San Jose born photographer, Kasey Dyer, recently had her first baby and her baby daddy, Andrew, who was born just 11 days prior, was there to capture some of his baby shoots too. For his part, Andrew had some advice, to shoot more babies, to shoot his babies, and to shoot babies and babies and more babies.
As an adult, I’m still trying to get my head around the idea of a newborn photographer. I don’t know how many newborns I’ve photographed, but I’ve known plenty of people who can tell me all sorts of awesome stories about newborns. I know I’ve had a few people mention there is a baby photographer, but I’ve never seen any of these stories.
One of the things about newborn photography is that you have to take your baby portraits from every angle. I know newborns have a certain way of interacting where they don’t really like being photographed, but they like it when you take their picture—they’re always going to want to be the center of attention, even if it’s from behind. Even the very first days of life, there are certain things you have to do to get the baby to focus on you.
San Jose, CA-based newborn photographer, Marisa, is the first to admit her photography style isn’t for everyone. But, at least, she’s not the first to say so. Back in August, she took her five-month-old daughter to a friend’s studio for a portrait session, and it was pretty much all she wanted when she was able to get the baby to focus on her.
Marisa admits that she was nervous the first few times she took the baby, but says she found the experience very therapeutic. In fact, she thinks the experience may even have helped her give birth, making her more confident in the moment, which is why she’s not afraid of returning to the studio for more.
The fact that she was able to find her own style with baby photography is one of the best parts of the experience. She started taking photos of her infant immediately after she brought the first baby home from the hospital, and said she wasn’t able to take photos with her own newborn until she’s had a few practice sessions at home. She says that her newborn photos are more natural, and that her baby seems to be enjoying the process of being photographed.
I dont know if it was a big deal for her to take her own photos, or if she was just tired of having a camera on her shoulder and a light on her face, but she definitely looks a lot more natural since she hasnt shot her newborn yet. And shes not alone. New parents are always looking for ways to take better photos. Here at our office, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our photography skills.
You may be familiar with the saying “you’re only as good as your last baby photo.” What I’m about to say will probably make you think that a newborn baby is the worst thing that can happen to an adult. The truth is, most of our lives are filled with experiences that we’d rather forget about. If you ever feel like you’re not making the most of your life, you gotta start looking for it.
In the meantime, it’s still hard to get anyone to take decent photos of newborns. Most people just look at them like they’re some strange alien life form. It’s also hard because we’ve got so many shots of newborns that are so blurry they are almost impossible to make out. And we all love babies, and we want them to look like we do, but we just can’t do the same thing. So herein lies the problem.
I just cant get anyone to photograph my newborn son. Well, maybe a few of the older ones. But I dont know how many of the babies I have seen at the hospital, and most all of them have either been born in the morning or on the early evening. Every time a new mom walks in and sees my son, she looks at him with a mixture of horror and disbelief. Most have been born on the weekend, but theyve all come in the early morning.