TAOPAN Volume I Issue 6 - August 2010

8/6/2019 TAOPAN Volume I Issue 6 - August 2010

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August, 2

ABeginners Guide tPhotographing Babie

Transitional Posing

SleepieNewbor

on the Bloc

SAVING:Are youready for

success?


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I attended the Pure Posing Workshopn Milwaukee. I am near the point of

doing practice shoots with strangersand portfolio building. I was concernedI wasnt going to have enoughexperience to attend this workshop,but Ana immediately made me feelcomfortable. I went into this workshopwith a few objectives:To nd out if I had it in me tocontinue working toward having my

own photography business;To determine if I wanted to specializen pregnancy and newborn my gut

has told me this is where my heart is,but I needed to know for sure;To really learn how to pose maternityand newborn clients. I want to haveenough condence on how to pose

pregnant woman of all shapes andsizes once I begin portfolio buildingso that I can be successful and providebeautiful images from the beginning.For newborns, I wanted to learn thericks to get baby asleep and how to

get them into some of the more trickyposes.In Anas Pure Posing workshop, weaccomplished all this plus more. Notonly did we learn how to work withpregnant mamas and newborns, but weearned how to incorporate the families

easily into the shoots. She answeredany and all questions that we had, and

her responses were honest and genuiShe is an open book. In betwesessions (we had four in two days), smade sure she asked us questions a variety of topics, including pricinsales & marketing, and where are ygoing from here.

Not only did we learn about posing, bwe left with many marketable imagfor us to use. She was constan

checking to see if everyone had a chanto capture some marketable imagas she did not want anyone leaviwithout some from each session.

Anas class was one of the bphotography investments that I hamade so far. The only downside of

workshop is that it ended. I will be suto make it to one of her Bootcampsthe future.

Thank you Ana for such a greexperience. I cannot speak highenough of your class and teaching styYou are genuine, authentic and trucare about each one of your studenwhich is very apparent, even in just ttwo days that we had with you.

Thank you again for an incredibexperience!

Jenni

What they are saying:


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A Beginners Guide to

Photographing Babies

Transitional

Posing 1

Taopan NY

Workshop 1Summertime! 1

MARKETING

Story 2

Student Spotlight :

Nylora Bruleigh 2

The Perfect SHOT 3

SleepiestNewborn

on the Block 3

SAVING:Are you ready

for success? 3

SPONSORS 4

INDEXEditors noteSummer is here and allacross the worldphotographers are busygearing up for the HolidaySeason Regardless of theseason, if you specialize

in pregnancy and newborn youshould have a pretty steady workowall year long. We love showcasingimages from around the world andhearing what everyone is doing! In

this magazine we have a beginnersguide to photographing babies,transitional posing, Sleepiest Newbornon the Block, and a new featurecalled Marketing Story, in whichwe ask photographers to tell us of arecent fun marketing story. You willlove the latest one from Angela Krol.

We had an amazing time at the NYworkshop and the cover image is fromMariana who is also the designer ofthis magazine. Next up is Canada! Icant wait to see whats in store.

Enjoy the read, and keep those imagesand thoughts coming!

Ana Brandtana@anabrandt.comwww.anabrandt.comwww.theartofpregnancyandnewborn.comTel: 714-730-5050


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photographer need

to bring tany sessiothey do is love for th

subject. Wheyou love th

subject, you sethem at their best.

dont love wedding-and so I dont shoo

weddings- I am capable of ibut just because I CAN doesnt mea

I SHOULD. I just cant put my whol

Babies, babies, babies- has there ever been anything sosweet- or so not sweet - depending on the state oftheir diapers! I love babies, and I love that my

job involves getting to hold other peoplesbabies all the time. I smell them,snuggle them, and just really,really, love spending timewith them.

Do you love babiestoo? I think oneof the most

importantthings a


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hotographing Babiesneed to move fast, they are short onpatience with us big people moving

them around, and the faster you cango- the happier everyone will be. Sostart out small and then move up tophotographing your friends babies.Please dont sell your self as somethingyou are not, people deserve to havewonderful images of their babies. Thenewborn stage is one of very few timesin a persons life that CAN NOT bere-created. If you are practicing,then dont replace a professionalphotographer in that familys life- ifthey are planning on have professionalimages done- encourage them to stilldo so, and let them know you wouldlike to practice on their baby too.

