A few years ago I dabbled in studio sessions. I did not have much in the way of props, lights or even experience. I would do children, newborn and even some themed sessions, but only on days I had enough natural light coming into my studio. I was super busy in warm months with my SDP families and needed the slower winter months to play catch up and prepare for the next busy season. Then February would roll around and I felt a NEED to shoot. I advertised for some super cute indoor sessions, but was still at the mercy of the weather/sunlight.
It gave me great anxiety when I would hear other photographers talk about how wonderful having a studio with consistent lighting and how convenient it was to shoot while their older children were at school and to be "done" working when they got home. I just didn't have the desire to be devoted to newborn photography or learning studio lighting (which is nearly a must in Indiana where the gloomy winter days are more the rule than the exception). Posing newborns is as much an art as photographing them. They're fragile, yet sturdy. They're schedules are inconsistent at best. The new parents are anxious. It's so much about how confident you are in working under those conditions. And I wasn't. Not really. I still took newborn bookings and found I was able to capture some shots that I liked and the clients loved. That was enough.
Until it wasn't.
I wanted to be good at it. I didn't want to feel defeated after each session. I don't wanna work every evening the weather is beautiful from April to November. I don't want to shoot on weekends. I do want to get better at studio lighting so I can be more consistent during slower times. I want to be in charge of my schedule and put my family first. I needed to able to utilize my large gorgeous studio space in between outdoor portraits.
So I attended a few in person workshops. Took some online workshops. I even purchased some studio lights. I did a few more newborns. I STILL did NOT love it. I liked it, kind of. I didn't want to devote 2-3 days a week to being "stuck" in my studio. I called a colleague turned friend and begged her to come help me with my new daunting lighting. She obliged. I learned a LOT. It made sense. I was eager to photograph some babies!
I asked some local photogs to come out and help me and put into practice what we had learned at a local newborn workshop (safety in numbers right?!).
We had 4 babies in 5 hours. Some slept well, some didn't. Something clicked. The posing. The LIGHTING! I am hooked. I want more babies! Families are still something I plan to shoot for the rest of my life. But now having a couple of these little miracles in the studio each month is fulfilling and amazing!
I will be posting lots more of the newborns I have coming into the studio in coming weeks, but here are a few from our RVP shootout back in February.
