenextshotknowingthatyouhaveanexcellentimagetoworkonlater.

Ican'ttellyouhowmuchthiswillimproveyourphotography,speedupyoursessionsanddrasticallyreducethetimeyouspendinPhotoshop.

Ihopeithelpsyouasmuchasithashelpedme!

Goodluck!

Totakeyournewbornphotographytothenextlevelcheckoutthevarietyofin-personandonlinetrainingcoursesavailableoverat

https://www.russjacksonacademy.com/store