Enewsletter
August 2009

Wilson usually has her Tamron 90mm F/2.8 macro and 28-75mm F/2.8 Di lenses nearby to capture Nigel throughout the day. “You’re pretty much right there with the baby and not that far away,” she explains. “I keep going back to the 28-75mm lens because in tighter spots, you can pull back. And I really wanted to use the 90mm because it’s just such a beautiful portrait lens. I’ve shot flowers and close-ups of outdoor creatures, but you’re photographing this little life and focusing on it, and the 90mm works great as a portrait lens for this purpose.”

One of the challenges in documenting babies this young is that they’re not exactly perfect posers—in other words, don’t be disappointed if the specific shot you had in mind morphs into something entirely different. “They’re not always cooperative, and their expressions are constantly changing,” says Wilson. “I kept shooting on continuous shutter, so while shooting at 90mm, for instance, I shot about 10 or 15 frames, one right after the other. I hardly ever do that in my other work, because I have more of a film background, where you don’t have a million chances to get the image right. But in this case, continuous shutter is definitely better, if only because of their constantly changing expressions. I also went up higher on the ISO with many of my shots so I could go at a faster shutter speed.”

The fast F/2.8 maximum aperture on the 28-75mm lens allowed Wilson to get rid of a lot of the clutter and concentrate on her precious package as he communicated with the people around him. “In one of the images of him ‘communicating’ (i.e., crying!), you can see a nicely blurred-out background,” says Wilson. “When you have a new baby, you’ve likely got a lot of baby stuff that’s been hauled into your place. The 28-75mm lens helped me blur out that background and keep the picture clean. That way, all you see are blocks of color—it’s more about Nigel and less about the shelf and the ball and the table behind him.”

One way to maximize the background you’re using is to tap into blankets or swaddling cloths. “You can get really creative with the subtle objects behind them,” says Wilson. “I will put him on different blankets that look good in the image. White or cream-colored blankets are always great, because even if you don’t have a lot of light in the room, that blanket will pick up anything that’s coming in through the window [shot with the 28-75mm, F/3.5, 1/60 of a second, ISO 800].”   

Don’t hesitate to incorporate baby items into the shot to add some context. In one of Wilson’s 90mm close-ups of Nigel’s foot, a pacifier was strategically placed near his toes. “I used the pacifier in this shot to show just how small his foot really was,” Wilson says.

And for Wilson, it’s all about window light when she’s capturing her son. “Using a flash isn’t ideal in this situation,” she says. “It would be difficult to keep flashing a flash in front of the baby—it will make him fussy. It’s all about working that window light as much as you can. I’ll backlight him, or have the window behind me. When I go to a higher ISO, it’s no trouble to dial everything out.”

You can also literally use the window as a prop. “In one of the shots, you can see the catchlight in his eyes [shot with the 90mm, F/7.1, 1/250 of a second, ISO 1600],” Wilson says. “That’s actually the reflection of the window. I moved him around until he was close to the window so I could capture that effect. I also wanted to capture my own reflection in his eyes, which you can also see.

And don’t forget that babies are fascinated with anything that moves. “For the shot where he’s staring out the window at the trees [shot at F/5.0, 1/100 of a second, ISO 640], he was on the bed and I had my camera out,” she says. “I really wanted to get the suggestion of the trees, and babies really love looking out the window, so this shot presented itself nicely.”

Documenting a day in the life of a newborn can be difficult, since young infants aren’t mobile, can’t sit up, and aren’t even fully awake for a few weeks after the birth. “He does have a lot more awake time now than he did a few weeks ago,” laughs Wilson. “In the beginning, I was taking a lot of sleeping pictures. Now that he’s more alert, I don’t do too many of the sleeping images—I have plenty of those!”

To get away from filling your albums with a slew of shots where the baby is always lying down, think of creative techniques and angles to combat that. “Stand over them, for example,” says Wilson. “With the 28-75, you can put them on the bed and stand above them and still have enough room to shoot. Then you can turn the frame so that it almost looks like they’re sitting up.”

Getting your partner, other family members, or even yourself involved in the photos can also transport baby out of the crib and get him “on the move.” “I had my husband hold him for a few of the shots [1st image below shot with the 28-75mm, F/2.8, 1/320 of a second, ISO 400, and the second one shot with the 28-75, F/2.8, 1/160 of a second, ISO 400],” Wilson says. “If you’re able to set a tripod up and just keep it off to the side in one of the rooms where you usually shoot, you can also get shots of you and the baby together. You can be really spontaneous that way. You just have to make sure the focus is there, push the timer button, and run back to the front before he changes his mind about being photographed!”

Take advantage of the locations where you find yourself hanging out at the most. For Wilson, that usually means the changing table or the bath. “He is so happy on his changing table,” she says. “I got a couple of images of him on there with his little legs flailing in the air. And I have some really amazing bath and baby-in-towel photos.”

You can even get a little goofy. “We put this fake mustache on him, and that picture is unreal,” she laughs. “He looks like one of those little Frenchmen in the stripes!”

Capture the baby's physical attributes and temperament—all things that may change over time. “For me, Nigel’s eyes were important to get,” says Wilson. “They’re really blue right now, but I don’t know whether they’re going to change or not. Hands are hard, because at this point, they’re usually all balled up and clenched. For the one shot where he’s swinging his little fists [shot with the 28-75, F/2.8, 1/30 of a second, ISO 800], I tried to get his fist in the foreground without covering his face. I originally had wanted to wait for him to fall asleep so I could place his hands on his chest, but that didn’t happen!”

Finally, don’t hesitate to capture the full range of your baby’s emotional spectrum. “Shoot all the different moods,” advises Wilson. “Don’t be afraid to capture a crying baby. That’s part of their routine at this point in their lives, and you want to remember it all!”

For more of Emily Wilson’s work, go to www.emilywilsonphotography.com.