Third- what should you bring to yoursessions?

Well obviously you need a camera.

Also a lens- I love my 50mm 1.4 lens fornewborn photography, and the 24-70for older babies.

For newborns you will denitely need a

bean bag, the wider the better, so that

you dont have to keep on xing thesides of your images in photoshop.

Several blankets with uniques textures

to use under the baby.

I use black seamless paper, and white

heart into something I dont like to do.

So- you love babies, and youwould love to spend your daysphotographing them? Welcometo the wonderful world of babyphotography!

When it comes to photographingbabies there are some uniquechallenges as well as the obviousreward time of getting to sniff asweet baby neck without actually

having to go through labor (dontpretend you have never smelled

their neck- its the very sweetest part!).

First- where should you start?

m a rm believer in educating

yourself as much as possible. If you arejust getting into photography you

are so lucky! There are so manywonderful opportunities for educationout there.Baby posing guides, workshops,educational videos and forums toname a few. It is a great time to learnabout photography, and the marketor newborn and baby photography is

booming!

Second:f you are just beginning, I wouldsuggest you practice your lighting andexposure on older subjects, or owers

and your pets. With babies you really

www.allthingsbaby.biz

by Shellie, All Things Baby


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seamless paper also.

Little hats, or diaper covers- make sureyou choose the correct size. This is to

add visual interest to the images asthe newborn baby wont make a lot ofdifferent facial expressions for you.

A heartbeat monitor or mp3 to keepthe newborn baby sleeping.

A HEATER! to keep the baby warm.

For older babies- cute diaper covers,hats etc.

Wipes- those babies will go to thebathroom!

Towels, both to wrap the baby in- andto catch any mess that they make.

This is a basic list of things to bring to yoursession- you will also want props etc. touse to make the images fun.

You also need to bring your patienceand sense of humor! Babies will go attheir own pace, and frequently need tostop and have breaks or a feeding.

Fourth:When working with parents you needto be calm, and in control. They arevery worried about their baby- theyhave never had anything so preciousbefore and are scared that somethingwill go wrong. Have you ever seena rst time parent scurry when that


Photographing Babies

baby starts to cry? Just be caand let them know through yoactions that you know what you adoing, that babies dont intimidayou, and the images are going to well worth the stress.

Fifth:

Please, please, please dont do anythdangerous just because you saw it doin a photograph somewhere- chancare that the image you saw was heaphotoshopped. In my more craimages I always have a parent jout of the frame, or sometimes in tframe, and I just remove them latephotoshop.

Finally:Have fun, snuggle a baby a little, adont forget to smell those necks- itlittle bit of heaven on earth.

by Shellie, All Things B


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After teaching dozens of workshops

usiang my Transitional Posing method

and hearing from my students that

posing was the most important

thing they wanted to learn, I decided

it was time for a guidebook.

Transitional Posing sounds like a

complicated concept, but it really

is an easy method. The idea is to

keep your clients moving, and not

realizing that they are really posi

No one likes posing. No one lik

being posed. Posed portraits ca

with them the image of bei

stiff, reserved, and formal. Also

little stuffy and out of date.

Everyone wants the casual imag

that make them look natur

relaxed and beautiful. But o

natural, relaxed selves are


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glow in front of the camera. And

yet some of the most beautiful

pregnancy images are ones in which

husband and wife together are

basking in that glow of expectation.

How do I get to that point?

When a client is setting

up an appointment I

will always encouage

them to bring their

partner. Usually they

agree with me and I

advise them on clothing. However Iwill often nd that once the partner

photogenic or visually pleasing.

When we are relaxed, our shoulders

are usually hunched, our chins

pulled back and we develop bad

posture. Bellies bulge and thighs

nate; little aws become obvious.

So is that what people

want when they say

hey want natural,

un-posed images? Of

course not. They want

o see their amazing

sculpted gures, dened chins andoned thighs. So you as the

photographer need to do that for

hem. And Im not talking about

plastic surgery, Botox, or Photoshop.

