2012 April | Maternity, baby and family photography - Seattle, San Francisco, New York

Archive for April, 2012

Lovely Shirley and her baby girl

Some clients radiate positivity. This is Shirley. This lovely woman just walks into a room and so does a positive energy that is contagious. I believe that if you think positive thoughts, the universe will bring positive outcomes. Whenever I have the pleasure of meeting Shirley, I just know that this is a true statement. I just do good work. She expects nothing less and she gets nothing less.

Anyway meet her and her lovely baby girl. What a lucky one to be bathed in such positivity.

This image captures the love that Shirley's daughter has for Shirley. The sidelighting worked extremely well here .

Lovely baby girl

How to make better photos with your camera phone

I taught a class last week to a bunch of mommies and asked them what they wanted to learn. How to make better photos with their camera phone, they all said. Here are a few notes from the class.

Top issues with camera photos:

1. Blurry photos
2. Dark photos
3. Movement in the photos
4. Camera won’t take the photo when press the button

Here are some suggestions to help you overcome some common problems. NOTE: Obviously the photos attached are not camera phone photos, BUT they do illustrate some of the concepts I am talking about. I will try to make some camera phone photos and add to this article.

1. Brighten it up. Try making your photos in lots of light. The camera phones will get better, but right now, they are still only able to shoot with a lot of light. Turn on a lamp, open the curtains. Brighten up the scene. The key here is the have DIFFUSED SIDE LIGHTING. Think of the light on a cloudy day. It is very even and soft, but bright. Try to have this light coming from the side of your baby or subject or from behind you, not over head or from behind the subject.

2. Tight Cropping. Crop your images tightly, tighter than you think works. Experiment with cropping.Try cropping into just the face and getting rid of distracting background.

3. Practice Anticipating. Camera phones have rudimentary focusing so there is a delay from when you press the button and when the camera takes the photos. It will get better but for now, try to anticipate the expression you want and press the button EARLIER than it happens. You know your child. You know what they do and how they move and what expressions are coming. Try this technique and see if it helps get those winning smiles.

4. Panning. This is a little bit more advanced of a technique but can work with a little practice. As your child moves across the floor, hold your camera phone and move it at the same pace that your child is moving. As you do this, keep snapping photos all the time. It might take a little practice, but you might capture a few gems with motion blur in the background but your child will be sharp.

5. Apps. Try using a few of the many camera apps out there. My favorite is the Hipstamatic. But Instagram is also very popular. Procamera is another one that gives you a little more control of the focus and exposure, along with an anti-shake feature.

Have fun!

OTHER TIPS TO MAKE BETTER PHOTOS

Simple Clothing. Dress your baby or subject up in simple clothes. Get rid of the branding and the patterns so the focus is actually on the face and expressions. If this isn’t possible then do your best to frame the photo as tightly as possible to get eliminate anything distracting in the frame.
Best Time of Day. When is your child at their best? Try to photograph about this time. Guaranteed you will get better photographs.

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!

Janet Ko: Celebrating 40 Weeks of Pregnancy

As an artist, I am constantly trying to challenge myself. I want my work to continue to evolve but stay true to my mission of making pregnant women feel beautiful about their bodies and their experience. In 2004, I wanted to explore working with several women over the entire forty weeks of their pregnancy. I thought that it would be inspiring to discuss with them what they were going through mentally, emotionally and physically and then go into the studio and document it using movement, fabric, focusing techniques and film.

I met Janet Ko in 2004. She answered our call for pregnant women to document for forty weeks. After interviewing what seemed like hundreds of moms, she stood out in the crowd. She was 44, had a small child, and had had some medical complications during her first pregnancy. She was completely present during our initial interview, honest, emotionally available and articulate about her experiences. She was also a former modern dancer. I knew she would be the perfect woman to work with, who could clearly communicate her experiences during the previous four months well enough for me to make some photographs.

My intention for this section “Our Mother’s Stories” has been to do an interview and then write a brief essay. But I was reading through Janet’s journals that she kept for me during the forty weeks and I felt it was best to post her own words. The photos that accompany this essay were taken during the early stages of her pregnancy.

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