Newborn Photographer offers Lifestyle Photography Sessions

Newborn Photographer offers Lifestyle Photography

You could say there is an artistic portrait style and a journalistic style of photography.  In the years of late I have primarily focused my work on the artistic portraits and I am very much in love with this style of work.  Yet at home I find I am capturing more of the journalistic type of portraits, sneaking in on the kids while they play and snapping up the moments of these beautiful days.  There is one season however which I found most difficult to document and capture on my own and this was the first couple months after my babies were born.  

Time seemed to float on a cloud and a dream-like mood filled the rooms of our home.  We inhaled the love, joy, and beauty that encompasses welcoming home a new life.  This may sound hypocritical now but picking up my camera was often not the first thought on my mind.  Instead, I wanted to snuggle my baby and just relish in the fleeting moments.  I regret not hiring a professional to join us and capture those moments and I am looking forward to stepping into parent's homes and lives and doing just this for them.

Here are some lifestyle images from a recent session.

Baby Portrait Session Giveaway in Annapolis MD

The Sweet Spring Giveaway!
This giveaway is for our clients, previous clients, and future client friends!

We are giving away a session at our First Annual Spring Petite Event AND the lucky winner will also receive our Baby Photography Guide which is not available for purchase to anyone in the area so you will be the lucky ONE.

How To Enter:
2 Entries Available

1.  (required) Be a Fan of Bitsy Baby Photography on Facebook Here.

2.  (required) Share this Giveaway with your friends and family (scout's honor here)
**idea for sharing:  Update your status message on FB or Twitter with: "Go check out @Bitsy Baby Photography to enter the Sweet Spring Petite Giveaway!"

3.  Be available March 16th for your session and you must l-o-v-e photographing your family's portraits at home.

****Leave a separate comment below for doing Step 1 and Step 2.

A winner will be drawn via Random.org mid-day on Tue Feb 26th and the announcement will be posted on the blog and facebook.



Spring Petite Event Information:

 These sessions can highlight your baby's first Easter, capture sweet moments between you interacting and enjoying each other as a family, or even highlight your blooming baby bump!

Date: March 16, 2013
Time: 9 - 1
Place: Quiet Waters Park, Annapolis MD
**Only3 spaces left, reserve asap!
**Older babies and children are also welcome to this event!

• 10 high resolution digital images
• Online gallery for sharing and downloading your collection 
• Print release to any size
• Access to our wholesale pricing for optional prints and products
• Cost: $325

Session Details:

• 3 individuals are included, additional are $25 each
• babies must be at least 2 months 
• no clothing changes, arrive in your photo attire and layering/removing the layers is welcome
• sessions are petite 20 minute slots, please arrive 5-10 minutes prior to your scheduled time
• if you can not make your time, your cost will be applied towards our regular session based on availability
• you will be provided with high quality vendor information for products

Baby Photography Guide Information:

This is a photography guide demonstrating the studio's session flow for a sitting baby portrait session, pull-back set up shots, final portraits, and guided information on details to consider for your sessions.  Here is a post to read more about the baby photography guide.

*if the winner drawn has already purchased an opening you will receive a refund for your cost paid!

Good Luck =)

Baby Photographer Tips - Catchlights!

 Photography tips for the baby photographer, newborn photographer and portrait photographer.

*image cropped in to show eyes closer

Catchlights are a simple yet commonly missed important aspect of a good or better portrait in baby photography or any type of photography really.  This will be particularly helpful for the newer photo enthusiast at home or the portrait photographer leading towards starting a business.

Catchlights: What are they, why are they important, how to get them and a little history!

What is a Catchlight in portrait photography?

So pretty simple, a catchlight is the light reflecting in the eyes of your subject.  If you can see the eyes there should probably be a catchlight.  In the above baby portrait I zoomed in for you to closely take a look at the baby's eyes and the specular light reflecting in them.  Catchlights give life and brightness to the eyes as well as enhance the entire portrait; without a catchlight the eyes are dark and the image is lifeless.  Making sure you have light in the eyes will certainly improve your photography.  Often times as you view your images or a photographer online, say you are shopping for a baby portrait photographer, you will notice something is better about one image over the previous but likely not realize exactly why, it could be that one has these catchlights and the other does not.  Most of the time the only one that will actually pick out the fact that eyes contain one or do not are photographers ;)

Placement of Catchlights:

If you ever enter a print competition the catchlights also need to have specific placement, here it gets a little technical.  The ideal position is said to be at the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock positions (if you have two) and though I do agree this placement looks great mine are not always there.  For instance in the baby above with the black bonnet, her catchlights are more in the 6-9 o'clock range.  There can be one or two catchlights but typically the rule of thumb is you do not want more than 2.  The shape of the catchlights will depend on the shape of your light source for instance if it is a square soft box then the light in the eyes will have a square shape as well.  Because I use natural light with a patio door being my primary light source, catchlights in my images are often somewhat rectangular or square.  Then if I am working outdoors and I use a reflector the catchlights will be round.  In my opinion the shape doesn't really matter too much as long as there are some sparkly lights in those baby's eyes.