Im talking about posing.

I recently wrote a guide on TransitionalPosing. In this newsletter I am just

pulling the Partners section. If you

are a student, you can login to our

forum and download the guide for

free, or you can purchase it in our store.

Partners

Men tell me all the time that they do

not want to be in the photos. They

come to support their wife in the

session, and just want to watch her

Transitional posing is

dened as a shooting

in a series of subtle soft

movements that create

a series of uid images.


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kiss and nuz

up against o

another; thats when I dont ha

to push for the next transition as mu

as they pose themselves in a w

thats natural, loving, and in t

moment. You dont want to get slopthough shoot a ton in this series a

then edit out the weird expressions lat

I do still keep an eye out for things li

chins, and puckering the lips. Wat

for leg positioning, hand positioni

chins, lips. And if Mamas hands showing a lot of distracting veins

have her lift them up in the air and ho

them there for a minute to reduce the

You can see in the sample below th

I made him kiss her a few times. Fi

he went behind her face so I could

see him as well and I instructed theto change their positions a little b

You dont want to kill the mome

but you do have to make it look gre

gets there, they arent thrilled

with being in the spotlight. They

will often tell me they prefer that I

just focus on their beautiful pregnant

partner! So I will then start with

just photographing Mama herself.

Usually once weve nished the

rst set of images with just Mom in

them, the men are connected with

whats going on the session. Theyre

loving seeing their beautiful partner

looking radiant (and sexy) so its

natural at that point for me to askthem to come up behind her and

support her a bit. From there, youll

want to move through the transitions

quickly, as they run out of patience

very easily and then remember that

they didnt want to be there in front

of the camera in the rst place.

The shoot starts with Mom only, I

add Dad, and then we bring the kids

in for a full family. I love when they


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great, now this time Mom look at

him, then turn away, cute, love it!

cute! now one last one

When we were done Dad grabbed her

hands and lifted them up without any

direction from me and we ended updoing a whole set of transitions with

them hand in hand

To purchase Anas 20 page guide on

Transitional Posing vist the website

theartofpregnancyandnewborn.com

This series sounded something like

his.

Ok Dad, wrap your arms around

Momgood now Mom put your hand

by Dad and Dad give her a kiss. Oh,

oops not back there, I want to see you(at the point they look at each other

and laugh and I catch that on camera

oo. Remember, the magic moments

often happen between transitions too

so youve got to be ready at all times)

ok lets try this again Mom look

at me Dad give her a kiss by heremplebeautiful Mom pull your

hand back good, lets do that again


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MORE RESOURCES

Need more help? Visit the TAoPaN store

at http://b--studio.com. There youll

nd tons of pose ideas and inspiration

in my book The Art of Pregnancy &

Newborn Photography as well as in my

Inspirations cards or iInspirations for

the iPhone.

And as always, join us in the student

forum for discussion and questions.

W O R K S H O P

Toronto, Canada

August 7-8

Vancouver, Canada

September 12-13th

theartofpregnancyandnewborn.co

SEPTEMBER: BootcampLAST BOOTCAMP/RETREAT OF 201

NewLaguna Cliffs Resort and Spa

Laguna Beach,

September 26, 27 and 28

TUSTIN, California


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TAOPANNew YorkWORKSHOPHIGHLIGHTSHey Ana I just wanted to tell you that today was anAmazing experience. I felt like a school girl meetingomeone famous And thank you for being so patient

with my 2 yr old she has a personality the size of Texasand I do know its always easier when they arent yoursBut anyway today you made me feel unbelievablebeautiful and it was such a pleasure being on theother side of the camera. I am usually far from happy/

comfortable in my own body but you made things soeasy!!! I am sooooooo excited and will wait in anticipation

o see the nal images. so hoping there is a good one

of the girls and I they were such troopers for comingwith me!!!Thanks again. and sorry for the rambeling email I amtill giddy for the expierence!!!

