Months ago my fellow photographers over at 2peas asked if I would video a newborn session for learning purposes and I agreed to go it proving I had the right subject. I am sure that you remember Jewels (Julie Harrell). These are her daughters, Madeline (5) and Clara (7 days). They came down from Bellingham along with aspiring photographer Renee Bergeron. Jewels, nursed, rocked and soothed, I photographed, and Renee videoed and these are the results. I have to admit that this was not an easy session. Usually I can get enough images in about 1.5 hours – this session lasted 3.5 hours. But from a learning stand point it is probably actually better that she was not a super easy baby. What you don’t see in the video is all of the nursing that took place. Jewels fed this little girl no less than 6 times and even that combined with a room that was about 90 degrees she still wouldn’t sleep! So when all else failed we swaddled her. Swaddling is almost always guaranteed to put a newborn to sleep. However, I don’t really care for it in photos because you can’t see the baby’s beautiful hands and feet. Oh, well we got some cool images anyway. So with out further ado here is the video. (Make sure your sound is up so you can hear the cool soundtrack.)
Newborn session from Emily Weaver Brown on Vimeo.
I know that the subtitles are hard to read, but I have know idea how to optomize video for the web so this is what you are stuck with : ) If you have a question about something in the video or related to the video please leave your question in the comments and I will try and answer them all in a day or so in their own post.
The blanket in the first photo is a muslin swaddeling blanket by Aden and Anais. It looks great in photos but if you are a parent and want a swaddeling blanket for practical everyday use I highly recomen the Miracle blanket.
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I think you did a great job despite the non-sleepyness. It’s great to see how other photographers do their business. Only one question…what was the cord hanging from your camera? Was it a sync cord for the strobe or a power cord?
Emily, I loved the video. It was cool to watch you work. Working with a newborn “seems” so easy, but I know that it is not! You got some beautiful shots!
your thread on 2peas didn’t show a video or link for me so I came here 😉 great little mini learning session for me as I am going to be doing my first newborn session in the next week! 😀
Beautiful work Emily! I am SOOO jealous you got to photograph Clara and Maddie! Loved the video… I am so relieved to see that I’m not the only one who tries to reason (aka- beg!) babies to just sleep for a minute! LOL.
(Emily– I’m also Emily, and a consistent fan of yours on 2Peas… Wish we were friends in real life! )
LOVED this– loved that you put it together in a finished, edited video instead of just raw footage. Loved watching you “baby whisper”… Nice work, girl!
TOO CUTE! Thanks for posting the video. My question is about your floor–what size did you make this darker hardwood floor?
Emily, you do a fantastic job, thank you so much for sharing this with us. How do you keep your hands warm so that the naked baby doesn’t freak out when moved? Even though the rest of me is sweating, my hands aren’t warm enough for the baby.
Amazing pictures! Thanks for including a behind the scenes video. You did a great job with this session. 🙂
Cute! Love the video too, it’s more work than people think but you did awesome!!
That video was amazing! It brought tears to my eyes. You photos are exquisite, Emily.
GREAT minds must think alike, except that your blog looks SOOOOOO much better than mine. I’m so dense, that the “tofu” logo is still up. Regardless, I really love the simplicity of these blogs and know I’ll eventually love mine too.
That first shot is such a great relationship shot, makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.
Totally fantastic, Emily. Gives me tons of ideas for my friend’s new baby coming in the next few weeks. Is that a beanbag chair with a black cotton cloth over it? Fantastic.
Where did you get the pieces of hardwood flooring?