How to get Catchlights in your baby portraits:

Say you are photographing a baby sitting at the park, take notice whether there is light in the eyes or not.  If there is not then rotate your baby in a circle until you see the light reflecting in the eyes - this is also in a way "finding your light".  When preparing for your studio photography session or for your DIY baby portraits at home you'll need to determine what your light source is; whether it be a window, lamp, sky and then focus on having that light reflected in the eyes.  If you are having a hard time lighting your subject evenly and also having that light in the eyes then you may need to use a reflector with you at the camera or slightly to the side to give light in the eyes.  I use the white side of a round reflector outdoors for later evening portraits where I want nice rim light behind my subjects or in the studio where I use my patio door as a high key white background - find out more about how to use a patio door to make your DIY baby portraits look professional HERE. 

Interestingly if you look closely at a portrait you can see what type of light the photographer was using whether it was studio lights with bright square shapes or natural light with the sky and clouds reflecting as in the image above.  You can sometimes even see the photographer if you look very closely.

The history of Catchlights:

So catchlights also have a history if you are interested in going just a little further with me.  Painters of decades ago and still today actually paint catchlights into their paintings...likely to enhance the drama and mood of the work....give it life as I like to say.  Having catchlights in your photography and baby portraits is definitely nothing new, it's just an aspect of great portraits that isn't always pinpointed in the early stages of your photography learning.  

To learn more about baby photography portraits, photography training, or DIY photography please visit the website here. 

The Blooming Belly - A Maternity Portrait Guide

Contact Bitsy Baby Photography for your copy of The Blooming Belly our Maternity Session Guide.

Maryland Newborn Photographer offers Baby's First Portraits

Baby's First Easter Portraits
Bitsy Baby Photography's First Annual Spring Petites!!

Date: March 16, 2013
Time: 9 - 12, First come first serve for time requests
Place: Quiet Waters Park, Annapolis MD
**Only 7 spaces available, reserve asap to guarantee your time!
**Older babies and children are also welcome to this event!

• 10 high resolution digital images
• Online gallery for sharing and downloading your collection 
• Print release to any size
• Access to our wholesale pricing for optional prints and products
• Cost: $325

Ready to schedule?  Email our studio assistant here with your preferred time of day and we will get you set!

Session Details:

• 3 individuals are included, additional are $25 each
• babies must be at least 2 months 
• no clothing changes, arrive in your photo attire and layering/removing the layers is welcome
• sessions are petite 20 minute slots, please arrive 5-10 minutes prior to your scheduled time
• if you can not make your time, your cost will be applied towards our regular session based on availability
• you will be provided with high quality vendor information for products

Thank you to my beautiful daughter Marina for modeling for the collage above, love her to pieces =)

Baby Photographers and Maternity Photographers Posing Training

The Blooming Baby Business - Baby Photographers Workshops Training & Documents - Professional or Going Pro!

Professional Photography Business Documents available:
• Bitsy Baby client prep for Newborn Session in a studio
• Bitsy Baby client prep for Newborn Session on location
• Client prep for remaining Baby's First Year Sessions including Smiling Session, Sitting Session, Standing/Birthday Session
• Legal Binding & Legal Consulted Booking Contract
• Complete Baby's First Year Preparation Collection (all of the above)

Maternity Portrait Session Posing Guide and Baby Photography Guide available:
Maternity Photography Training - read more here
Baby Photography Training - read more here

Discovering the Value of a DIY Newborn Photography Workshop

Discovering the Value of a DIY Newborn Photography Workshop

Is it just me, or do the men in our lives have a do-it-yourself (DIY) gene? Whether the project is personal or professional, they tackle it with the gusto and fortitude of a real life Renaissance Man.  I know my husband has done his fair share of DIY projects over the years. 

So in the past, I’ve talked a lot about viewing the camera as an extension of my heart. It’s a concept I try to incorporate into my newborn photography workshop as well. I’d like to spend a little time taking an in-depth look at what that statement truly means. 

Finding Your Voice as a Photographer

I’d like to start off by asking a question: what’s the best way to learn a new skill? Is it to be shown, or to be taught with careful instruction? I think it’s safe to assume most of us would choose the latter. Given that assumption, let’s apply the principle to photography.

Like any process, learning photography, especially maternity photography, will involve a fair amount of trial and error. You have to be comfortable making mistakes and not getting things “picture perfect” right out of the gate. 

Home is Where Your Heart is

My newborn photography workshop is a helpful resource even for maternity photography session tips, but the most optimal learning environment could be at home. That’s where you get comfortable with the camera, laugh at your flubs, and try maternity poses in possibly four different ways; make sure to thank your subjects for this! Most importantly, home is where you develop in your heart as an artist, and maternity photography is quite an art to master.

With that in mind, I have created special tutorials and guides for that DIY gene in all of us. The guides focus on maternity sessions and posing. Whether you’re a novice shutter bug or you shoot professionally, these guides are set up to give you unique tools and tips for these intimate and once-in-a-lifetime photo sessions. 

Something special happens when you learn a new art form - something that doesn’t happen during any other type of education. You find your creative voice. That’s what I’m talking about when I compare my camera to an extension of my heart. When you find your photographic voice, it comes through in your camera lens. My maternity posing session guides and newborn photography workshops are designed to help you find that voice. 

To order your copy of the maternity photography session guide available via digital download, fill out the contact form on the website. You’ll also find additional information on my workshops located on the photography workshops page.

I look forward to helping other maternity photographers find their creative voice. Together we can capture tomorrow’s treasured memories today.