Kelly


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Mariana MartinisGlyph Creative Stud

www.glyphny.coBrooklyn, NY

Lisa CucharaBREA PhotosHamden, CT

Husband and Wife Team, checkhttp://breaphotos.blogspot.com/

Stephanie FaustFine Photography By Stephanie

Roslyn, NY

Jessica Higgwww.sialiaphotography.

Bobbe RothenbergBobbe Rothenberg Photographywww.bobberothenberg.com

mariana martinis

mariana martinis


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Summertimeby Tisha McCuiston http://www.tishamccuiston.c


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all those things myself as well! Aimingfor the earlier or later sessions really doeshelp keep the session rolling on alongand the temperature and sun in check.

Session Prep:Be sure to advise your client to bring

a cooler with waters/bottlesetc... Taking breaks for momto nurse in the shade or a airconditioned car can help aswell. I always carry sunscreenand bug spray in my car aswell. If we are shooting in a

eld or wild life/grassy area Ireally want to be aware of the ticks andother creepy crawlies. In my years ofshooting I have had my share of ticksand even stepped on a snake once.You just have to be very aware ofoutdoor settings, especially withbabies. They are naturally curious andit is our job to not endanger them for

Summertime! In Virginia, this time of yearhave to contend with any number of

hurdles within any given session. Theheat, the sun, freak thunderstorms andeven the occasional hurricane since I

also shoot at the beaches of the OuterBanks of NC.

The choices are: either take offthe Summer so I dont have todeal with these things or learnhow to work around them.

choose the latter. Once

again practicing, practicing,practicing my way to better portraits.Many times I have heard professionalphotographers giving the argumentthat natural light photographers doso because it is easy. So far fromthe truth. Now yes, anyone can shootoutside. But producing consistentportraits on a bright sunny, 100-de-

gree-in-the-shade day is just not thateasy. There are several things that I doto deal with the summer and ensure aquality product for my clients.

Time of Day:For the Summer months I really do try tosteer my outdoor clients towards 9amor 5:30pm session times. The light is

beautiful those times of the day! Inreality, though, the heat is really mybiggest concern while working withchildren this time of year. If a child is toowarm a few things happen- They getgrumpy, red/purple/blotchy cheeks,and they are basically miserable. I get

Be sure toadvise yourclient to bringa cooler withwaters/bottlesetc...


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the sake of the shot.

If you own a phone with theability to keep up with the weather Istrongly advise adding the WeatherChannel application to your phone. Ieven have applications for the oceantide chart and another for sunrise andsunset times on my phone. Love them!

Angles of the sun:So we have all heard it over andover...nd open shade. Now this

can be good advice and bad if doneincorrectly. Often I see photographersplace folks under a tree but forget toreally look at the speckles the sunis leaving on the clients face. Justbecause you have found a tree doesntmean it is the best location. Often I willstand my client in front of me and circlearound them till I see the shadows drop

on their face. I want to see an evenshadow come across their face or if it issunset, full sun on the face is ne. I just

try to keep the light as even as possible.

Shooting on the beach has to be oneof the most challenging session typesout there. Hiding from the sun is justnot an option most days. Trusting the

back of your camera to give you anhonest exposure reading, hard as well.

Taking the time to research the bestlocations can really help give you abetter chance at a fantastic client

session. I primarily shoot in and arounpiers or at sunset for client sessions tensure they I will give them consistenportraits as well as keep the peopin the background on the beach ta minimum by shooting early hours oafter prime sun/swimming hours.

Reection:

Many photographers use reectors t

add light to a subject but have yonoticed how things reect naturally? Tputting a fair skinned child in the graand they instantly turn green! Typicalif I have a very fair child I will try to n

a piece of sidewalk or a porch. Something that will reect up onto their facin a complimentary tone. Sand anwater are also phenomenal reecto

that can really add a ton of light ontyour subjects face.

At the end of the day the key to beina successful outdoor portrait photographer is learning how light works, reec

and shadows. Practice using exposur

and nd your way around your camersettings. Now go shoot!


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LEARN from HOME

Our TAoPaN forum is

dedicated to pregnancy

and newborn and involve

students from around theworld. Join us in our 24/7

online forum where we

discuss marketing, images

lighting, sales and more.

All dedicated to

photography fromPregnancy to the rst 5

years of childhood.

