≡ Menu

Food for Digital Thought

Food For Digital Thought: You’re First Child’s Baby Picture.

The very first baby photo

The very first baby photo

For all you new to be parent’s or grandparents, the first baby photo is usually taken in the hospital room, and I can tell you from experience, it’s probably the worst place on earth to take a photo; regardless of the subject matter. A photo that could only be counted as time goes by as the very first..especially if said first photo was taken by a phone!!!

Here’s what’s going to happen: The room will be dark, with the only light on being above the bed the new mom is laying in.  This is going to put those well-known “Raccoon” eyes on mom, you know the ones, the ones where deep black sockets replaced the actual eyes. Except to those in the cast of The Adam’s Family, going through what mom just did might not make her look as good as she could, , and dark eye sockets won’t add too much.

So, if you want some advice, and it’s the same advice I give to my online students with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Fame of Mind” workshops I conduct around our planet, think about the light first and foremost. All it takes is a little thought and knowing how to expose properly to add visual tension and interest to take a photo that can stand the test of time and be considered worthy of sharing it with others every chance you can get…no matter how old the baby grows up to be.

In the above photo, I simply opened the curtain to let some available light into the room. I then exposed for the mother so I could blowout the window behind her…a very good thing and never let anyone tell you different. I used a real camera (not a phone with a built-in camera) and choose a narrow DOF to place the emphasis solely on the mom and baby.

Always take an alternative photo.

Always take an alternative photo.

So my fellow photographers, what kind of first baby picture to you want to take?

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and follow me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/barabanjoe. Check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog,

Come and shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

Most people know me from years of writing these posts, actually starting from 2011. I spend over fifty years as […] Read more

This is my ninth post in my series I call “Did It Do It”. In my online classes at the […] Read more

In the last couple of years I’ve seen a trend develop concerning my fellow photographers that take my three classes […] Read more

In my part I post on the “Law of the Light” I talked about positioning my 57’Chevy in a position […] Read more

The first workshop I ever taught was at the Maine Media Workshop in 1984, and up until the last few […] Read more

Since humans rely on their perception of the environment that surrounds them, visual input is a part of everyday life. […] Read more

 In the pat few years I’ve written several posts that included, to some degree, directional and leading lines and have […] Read more

I realize that it sorta reminds one of a tongue teaser, but take it from me it isn’t. For those […] Read more

First of all, I still have a spot open for my next trip to Cuba. This time we’re going to […] Read more

Check out my new workshop on the six concepts in the Psychology of Gestalt: Gestalt Workshop link I recently had […] Read more

Check out my new workshop on the six concepts in the Psychology of Gestalt: Gestalt Workshop link Actually, the actual […] Read more

Check out my new workshop on the six concepts in the Psychology of Gestalt: Gestalt Workshop link What do you […] Read more

Check out my new workshop on the six concepts in the Psychology of Gestalt: Gestalt Workshop link It was during […] Read more

Check out my new workshop on the six concepts in the Psychology of Gestalt: Gestalt Workshop link Back in the […] Read more

A camera, handled correctly, is a passport to wonderful places and experience. You’ve noticed that I put ‘handled correctly’ in […] Read more

If it ain’t helping, get rid of it. Ok, now that I put the emphasis on what this post is […] Read more

I teach my fellow photographers how to incorporate the elements of Visual Design into their imagery both in my classes […] Read more

Unless you’re shooting strictly for yourself, the goal, at least for me, is to keep the viewer around for as […] Read more

In my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the […] Read more

Once again I want to start off by saying that there’s no set rule as to where to put that […] Read more

I teach an online class with the BPSOP, and I conduct workshops all over the world. I have also written […] Read more

I get a lot of ideas for my posts from both my online students with the BPSOP, and from the […] Read more

In my online classes with the BPSOP, I give out assignments each Friday. These are specific ideas that I want […] Read more

I want to announce my next workshop “Autumn in France” to be next October 2nd. It will be in Bordeaux, […] Read more

I want to announce my next workshop “Autumn in France” to be next October 2nd. It will be in Bordeaux, […] Read more

I want to announce my next workshop “Autumn in France” to be next October 2nd. It will be in Bordeaux, […] Read more

I want to announce my next workshop “Autumn in France” to be next October 2nd. It will be in Bordeaux, […] Read more

I want to announce my next workshop “Autumn in France” to be next October 2nd. It will be in Bordeaux, […] Read more

To finish the thought, it would be “What could be instead of what is”. For those that have recently been […] Read more

I teach my fellow photographers how to incorporate the Elements of Visual Design into their photography. In my online classes […] Read more

This is what I talk about when I’m working with my online students with the BPSOP. During my “Stretching Your […] Read more

In my six month Mentoring program, I often work with photographers that feel that they have run out of ideas […] Read more

As I tell my fellow photographers that either take my online classes with the BPSOP, or participate in one of […] Read more

No, I’m not talking about the song Carly Simon sang in 1971…for those old enough to remember it. I’m talking […] Read more

For those new to my blog, I teach an online class with the PBSOP, and I conduct my “Stretching Your […] Read more

  It’s interesting to note that whenever you hear the word roaming in these days of rapidly changing technology, you […] Read more

To my fellow photographers that follow my blog, either those that have taken my online class with the BPSOP, or […] Read more

First of all, the expression “Don’t give it a second thought” is an idiom. So, to begin with, let me […] Read more

I teach my fellow photographers how to incorporate the elements of visual design and composition into their imagery. In my […] Read more

How many of you have ever written a letter, poem, story, e-mail, or perhaps an epic novel? If you did […] Read more

You bet it is…sometimes!!! I recently had a conversation with a fellow photographer that follows my blog about the statement […] Read more

I have been writing this blog since 2011 and have had a post come out every five days to six […] Read more

I teach fellow photographers how to incorporate the elements of Visual Design and composition into their photography. In my online […] Read more

Here’s a really good tip for those who shoot in a square format: It’s virtually impossible to create Tension (which […] Read more

Over the years, I’ve had countless people from the way to young to the not that old ( me for […] Read more

Photography is most definitely the love of my life, but right under it is fishing and then cooking. I love […] Read more

I would safely say that in my forty-five year career as an advertising and corporate photographer 90% of every photo […] Read more

I often have a conversation with my online classes with the BPSOP, and in the daily morning reviews during my […] Read more

As I’ve always said, Light is everything and should be considered first, even before your composition. When it interacts with […] Read more

When I’m walking down the street with some of the photographers that are in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” […] Read more

I don’t know about you, but when my four kids were young, I stressed upon them (just about every day) […] Read more

I don’t know about you, but when my four kids were young, I stressed upon them (just about every day) […] Read more

It always makes me wonder how in the world we were able to make photos when the film of choice […] Read more

If you were a race driver you would immediately know what the expression ’10’ and ‘2’ meant. That’s when your […] Read more

  Besides being an advertising, corporate, and editorial photographer for the past fifty-three years that has been a lifelong dream […] Read more

How do you decide to either keep a photo or delete it? First and most important, stay objective. Whatever you […] Read more

LIGHT IS EVERYTHING!!! That’s what I keep telling my online students with the BPSOP, and my “Stretching Your Frame of […] Read more

LIGHT IS EVERYTHING!!! That’s what I keep telling my online students with the BPSOP, and my “Stretching Your Frame of […] Read more

I don’t know about you, but I’m never totally satisfied with the way my photos turn out …what do I […] Read more

I teach fellow photographers how to incorporate the elements of visual design and composition into their imagery. In my part […] Read more