B Street Studio

More babies….!

B Street Studio — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:20:14 +0000

The wonderful part of this profession is watching the growth. Less than two years ago, we were helping showcase a new little girl to my client’s family, now this little girl is excited to show off her new brother. She enthusiastically got into the correct position to hold her “baby”, and then promptly grabbed his little foot and kissed his little forehead. While family shots were taken, these stole the show, and as parents we know the show is for them.

Head Shots

B Street Studio — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:12:06 +0000

Whenever a photo shoot comes up, I first ‘practice’ with my little guy. Shamelessly, I throw these photos up to anyone who will look as I am not only a proud parent but happy the photos turned out so nice! When the right moment is there, these little angels do make us sit back and sigh at the pure innocence of childhood.

Philosophical Thoughts…

B Street Studio — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 06:00:07 +0000

My sister-in-law challenged me to develop a picture that would embody the Proverb 3:5 “Trust the Lord”. For those of you who don’t know the proverb (as I didn’t), here it is:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

If you Google image such passage, images of a child’s hand in an adult’s hand appear multiple times. I find this type of imagery interesting because I often see us (humans) reflecting to babyhood for guidance with philosophical moments. Maybe this is because babies have to learn so much and we (parents) have no language to guide us in helping them, just faith that our method of teaching is correct…that God will make it right. Maybe because babies address our most simple needs: food, water, shelter, and love. Food, water and shelter can be done without much thought, but love…that requires a loss of self…and faith. Faith that you are willing to lose yourself to love this tiny person, knowing full well that he/she can hurt you in the future. My friend who attends church regularly told me her pastor says, “baby smell is God’s air freshener.” Agree? I do because that smell is intoxicating.

Anyways, back to my challenge. My SIL asked for a more personal image with my little guy’s hand in an adult’s hand. As I have two models at home, a baby and father, this seemed appropriate for a photo shoot that turned out some photos I really enjoy.

Many clients ask for newborn shots with the tiny hands in the larger parent’s hand. I think an older baby, 10-12 months, in a parent hand is more endearing as it caresses, loves, and shows us that we are humans needing love…and faith in love.

Which study is your favorite? I would love to hear!

Study #1

Study #1 (B&W)

Study #2
Study #3
Study #4
Study #4 (B&W)

Tiny Toes

B Street Studio — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 05:08:28 +0000

Interacting with so many older babies these days, I forget how small newborns are in my arms. I was excited to complete this newborn photo shoot, not only because it is a friend of mine’s new little guy, but also I could try some new techniques I learned through various sources. Newborns take time to get comfortable to capture those sweet serene shots all of us love. Even though they are so new, a 4-day-old can hold different poses than a 3-week old. If we wanted those cute curled up poses, the younger the better, so I wasn’t sure what this little 3-week-old guy would let us do.

Once he got comfortable, I was able to snap those “safe” shots most photographers complete for parents of the newborn curled asleep in a little nest. He rested his hands so well. Then we had some fun putting a cute floppy hat on him and using props. His mother works with Google, so he posed well with Android, and in this area, he should be a Giants fan.

After giving everyone a break, we changed the shots to a dramatic black backdrop and quick side lighting. I pushed the ISO higher to create a grainier, softer image. Everyone posed so well! Mom received the cutest look from this little one and Dad has one of the best shots from the session with the sweet little kisses.
My little guy was almost the same weight at birth as little guy, but I forget this tiny development stage as I now heave my 20-lb little guy everywhere. Shooting newborns are a treat as each has a little personality we are waiting to see, but in the meantime we can capture their little mouths, little hands, and little noses.

Baby Stages

B Street Studio — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 21:46:40 +0000

Babies offer different opportunities for photographs at each stage of development—newborn, 4-5 month (smiling), 6-9 month (sitting, posing, smiling), 10-12 months (movement & talking). With a little model at home, I am allowed to play and practice with each unique stage. I really enjoyed shooting my little monkey from 6-9 months as he could hold himself up, bend and grab his toes, smile with his little personality and play while not moving around too much. He sat through set ups, shoots and break downs without complaint. Now our new stage of development: Movement!

Cherub Cheeks

B Street Studio — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 04:34:07 +0000

Photographing babies allows me to have a baby fix (even though I have a little 9-month old) without making another one! Look at these cheeks I got to give little kisses to this last Friday during our photo shoot. She did such a great job posing for the camera on a fun afternoon. With blue eyes and pink bows, it was so much fun dressing up this little girl with her blowing little bubbles between smiles. I think her momma loved it so much she couldn’t stop kissing those cheeks!

Cake Smash!

B Street Studio — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 06:37:21 +0000

Babies grow up too fast! I took photos of this little girl as a newborn, and now look at this gorgeous one-year-old! I approached her mother about capturing her first year with a cake smash, and she was ready for the fun (and clean up!). I think I was spoiled by this polite little girl as she ate her cake in one place. We took her clean birthday shots before introducing her to a cupcake, then sat back to see what she would do. Many finger-licking tastes later, she decided to indulge in the entire cupcake. Chocolate faces later gave me many good photo opportunities. Happy Birthday Little P!

Little Heart Breaker

B Street Studio — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:49:57 +0000

Before the photo shoot, this little heart-breaker’s mother asked if I was ready for her little spitfire. He surprised her, his dad and I think even himself with how relaxed he was for his photo shoot. He was an active guy though, so catching him motionless was quite a challenge. I brought some fast lenses, stickers, and moments for him to show me how well he climbs, jumps and wrestles. Realize he is only 20 months!

After this heart-breaker’s shots, he helped me make his mom and dad relax for their photo shoot. They are a beautiful couple, ready for their next little heart-breaker to enter the world. This particular shoot was a beautiful family moment that I feel blessed to capture.

Littl’ Blue Eyes

B Street Studio — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 04:17:13 +0000

Shooting this little 10-month-old guy was a challenge with his energy to move and find new things, but seeing his blue eyes made the challenge worth it. We set up several different moments but some of the test shots are capturing my heart. I don’t think sapphires have as much sparkle as these pretty blues. His mother Kinga looks fabulous as she tries to keep up with this curious guy, and we recreated some of the moments we took during their newborn shoot. I love seeing my clients growing up!

Newborn Hiatus

B Street Studio — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 05:20:52 +0000

So, the business took a hiatus as I dealt with my new little model (see below). Sometimes he sleeps through his photo shoots, which reminds me to talk to his agent. He is forcing me to work on my craft though as I try to capture the raw emotion people feel upon seeing a newborn. With more experience both in motherhood and photography, we are back to business with the holidays!

He is now 3 months old and we are working on a holiday shoot. After several weeks of educating myself on better natural light techniques and positioning with newborns, here he peeks out to wish us a happy holiday. I realize I am biased, but in general, capturing the mischievous twinkle of a child’s eye is truly magical. That event, regardless of whose child it is, fuels this photographic passion of mine.

A fun afternoon which will lead to more adventures.