USE code taopan to get

$50.00 off our lifetime

membership.www.theartofpregnancyandnewborn.co

My husband and I are cyclists and we

were riding the other week and wepassed this sunower eld. It was one ofhose moments when you just know you

have to go back...its a feeling. Anyway...Igot the address, reveresed looked up thephone number, called the house the next

day and WOW what a story from there...The couple is expecting their rst child in 5

weeks. The wife answered the phone when

called and she was so nice when I told herhat I wanted to take my 4 kids pictures in her

eld. She then said to me Is there anywaycould ask you to do me a favor? I just had

my pictures made at the beach but theydid not offer a bare belly shot and I REALLYwant some (at least one) and would reallyke one in the sunower eld. Could you

do those for me? You know what I said...

ight? Her pictures are AWESOME... I havedone several different clients since ...haveo cram them in since the owers dont

ast too long and it is sooo hot (95 degreesafter 8pm here ) and VERY little rain. Andyou know what else she wants.....newbornphotos..... I feel like our paths were meanto cross....we have become friends and all

because I rode by her sunower eld and

was able to get the photo that she wantedand she was able to give me the photo thathave always wanted.....Cool story I think!

Thanks,

Angela Krolwww.angelakrolphotography.com

My MARKETINGStory


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salon but con-tinued workingin the businessfull time andstarted reallyadvertising formy photography business.

When did you rst start working with

pregnancy women?

In 2003 when I was pregnant with mydaughter I got a phonecall from awoman that was looking for Bellypictures. She had called 6 othephotogs before me and no one would

Student Spotlight :

Nylora BruleighWhen did you start taking pictures?My dad gave me my rst SLR when I was11 years old and I have always beenthe one to take all the family pictures.In 1999 I started photographing friendsfor little side money. I was a full timehairdresser at the time. Then in 2001

I opened a 2000 sf hair salon with 2partners and it was the rst time I had

actual studio space to shoot in.I started offering before and afterpictures of women that would come infor makeovers. My business quickly grewfrom referals for weddings and familyportraits. in 2003 I sold my part of the hair-


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What do you love most about

pregnancy-newborn photography?

The thing I love most about Prenatal aNewborn photography is that everyois happy when they come in! They acelebrating LIFE and LOVE and whis greater than those 2 things? Mwomen that come in for prenatal session are LOVING thbodies. Knowing that they atrusting me to create beautiful imag

of them during this special time fegreat! I love capturing the emotand the loving relationship betwe

do it for her! So she came to me andwe had a blast! That night at dinner

I told my husband that this is what Iwas going to specialize in! We cameup with the name Bellies and babieshad a banner made up for our windowand the phone calls started comingin. In 2005 I gave up hairdressing alltogether and went FULL TIME intoBellies and Babies! We celebrated 7years of Bellies and babies this

past March!

Tell me about you personally.

I am married and we will becelebrating our 11th anniversary inAugust. I have two children. My Sonwill be 16 this week (previousmarriage) and my daughter justturned 7 on the 18th! We live inConcord, NH. I bought my home17 years ago this August. Weput an addition on our housein 2003 so that I couldhave my studio here andbe at home with mydaughter. It was theperfect set up andremains to be (fornow).


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what has been most useful?

My most favorite thing that I havegotten from TAoPaN is the MarketingCalendar! That is something that I had

needed for a long time and justnever had time to do! All I had todo was ll in my special events for

marketing and I was done! Thanks Ana!My biggest advice to someone thatwants to specialize in prenatal andnewborn photography is to focus onvery specic places that you advertise

and do it BIG! In other words, if you

decide you want to advertise in thelocal newspaper make sure the adruns on the same page as the birthannouncements (not on the sportspage). If you want to cross marketwith another business make it a veryspecic area. Some examples ofthis are a Florist- include a certicate

Mom and Dadat this time ofheir lives! Then

when they bringheir newborn in I

get to hear thetories of labor and

meet this little one

hat they wereonly dreaming ofwhen I met themhe rst time. I love

getting to knowhese families

because then Ican be morecreative with

each session andn c o r p o r a t e

pieces of themn their portraits.Knowing that Iam creating an heirloom imageor album that they will have topass on to these children whenhey are adults is exciting to me.

