The Importance of Children and Baby Photography
Maternity pictures, newborn pictures, and baby and children pictures are the all time most enjoyable subjects for me to photograph. When I started my business, I decided that I would photograph a variety of subjects. I wanted to have the option of doing something different all the time, and really just wanted any opportunity to get behind the camera. Now that I have several shoots under my belt, a front runner has certainly appeared! There is a calmness, an ease, and a never ending flow of ideas when I shoot maternity photography, newborn photography, and babies and children photography. I have to literally fight the urge to chase pregnant women and mothers down in stores just to hand them my business card!
My love of baby photography stems
from the love of my daughter. There is no love that compares to the love of a
child. It is a primal love. Because of that love, you want to photograph
everything! By everything, I mean EVERYTHING! My daughter is so sick of seeing
me point a camera at her, but if I catch her before nap time, she is usually
patient with me for a few minutes! The enjoyment that I get from being able to
photograph her milestones, personality traits, gestures, etc has naturally
flowed into a career.
Maternity pictures are so
fascinating to me! It amazes me how many women cringe at the idea of a
maternity photo shoot. They literally cringe! Why? Our bodies are miraculously
built in a way that allows us to bring life into the world. We can carry a
child within us as they grow and develop to the point that can safely survive
in the world. Cringe? NO! Celebrate! Celebrate this moment is your life! Is
your body the same as it was before? Of course not! But in No way is your body
unattractive! This is a beautiful time in your life, and despite how you are
probably feeling this very second, this will be over before you know it! Your
body will go back, mostly, to the way it was before, and you'll forget how
strongly you could feel that teeny,tiny, little GIANT in your belly!! You'll
forget how uncomfortable you were at night, and how you couldn't make it from
one commercial break to the next without needing a bathroom break. Photograph
this moment! It is such a short time period of your life, and will be over
before you know it! Commemorate the way you look. If you are uncomfortable with
stretch marks, So What!!! I'll photo shop them out of there! If you're having
insecurities about your body, face them head on because I can promise you that
a day will come where you will lay in bed at night and try as hard as you can
to relieve these moments through a day dream! This is a quickly fleeing moment
in your life, and the beginning to a beautiful, lifelong relationship with the
most special human being you will ever meet! Believe me, maternity photography
is not for amateurs! You want a professional who knows about DISTORTION. You
want someone who knows what mm lens to use for this, so that you don't get a
picture back that makes your belly look three times bigger than it really is,
and like it three dimensionally popping right out of the picture. This is
something that requires a sensitive eye, and a delicate vision! You want to
look back at these maternity pictures with fondness!
Newborn pictures are so important
because that is the most quickly fleeing stage. You have about two weeks from
their arrival to capture the essence that a newborn has. You can take these
pictures yourself. You can point the camera at them, get the angle how you want
it, and shoot. But, when you hire a professional who is trained and experienced,
your newborn pictures will reach another level. You will be amazed at the
different way a professional will "see" the subject. They are able to
capture images that show texture, create feeling, and have a mood... Those
pictures will engage the senses, and you'll actually be able to remember the
way your baby smells, you'll remember the coo noise or the facial expression
vividly. It's an amazing thing to see how a correctly exposed, correctly framed
picture will change the outcome of the image.
Baby pictures are so important
because of the milestones. You do not count the age of a young child in years
because a monumental amount of things change by month. Each of those milestones
are photo worthy moments! Baby photography is every bit as important as the
baby book. In the baby book you record the age your child is at as they reach
their milestones, but the way they look at this stage seems to change weekly,
if not daily. The first year of a child's life is incredibly action packed,
and, with a professional photographer, you can create a visual memory book that
will immortalize the way your child looked when they first learned to roll
over, scoot across the floor, crawl, walk, the way they could not have had one
more droplet of drool on their face when they were teething, the face they make
when they try a new food for the first time, their first steps, the first time
they start wanting to brush their own teeth, do the "butt scoot" down
the stairs, try to escape from their crib, the list goes on and on!!! You can
create a variety of artistic ways to display these memories. I can create a
multi frame display of these milestone moments, or create a milestone album
that can be used in place of or with a baby book, etc. These moments are
priceless, and with a professional photographer you can cherish these moments
for a lifetime.
Children pictures are exciting to
shoot because of the element of surprise! You just never know what you are
going to get! Each child you photograph is unique from the child from the shoot
the week before and from the ones you'll meet the week after! Whether your
child is shy or outgoing, athletic or intellectually engaged, or any
combination imaginable, every child wants the same thing: to feel loved and to
have fun. Those things offer every child security. When I go to photograph
children, I do not just shake their hand and say, "action"! I do not
expect them to just perform. Children want to feel secure before they will
react well to an intimidatingly large camera in their face. I will get down on
their level and have a normal conversation with them. I don't immediately act
like they should think I'm their friend, nor do I act like a clown. Children
are incredibly intelligent, and have keen perception when determining if
someone is being genuine and sincere with them. I find that children feel
patronized when you instantly start joking and being silly. Unless you're
dressed like a clown, you should not act like one! I just talk to the child
first to get an idea of what moves them, excites, and motivates them... We can
use those answers to enhance the outcome of the photo shoot. If a child's hobby
is to race boats in the nearby pond, why would you take him/her to the
playground 20 minutes up the street to get pictures of them on the monkey bars
and posed in front of the fountain? It makes no sense! The purpose behind a
professional photo shoot is to capture the essence of who your child is at this
particular stage in their life! If your child is interested in music, have them
photographed learning to play an instrument, if they are athletic, photograph
them in their uniform playing the sport of their choice, if they are artistic
and messy, photograph them getting messy and creating what they see as art! My
style of photography is not to pose a child in front of some gorgeous
background. I do not enjoy the cookie cutter, same shoot as the last style.
Your child is special. Your child is unique. Your child is YOURS! Remember the
things that makes your child uniquely yours! Remember this phase of their life!
Is that musical instrument that they are tinkering with now going to lead to
something huge? Could they grow up to be a famous musician? Yes! And, if you
have a professional photographer you will have pictures with the ability to
take you back in time, if only for a moment!
Maternity, newborn, and children
photography is the most important type of photography for me. Children change
every day! They grow, develop, and mature by the minute, and, by hiring a
professional photographer, you will capture moments in time that will allow you
to forever remember who your bundle of joy was throughout the monumental stages
of life! Visit my website at http://www.christipowellphotography.com
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