Taking photographs of children for friends was the first photography I did that wasn’t just for my own amusement. It’s how a lot of children’s photographers start, and it’s still something I really like to do, but it had been a while since I’d done a session for friends.
Maybe this was the reason I was nervous during the shoot for my friends Tim and Heather, and their lovely daughter Lillian, who was around 2 months old.
Sometimes you’re confident you’re getting good images. Other times you feel you’re just shooting dross and are waiting for (and partly willing) the client to tell you to go home and forget the whole thing. This was more like the latter feeling, but my friends probably wouldn’t have thrown me out.
These wobbles beset me more with young babies than older kids, perhaps because it’s harder to form a connection with a young baby. Normally, if the child is having fun and is tolerating my foolishness, then I’m happy and I’m reasonably sure the images will be good. But if you’re not getting any feedback from the subject (because they’re too young to give it), there’s less to feed off, and you start wondering if you’re just a faker.
That said, I was happy when I got home and looked at the images I’d got. Tim and Heather are delighted new parents, and are reacting to the drastic up-ending of their lives with good grace, good humor and real affection, and the pictures show some of that. There’s not much more you can do when a baby’s first home – I remember feeling that it was a day of huge achievements if I managed to dress myself and make it down the driveway to the mailbox.
Lillian is bright and aware – she seemed very curious about me – and like most babies, looks positively angelic when she sleeps.
So even when you’re not sure you’re getting the shots you want, keeping an open mind, asking yourself questions while you’re shooting, and reacting honestly to what you see in front of you get you through. That, and a sleeping baby shot
Here’s an Animoto slideshow of more of the images from the day.