Why did you join TAoPaN?

The reason i joined TAoPaN is becasue Ieel it is important to invest in educationhat is specic to my market. This

Forum specically addresses Prenatal

and newborn portraiture, marketing,and advertising which is what Ipecialize in. Also, being that I am on

he East Coast and we are known tobe 10 years behind behind the WestCoast I have gotten great ideas thathavent hit this area yet. This keeps meway ahead of my competition. I LOVETHAT!

What have you learned the most, or


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OBGYN ofces. We are currently in 3

the city. The thing with these is that y

display your work on the walls, have tdocs give out certicates as a gfrom them (at the 6 or 7 month cheup) so they have time to schedule wyou before the baby arrives, but MOimportantly is to photograph everyoin the ofce and hang those images

the ofce as well! The number one

that we have has 3 framed images

with the purchase of any bouquetthat will be delivered to a new mom

at the hospital that is denitly yourtarget market! Maternity/baby/childclothing stores, Mothers Groups they have these for everything NewMoms, Mothers of Multiples, birthingclasses, etc. Again keep it very specic!I have had so many marketingideas that have worked well! MyFavorite and biggest is at my local


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course I will be using lots of expecta

moms and children in those piecesneed the artistic/creative work in mlife to make me stretch my imaginatiand inspire me for my everydawork. I get bored very easily aneed to keep things fresh! I love beia photographer because it is m

creative outlet and I love know thI am giving a gift to people that thwill have forever to remember special time or person in their livPeople, babies, children all grow achange and if I can capture that timof their lives that means something mom and dad or the grandparenand know that the image I captu

will remind them of that time whenI know I have done my job whthey come to pick up their portraand they start to cry I LOVE th

his family and kids above the book casethat he stops at with each patient on theway out of the ofce. Women ALWAYS

comment to him about the images andthat opens the door about me! We getup to 5 referals from his ofce a week!

My least favorite marketing idea is anyidea that I dont put alot of thoughtinto. I tend to get excited about

ideas that I come up with and havebeen known to jump in blindfoldedand those are the ones that dont

always work out. Someone will nd aloophole and milk it for all it is worth.SO Plan, Plan, Plan! As I said before

Anas Marketing Calendar ROCKS!

What are your future plans?In 5 years my goal is to be holding artshows of my ne art work. That is the

direction I would like to go and of

Nylora Bruleigh CPP, A.C.603.223.41

www.PhotographyByNylora.cowww.BelliesAndBabiesPhotography.co

www.RealKidsBlog.co


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THE

Julie Rollinswww.julierollinsphotography.com

PerfectSHOTThis shot is my perfect shot thus because of what I had to do to gto this shot. I was wanting this shot wthis bed for a while and to be hone

after I nailed the shot I started crying


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from Marshalls. I am always on the hunt

for any kind of new prop and the night

before the shoot I was out shopping

and came across this rug. My studio issmall, so so I always shut off the air prior

to the baby coming in. I keep the

area where the baby is very warm

and I have my white noise machine

positioned right next to the babies head.

I have a heater blowing right there near

the baby and keep the heater set at

90 degrees. Once the baby is cozy

and warm enough that is when I start

positioning them. I do spend a great

deal of time making sure I pay attention

to the details. I have a mental checklist

that I go through for positioning the

hands and feet etc... and before I start

shooting I want everything as perfectly

positioned as possible. Lastly for the

smile, this girl smiled off and on throughout the whole session. She was the best

sleepy smiley baby ever. Once she was

positioned on the bed I backed up and

was ready to start shooting. Just then

she started smiling HUGE and I nailed

the shot. After a few shots, I paused and

looked at the photos on my camera

and that is when I started to cry, I was

just so happy!!! After seeing me cry then

the mom started crying and it turned

into a huge love fest of crying and

laughing, this baby was just too cute!!!

