Last Friday I decided to take more photos of Nicole with my old camera. I liked the last set, but silly me put her in a white onesie that was a bit too much against the white backdrop. It also generally takes a couple iterations before I get the “perfect” shot, so I always like to re-try photos. You never know when a great photo will turn into an perfect one!

The last good posed photo I will ever take, until she’s old enough to pose on request. And, ironically, the purple also looks a little washed out against the white background.

Nicki was acting hungry so after a few quick photos we took a break for an early lunch. When I put her back down on the backdrop again and she popped right up onto all fours and crawled off! I put her back down, but she would not stay put. She wanted to sit and play with the camera, not lay down. So I gave up, followed her lead, and took some photos of her sitting with my camera. After waiting so long for her to finally crawl, I was lamenting the days when she’d stay put!

The other day I decided to try for another profile like I had been meaning to do for a couple weeks. I had accomplished this shot by draping a black bed sheet over the back railing of her crib (a super cheap backdrop, especially if you already have one!) setting her down on one side, and opening the window on the opposite side to get the light streaming on her face. Domingo then holds a stuffed animal to get her attention so she’ll look in the direction of the light. We tried the same set up again, and just as with the camera photo she was off! It didn’t matter that Domingo was standing by the window, and there was no way she could reach him. She wanted to get as close to that stuffed animal as possible, and that meant pulling herself up at the edge of the crib! No sitting still for this little one. The only success we had was to finally give her the stuffed animal and let her hold it, but it was still an incredibly short photo session.

Clearly holding her toy. I’m going to try again later. Maybe I can find a different toy that I can more easily crop out.

Time to adapt my strategy.

Thinking back, the Easter photos worked so well because she was exploring her new toy, the easter basket. She also enjoyed pushing the button on the camera and watching the LCD screen change (which, incidentally, is what made it look like she was taking a photo.) She needs something to keep her occupied if I’m going to get her to stay put. I foresee many more interactable props in our future.

Posted in Photography | Tags: Baby Photography