Newborns, Newborns, Newborns!!

If you are interested in a newborn session, or you are a photographer interested in getting into Newborn Photography, then this post is for you!!

As a Photographer, Newborns being one of my specialties, there are a few things I have learned over the past couple of years.  Here are a few tips and tricks for those looking at what to expect or looking into starting the amazingly rewarding journey of Newborn Photography!

#1.  Book in advance!!  It is never too early to set up with your preferred photographer, I have had some clients call me before they even go to their first Dr's appointment!!
We mark your due date on the Calendar and then keep in touch!!  I only take a few due dates per month so that I can stay on top of my schedule, you may get lucky with a slow month, but better safe than sorry!!!

#2.  When you receive your client guide, do everything it says!! :)  I promise if you follow the instructions as best as you can, we will have a smooth successful session!

#3.  Make sure that your preferred Newborn Photographer is concerned with safety.  I know this seems like a given but that isn't necessarily the truth.  I have trained, and done workshops to make sure that I am knowledgable in how to safely pose baby, making sure baby is never in harms way.  This is so important!

#4.  Have fun!!!!  Don't be stressed about it, don't fret about poo or pee!! It WILL happen:)  And anybody who is a newborn photographer has dealt with this and is fully prepared to deal with it again!! (Don't judge me when I look frumpy!!!)  You are there to relax, and watch your sweet baby!!

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Sheila's Bridals: Downtown Bryan, TX Session by Imani Photography

I am slowly getting caught up on my blogging!  This blog is long overdue, thank you Sheila for being so patient, and I will get your wedding blogged soon as well!  But, I had to show off her beautiful quick bridal session we did, right before the wedding.

It was Valentines day.  Downtown Bryan.  The Wedding was to be held at the Cotton Exchange, and she was getting ready at the LaSalle Hotel.  The weather was actually nice, not cold, not hot.
And the bride...exquisitely classic in her beauty.

And yes, this is Texas, and you can't have a Texas wedding without Boots!!!  Just to show that she wasn't all serious;)

Mom with a camera...

It was the summer of 2009, I had had a continued desire to pursue photography for myself and my family.  My dad would find that his camera was taken 98% of the time, you see he had invested in a nice DSLR (Nikon D70) to take on his camping trips.  He unlike myself prefers nature photography, I like to shoot people;)

We had 5 children (Kennedy wasn't even a year old!) and I wanted to be able to get pictures of my kids that were not in a studio, where they seemed uncomfortable at best.  I had started to notice other family photographers work via MySpace (yep! I had one of those!!) and wanted to see what I could do!!
My children were subject to many photoshoots, I would try different times of the day, different posing and different venues!! I would move around to see where I should have the sun in reference to the kids etc.  I learned ALOT just by playing!!  I started to learn the manual settings on the camera and dig even more into how to make the camera work for me and not the other way around.

Below is one from my very first photo shoot with the kids.

I look at it and can pick it a part for sure, but what I do see is that my posing wasn't half bad!!  I had a semi triangle (could've worked on that!) and they were all connected!!  Now if I had gotten the sun behind them and looked straight on instead of from above, but all of those things came to me later:)

Summer is here, and all of you moms with cameras are probably doing the same thing I do!  You want to capture every moment.  So I wanted to talk about some ways to do this.

First get out your camera, whether that is a nice DSLR, a point and shoot, or your handy dandy IPhone, take advantage of today's technology!!  Here are some tips for posing:

When posing children, you want to make a triangle.  You also want them to be connected.  So arm around each other, or holding hands connected in some way.

Not children, but you get the triangle idea!

The best times of day for outdoor pictures are one hour after sunrise or one hour before sunset.  These are called the "Golden Hours".

It's when the sun begins to soften and is low enough to get pictures.  During this time you can use the backlighting method easily!

Backlighting is my favorite way to light a subject.  For backlighting, you place the sun BEHIND the subject, it creates a beautiful orange glow around the subject.

If taking pictures with your iPhone, there are some fun apps that you can download for free or very cheap!!  A couple of them that I use are:

PicTapGo

PhotoGrid

VSCO Cam

These have fun filters, or photo editing tools!

Go out and have fun this summer, and don't forget to snap a few pics on the way!!

**To ask a question please email: info@imaniphotog.com you just may be featured on next weeks blog!!

Bump to Baby

One of my favorite parts of being a photographer, is shooting Bump to Baby sessions.
During Maternity sessions (or Bump sessions), I get to capture a moment in a women's life when she is glowing with anticipation of whats to come.  What will she/he look like?  Will they have hair?  Will they sleep or keep us awake?!
It is a special time where a woman realizes how much you can truly love someone...a love that cannot be explained, and isn't fully comprehended until baby is in your arms.  But at this moment in time, you begin to get a glimpse of this love, a love that truly fills you with joy.
My job is to try to capture the beauty in these fleeting moments in life.

Here are a couple of my recent Bump to Baby couples.  Absolutely gorgeous couples!

One thing that I LOVE about taking newborns, is that I get to hear the birth story!!  Good or bad, each birth story is unique, and beautiful.   These two little girls belong to the above couples.  The first set of pictures are of Baby Sheridan, and the second set are Baby Piper!  Two beautiful little girls that I am thankful to have been able to cuddle with for a couple of hours!

Later this week I will be doing another informational blog, if you have any questions you would like answered, please email them to me!!  info@imaniphotog.com

xoxo, Rachel