of course was crying happy tears

because I felt like the journey to get

to this shot was worth it. I had this bed

custom made and shipped to me fromthis woodworker in Pennsylvania. I was

dying to use this bed. When I received it

I used it and later looked at the images

and realized I hated them. The blanket

wasnt smooth enough, I felt the

mattress was lumpy etc... For the next

week I was constantly thinking about

this bed and trying to gure out how

to get it to look how I wanted it. The

next week I was at my studio and my

assistant and I sat there guring out

the best way to make the bed look

picture perfect. The top blanket is from

Ikea and under that are two rolled

towels. On either end and in the

middle of the towels are rolled diaper

cloths. I wanted the babies bum higherin the air, so the back towel is a larger

roll than the roll in the front. After I

saw the end product I felt much more

comfortable with how the bed looked

and was excited to use it in my next

session. The backdrop was made by my

husband the night before the session, I

am always having him build me different

props and backdrops. He picked up

wood slats from Home Depot and laid

them at and across the back and he

laid a cross piece of wood and nailed

it all together. He then stained it and it

was done! The rug was a last minute nd Julie Rollinswww.julierollinsphotography.com


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Iget asked a lot how I get my newborns to sleso soundly and look so peaceful in their portraA lot of what I have learned I found in the bo

Happiest Baby on the Block which I HIGHrecommend reading, especially if you do nhave children of your own (well that and 23 yeas a mom). Its a great look at how a newboenvironment effects them so that you calter that environment to accomodate their neeand sensitivities. Here are a few things I do as w

1. Environment - I do not overheat my studio, inste

I have a heater that blows across them so that thstay wam, but the rest of us are not sweating lcrazy...this is particlarly important when the humidpicks up here in Texas. Many times I have another fblowing in the parents area that is to help keep thecooler. Remember, many moms who have just givbirth still have lots of hormones pulsing thru them atheir bodies are still working to heal, you dont want

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3. Keep them away from mom...sis the feeder! Babies can smell thmothers milk, and they know her voand scent. I tend to try and take the baas soon as they come in so that they not think its time to eat. Now what I do when I am working on trying to gthem to sleep is ask mom to bring in

blanket that she has recently held bain and I use that blanket to cover bawhile I try and get them to sleep. Itfamiliar scent and tends to calm the

4. Take your time! Its not a fast procat all. I allow 2-3 hours for newbornsthat there is no stress and parents not feel rushed and frustrated wh

their baby is not going right to sleeThis is part of the experience whicvital to return clients, they want to flike they just experienced someth

special, not just a trip to get pictudone.

5. Learn to swaddle and swoosh. Babtend to like to

bundled up so leato swaddle. You cGoogle How Swaddle a baby athere are diagraif you dont knhow. Shushing is tsound I make whbaby is falling aslee

They are used swooshing sounfrom being in twomb where all thhear is swooshiWhen swooshing, different temposome babys like

overheat them and you dont need to.

2. Noise is not the problem, abruptchanges in environment is the problem.In other words talking is ne, a sneeze in

the middle of that talking is an abruptchange and the baby startles. So whenparents bring in their babies for sleepy

pictures, I do not make it silent, in factjust the opposite I talk in a normal voiceso that the baby gets used to hearingme. Now some babies are just twitchy,in that case theres nothing you can dobut be patient and adapt.

Along this same line is touching thebaby. Babys tend to startle when you rst

touch them, because, again, its abrupt.So as soon as baby comes in, I takethem and start messing with them. Evenwhen they are asleep or Im talking tothe parents, I still pat them and mess withthem so they get used to it. That makesposing much easier because they arealready used to me messing with them.


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faster sh, sh, sh and some like a longershhhhhhh, shhhhhhh...etc (this is easierin person). If you can nd a machine

or recording that works for you, thatsgreat. I know Ana Brandt uses ablower in her studio because it makes theperfect sound to calm most babies,awesome!

