I am so thrilled to finally have an entire workflow set just for newborns! I love that MCP’s Newborn Photoshop actions set takes me start to finish and has everything under the sun relating to newborn editing. I love my newborn images to be bright, soft, and low contrast. My image started out a bit underexposed, so I started at the top of the action set with exposure and worked my way down to a final sharpen.
1. Increase exposure – 30% opacity
2. Sugar n Spice (Soft Color) – 50% opacity – Adds just a perfect tiny amount of contrast.
3. Peach Fuzz (peach tones) 30%, It’s A Girl (pink tones) – 20%, You Are My Sunshine (yellow tones) – 8%
4. Crying for Contrast – 40% – After applying the color tones, I felt the image just needed a little more contrast.
5. Paint on Red Baby Fix – 18% – Baby’s face was a bit red for my liking, so I “painted” baby’s face to tone down the reds.
6. Sharpen the Eyelashes – 35% – Love me some sharp, dark eyelashes.
7. Healing Brush for scratch and dry skin on arms
8. In My Dreams (spot color fix) – 50% – Baby’s cheeks were slightly red and splotchy, so I needed just a touch of this to remedy the blotches. It’s like a little, magic eraser 
8. Print Sharpie – 50%
Done! The image took me about 2 minutes to edit. SO fabulous.
9. Playtime (Golden B&W) – Of course I have to have all of my newborn images in black and white as well, so I ran Playtime, and unchecked the “golden” layer, as I loved this image without any color toning.
Jean Smith is a wedding, portrait, and commercial photographer in Michigan. You can find more of her work on her website, blog, or Facebook.
The winners of our contest are:
Grand Prize: The winner of the iPad 3 + 1 Year of Sticky Albums Pro is: Adrianne Sizemore (entry 1803)
The winners of $100 Gift Vouchers to StickyAlbums Pro are: Mark Jolly (entry 2205), Julie Worthy (entry 256), Claudia Muir (entry 1640), and Dawn of Kitchen Travels (entry 1469)
Everyone else: Through tomorrow, save $40 on StickyAlbums Pro by using the promotion discount code MCP40 at checkout.
Nate will be in touch with all the winners to let you know how to redeem your prizes. Congratulations!
Do you want to win The New iPad (AKA iPad 3)?
Thank you to StickyAlbums for putting together a prize package you won’t want to miss. StickyAlbums is relatively new to the scene, but is creating quite the buzz. They offer an easy way to create custom mobile photo albums for each of your clients – then your customers can save them right to their iPhones and iPads.
To celebrate their latest release, StickyAlbums founder Nate Grahek is giving away The New iPad to one lucky reader. In addition the grand prize winner and four others will get a $100 voucher to Sticky Albums.
The iPad really is like nothing else. And aside from looking at actual prints in a gallery – there is literally no other device better to display your images on. When presenting your portfolio, or showing a client their proofs for the first time, there is something to be said for doing it with an iPad.
Prize details:
How to enter the contest:
- Add a comment telling us how you would use The New iPad to promote your photography.
- Make sure you “LIKE” MCP Actions on Facebook. This is required for entry, but please do not add an additional comment for this.
Extra entries:
- Spread the word about StickyAlbums and this great giveaway, link to it at http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/2012/05/16/ipad3 (on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Stumble Upon, etc). For each social networking site where you post about it, add a comment on this post telling us where you shared.
- Visit StickyAlbums on Facebook: Leave a thank you note letting them know you are entering the New iPad Giveaway. Then come back and leave a comment confirming that you did.
- Create your first album FREE at StickyAlbums and leave a comment with the link to it.
- If you’ve bought StickyAlbums Pro now or in the past – leave a comment, for an extra entry, telling us how you are using StickyAlbums to grow your business.
Notes:
- If an existing StickyAlbums Pro member wins the $100 voucher – you will get it in cash (via paypal)
- If you win the iPad – Stickyalbums is going to cover the base model with 16GB | WiFi | $499 US dollar value | You will have the option to upgrade to other models at your own expense.
Winner will be announced:
- On our blog Sunday evening, 5/20/12. The winner will be selected by random drawing. And I will add the winner’s name to the top of this post.
Save $40 on Sticky Albums this week only by using the promotion code MCP40.
