Hey, photographer friends!
I’ve compiled a list of some of the questions that I get asked most often by other peers in the industry, and I wanted to share them on the blog today! Enjoy a peek into some of my favorite things!
What’s in your camera bag?
I shoot with a Nikon D750. I’m a huge fan of prime lenses, and over the years I’ve sold off all of my zoom lenses because I just didn’t use them often enough. My favorite lens for outdoor sessions is the 85mm 1.4, and for my indoor sessions I often use the Sigma Art 35mm. The 35mm comes with me to all of my Fresh 48 and lifestyle sessions, too!
A few unexpected items in my camera bag are a little rattle to catch babies’ attention, a stash of Smarties candies for a quick little bribe, and I can usually find slips of paper with everyone’s names written on them from past sessions so that I don’t forget anyone’s name!
My camera bag is a Kelly Moore bag that I've had for YEARS! It's beautiful, durable, and it fits everything that I need. Usually it carries 2 bodies, 2-3 lenses, and a few other odds and ends.
What studio lighting do you use?
I started using studio lighting two years ago, and it was a total game changer in my studio. I use an AB400 with a PLM, and I sync it up with Cyber Sync triggers. I highly recommend the studio lighting course, “Illuminate” by The Milky Way for anyone who is just getting started with studio lighting.
How do you get babies to look at the camera?
Seriously, guys, I finish my sessions completely winded and exhausted after working so hard to get the babies to look my way! I have a little rattle that I love using, and I also use a couple of squeak toys to get little ones looking my way. If they’re on the floor, I’ll get down to their level and tickle their toes and chin, leaning back to catch their reaction on camera. If mom and dad are in the room, I ask them to stand right over my shoulder to be sure the baby is looking towards me and not away from me. Sometimes I have to resort to holding mom or dad’s phone above my lens with their favorite song playing on Youtube. I avoid giving the phone to little ones at all cost because let’s face it — you’ll never get it out of their hands, and you don’t want to edit it out of every single image!
What are your favorite props?
I’m a bit of a minimalist when it comes to props (which is rare for a baby photographer, I know!). I recently shared this blog post that lists the props I consider most essential in my studio. I hope you find it helpful! Just remember that these babies are so perfect just the way they are, and they don’t need to be surrounded by clutter that overwhelms the photo and takes away from the real focus of the portrait — them!
What are your favorite places to shop for DIY backdrop materials?
For my newborn sessions, I love buying jersey knit fabric by the yard at the fabric store. Get something with a good amount of stretch, and buy at least 2 yards for the beanbag. If you’re making your own wraps, you can do a 1/4 yard in a pretty fabric with good stretch.
I get all of my seamless paper through Amazon because of their Prime shipping. Savage Seamless is truly the best.
For cake smash decor, become very familiar with the scrapbook paper aisle at the craft store. I have bought nearly every color to create bunting, banners, hanging garlands, and elaborate backdrops for our birthday sessions. Invest in one of those 12x12 plastic cases to store the extra paper in, and after each session you can fold the garlands up and store them in clear plastic bags for easy access next time. The more you can reuse, the more profitable your sessions become, plus the less time you’ll have to spend making new decor each time!
How do you edit your images?
I spend most of my time in Lightroom doing adjustments to the images. I started out with LR years ago, and it's just the software that I'm most comfortable with and that works for me! I've created a few presets that I use on nearly every image, and batch editing helps to speed up the process.
In every session there are a few images that need to be taken into Photoshop for cloning, backdrop extension, headswaps, liquifying, or general cleaning up. I do light retouching in Photoshop on these images, and then bring them back into LR to save them. I find that I mostly use Photoshop for graphic design purposes, and I love it for that!