6. Wait. Dont jump into posing andshooting as soon as their eyes close...give them a little time to get intogumby-mode where they are justclay in your hands. Yes it takes alittle more waiting time, but it makesa HUGE difference. The biggestcompliments I get from parents are how

patient I am with their baby...this builds

condence which also builds loya

7. If you dont LOVE babies...dont these! I hear people saying sometimthat they photograph newborns the money. I think thats a shamand I SWEAR they can tell.. newboare like wild animals, they smell fe

Newborns are long sessions aphysically hard work (when youre dothe session right!)...if you dont love theleave them to those of us who do

Try these things and take your timand youll nd a sweet little peace

face is your reward.

by Jennifer Turner, Cr. Photog.www.Jenniferturner.net


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Amy WadePHOTOGRAPHY

Amy Wade Photography(409) 782-1389 www.amywadephoto.co


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an assistant to handle packaging a

order checking free you up for additiosessions? If so, this is a great investmendemand for sessions allows it.

Instead of offering a discouoffer a offer a complimentary not-othe-price-list item instead. For examp

dont offer a $50 discount, instead offe$50 value item free. The perception is t

same savings, but the $50 item may ocost you $2-4, where as a $50 discoureduces your income by $50.

Take a second look at lab ordersminimize mistakes. If a mistake is madoffer the mis-printed image to your clieat a reduced rate which will cover tcost of the reprint.

Photography is a seasonal businessto some extent and as your businessgrows, your overhead will grow as well. Toeffectively plan for these month to monthexpenditures during slower months, it

s important to set up a great savingsplan. The key to nancial consistency in

your business is routinely nding ways toeduce expenses and time expenditures,

as well building up a savings accountduring more protable months to be

used in less busy times. Try to nd a wayo save money or put aside money everyday!

Here is a few ideas of what you can do:

Open a savings account that isattached to your business account thatyou can easily transfer money into. Athe end of every sale, transfer 5-15% ofhe total amount of your sale into this

account. Do this before anything else.TIP: ING has accounts that are easy toransfer money into but takes 3 days to

get money back out- no more impulsivehopping!

Review Vendor Pricing. Are yougetting the best prices on your products?Does volume warrant further discountsrom vendors?

Find time saving issues. Review yourworkow. Where are your bottlenecks? If

ts proong, perhaps outsourcing is most

convenient. Is it packaging? Will hiring

SAVING:Are you ready for success?


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Re-evaluate packaging. We havefound our shrink wrapper to be a greatnvestment! We shrink wrap all wall

portraits and also Holiday cards, pressprinted items and albums that are notboxed. The client can still see the item

without unwrapping and it looks veryprofessional and protects the image!

Put up a sign by check-out thatsays We gladly accept Visa,Mastercard, American Express and

Discover but prefer checks or cashOften times people will write a checknstead of paying with their check card,saving you merchant fees!

Write down each day what you did tosave money. Be consistent each dayand you will see your cash ow improve!

Joy Vertz owns Shoot the MoonPhotography http://www.stmphoto.com and does private business mentoringand workshops http://workshops.stmphoto.com. She also helpeddevelop ProPhotoApps http://www.ProPhotoApps.com custom brandedPhone/iPad apps for photographers. In6 years, Joy has grown Shoot the Moon

Photography from a home-based studioto a high end boutique style studio with2 locations and 15 employees that hasbeen named Top Photography studion Milwaukee for 2007, 2008 and 2009.


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About the MagazineTAoPaN means The Art of Pregnan

and Newborn. In 2007 Ana self publish

a book called, The Art of Pregnancy a

Newborn. This 80 page book goes ov

posing, tips, marketing andmore - all on pregnancy

and newborn. As a

result of this book,

Ana has been

providing in person

workshops, mentoring

and an online forum in

which students from

all over the world

can receive

guidance,

support

and materials

for running their

business. To learn

more about Ana and the TAoPaN site, vi

www.theartofpregnancyandnewborn.co

www.anabrandt.com

www.bellybabylove.com.


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Writers/Contributors

Shellie Secretanwww.tntphotography.ca

Tisha McCuiston Photographywww.tishamccuiston.com

Julie Rollinswww.julierollinsphotography.com

Joy Vertzwww.stmphoto.com

www.stmworkshops.com

Nylora Bruleighwww.PhotographyByNylora.com

www.BelliesAndBabiesPhotography.com

www.RealKidsBlog.com

S P O N S O R S

TAoPAN Magazine Designed by:

Documents

TAOPAN Volume I Issue 6 - August 2010