On February 17th, in the middle of filming our DVD series, we had one of the best workshops with ten incredibly talented woman. Some of them flew in from Michigan, Texas, California, Canada…it was AWESOME!! I can’t wait to show you more from that day!

One of the highlights of our workshops is having a newborn come in for all of us to photograph and practice the things we’ve been learning all morning. The baby for our February workshop was especially meaningful.

Baby Gretchen’s parents had hired me a couple years ago to photograph their wedding. But at the last minute, I had to have an emergency surgery and was unable to be a part of their wedding day. My amazing and talented photography friend, Sharlane Chase, was able to take the wedding for me and did the most BEAUTIFUL job.

So when Stacey contacted me and said she was about to have a baby, I couldn’t believe there may still be a chance for me to work with her and Chris. It was so wonderful to see them as proud parents and meet their beautiful little girl.

I thought I’d share with you a handful of photos I grabbed while teaching the workshop, and some of my reasoning behind why I took the photos I did. And then either tomorrow or next week, I’ll share with you some of the photos the attendees took. Wow! Their photos are so great! I’ve just started looking through them, and I can’t wait to show their work off to all of you!

Baby Gretchen ~ February 17th 2007

When working with clients, I always like to move in close but then back up and get the peripheral shot as well. I loved this little one (above) of baby Gretchen in mamma’s arms, but I also loved backing up and catching Stacey’s expression and the pure joy in her face.

A baby girl and her daddy have such an amazing bond. I’ve got to witness this first hand with Pascaline and Brian, so I love to try and grab the dynamic these two share from the beginning…and especially images that show how much the dad is enraptured with his little girl, no matter how their little girl may feel at the moment. 🙂

Taking photos of a crying newborn always makes me feel so rotten, but I can’t help myself! A newborn’s cry is unlike any thing else, and I love the photos we have of our own kids when they were babies and screaming at the top of their lungs. Such a big cry for such a little body! You’ve got to love those little fists. 🙂

Capturing the family together is something I approach quietly. As you know from my parent tips, I don’t like to tell my clients or kids to look at the camera and say cheese. Instead, I want to capture the tenderness of this time in their life. I especially liked this image b/c of where mom is placed. Dad is comforting baby, but mom is very near and so tender with how she kisses her husband.

Here is a different family image. Stacey, the mom, is just beautiful. All of us women were so impressed by how peaceful she seemed throughout the whole shoot. When I was a new mom, I didn’t look this beautiful and peaceful! But look at Stacey, she glows.

And of course, we have to grab the details shots of newborns. What would be a newborn photo shoot be without their feet, hands and bottom.

For Gretchen’s little bum I thought I’d try a different angle and accentuate dad’s big strong arms, and her soft little bottom. Cute enough to pinch! 🙂

I was at a 2.8 or lower for most of these images. For more info on aperture and adjusting it, read this post. We did the photo shoot inside with a lot of natural, window light. You’ll get to see the actual shoot on the DVD series so you can get a better of idea for how this was set up. Feel free to post any questions you may have about the actual shots, and I’m excited to show you what the women captured! For more tips on photography newborns, check out a previous tips post!

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To learn more about me visit About Me Ra.

For information on Me Ra’s popular photography workshops, visit “Documenting a Child’s Life.”

To see our day job, visit our website. 🙂