Do you ever wonder how newborn photographers get their newborns posed so nicely that they look peaceful?
1. Keep the baby warm:
Newborns have a difficult time regulating their own body temperature. To keep them comfortable with no clothing on it is important that you keep your studio warm. I keep my studio at 85F. I also warm my blankets in the dryer or with the heater fan prior to placing a newborn on them. If you choose to use a heater fan be sure to keep it far away from the baby so you don’t hurt their sensitive skin. If you are sweating during your session then you have it nice and warm for the baby and he/she will likely sleep more soundly.
2. Make it noisy:
The sounds in the womb are very loud and some say as loud as a vacuum cleaner. Newborns will sleep much more soundly if there is white noise in the room. During a newborn session I have two noise machines (one with rain, one with the sound of the ocean) as well as an app on my iphone for static white noise. I also play music in the background. I not only find it helpful for the baby but it also relaxes me as well as the parents. Being relaxed is key since babies will pick up on your energy.
3. Full belly equals a happy baby:
I always ask the newborn’s parents to try to hold off feeding their baby until they arrive at the studio. I have the parents feed their baby first prior to beginning the session. If the baby is happy when they arrive then I start with the family images and then have them feed their baby while I am setting up the beanbag. I also stop if needed during the session if the baby needs to eat some more. Babies with a full belly will sleep much more soundly.
4. Keep them awake prior to coming to the studio:
I always ask that parents try to keep their baby awake for 1-2 hours prior to coming in to the studio. A good way to have them do this is by giving their baby a bath. This is a great way for the babies to exercise their lungs a bit before coming and tire themselves out a bit. It also helps their hair to be nice and fluffy (if they have any!).
5. Time of day matters:
If at all possible I always schedule my newborn sessions for first thing in the morning. This is a time when most babies sleep more soundly. Afternoon can be very tricky as they approach the afternoon witching hour. Anyone who has kids can attest to the fact that kids of all ages tend to not be at their best as late afternoon approaches. It is the same for newborns.
6. Stay calm and relaxed:
Babies are very perceptive and can pick up on our energy. If you are nervous or anxious the baby will sense that and will not settle easily. If the baby’s Mom is anxious this can also affect how the baby does. I have two comfortable chairs placed behind me so that parents can sit back and watch while giving me enough space to work. I also offer them snacks, drinks and I have a stack of People magazines for them to read. I rarely have Mom’s that come over and hover but if they do I politely tell them that this is their chance to sit back and relax and enjoy.
7. Get them while they are young:
The best time to photograph a newborn is in the first fourteen days of life. During this time they sleep more soundly and curl up more easily into adorable poses. For babies that are born early and spend time in the hospital I try to get them into the studio within the first seven days of them being sent home. I don’t usually photograph babies younger then five days old since they are still working out how to feed and can often be very red or jaundiced. I have photographed babies as old as ten weeks and have been successful in getting newborn like poses. The key to photographing older babies is to make sure that they are kept awake for up to two hours prior to starting the session. I also make sure that the parents understand that there is no guarantee that they will get typical sleepy shots.
8. Take your time:
Newborn sessions can be quite time consuming so you should plan accordingly and educate the parents. If you are stressed about time the babies will sense that. My typical newborn session lasts at least three hours with some as long as four hours. It takes time to get newborns comfortably posed and sleeping soundly. It also takes time to perfect the little details like keeping their hands flat and fingers straightened.
9. Be safe:
Remember that although you are an artist and your goal is to capture an amazing image, at the end of the day this is someone’s precious new life that they have entrusted you with. No portrait is worth putting a baby at risk of getting hurt. Use common sense and always make sure to have someone VERY close by spotting the baby, even if the baby is on a beanbag. Be gentle and NEVER force a newborn into a pose. Make it a habit to always wash your hands well before starting the session, and make sure that all of your blankets are laundered after each use. Never ever photograph a newborn if you are ill, even with a common cold. Babies are very susceptible to infections, and it is our job to keep them safe.
10. Enjoy!
Newborn sessions are my favorite. What an amazing experience it is to hold a precious new life in your hands and be able to document all the precious details of these sweet little ones.
Memories by TLC (Tracy Callahan) is a fine art portrait studio specializing in newborns, young children and maternity sessions. Website | Facebook
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