I'm just a mom with a DSLR that wants to do her own holiday photos this year!
Got any tips for me?
I know I should take photos when she's nice and full, use natural light if possible. I do have a tripod.
In particular I want to try and get her with colored Christmas lights around her. Yes from Pinterest! I'm a little uncomfortable wrapping her in electrical wire so I might just have it laying around her. Any tips for capturing the lights?
Thanks!
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
favoriting this!! I was just thinking about what we'll do for our Christmas cards...
I did find this post that was helpful: http://www.kevinandamanda.com/whatsnew/tutorials/photography-tutorial-a-quick-guide-to-understanding-your-digital-slr-camera.html
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@Coco Bee: Thanks! I got a couple DIY tips pinned on Pinterest if you're interested.
BTW the bottom image is the one I'm hoping to recreate:
http://www.amytripplephotography.com/blog/2011/11/november-already-chicago-baby-photographer/
But I'm going to use multi colored lights!
squash / 13764 posts
@regberadaisy: oh my gahh between the cute baby and the cute puppy those pics are making me melt! 
Love the twinkle lights pictures, definitely want to do something similar this year. Also, I usually never recommend the bump for anything because the gals there can be bishes, but the photography forum is actually helpful for constructive criticism if you post your photo and camera settings.
hostess / watermelon / 14932 posts
I pinned the twinkle lights picture too! I also am going to favorite this post to revisit in a few months I only have a canon digital elph, not a dslr, but I'm still gonna try!
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
We did naked baby pics with white lights.. Round, small plastic lights. Will look for the pics and send to you!
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
Here was one of her holiday photos from last year. I sat her in the bumbo (covered with a white blanket) and then sat her in front of the tree. I think we turned off all the other lights in the house.
Edit - She is sitting in her BUMBO seat. She was only 4 months old here.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@sorrycharlie: I'm thinking of "setting up" with the Christmas lights and just keep testing different settings on my camera till I get it right before doing it with the baby in the pic! hehe
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
OMG the dog and baby. Dogs and babies make me swoon. The lights picture is amazing, too.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@mediagirl: haha - I would LOVE to get a pic of the pup with baby. But I don't think she'll sit still long enough....the dog that is!
cantaloupe / 6164 posts
how old is your daughter? is she sitting up on her own?
make sure you set up next to the brightest place in your home. next to a large window or sliding glass doors would be perfect, but make sure there are no harsh shadows. as a novice, you're going to get better results if you take a well lit, bright image instead of trying to recreate the darkness of your inspiration photo. in order to get the proper exposure and the baby lit the right way like in the inspiration you have to have a pretty thorough understanding of your camera. reading up on metering will help!
i love this shoot with christmas lights: http://www.carolinetran.net/blog/2009/12/bay-area-baby-photography-chang-family/. it's well-lit, which will be easier for you to recreate at home. i also love the way she hangs the lights in the background and has baby playing with lights in the foreground. so cute!
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@photojane: ahhh omg so cute!! Now I need to find a cute hat! haha
She's almost 4 months now so by the time I take pics she'll be 7 months old so she should be sitting by then.
Thanks for the tips!
cantaloupe / 6164 posts
@regberadaisy: speaking of hats, i'm a little obsessed with these reindeer hats on etsy! http://www.etsy.com/listing/86254125/baby-hat-reindeer-hat-baby-reindeer-hat?ref=sr_gallery_11&ga_search_query=reindeer+baby+hat&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=ZZ&ga_min=0&ga_max=0&ga_search_type=all
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
ahh how perfect would that be? I'm actually planning on getting her a cute crochet hat for the winter anyway so it'll serve double duty
BTW I 
caroline tran, loved her when searching for a wedding photographer. Really like the white photo better, goes with my style better. Especially since I'm planning on designing my own holiday cards.
bananas / 9357 posts
Pinning these holiday photos for inspiration!
@photojane: That reindeer hat is so cute! I want one now.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
I just found these. SO COOL
http://www.sarakiesling.com/actions/#
It is a photographer who sells her photoshop "actions" so you can post-process your pictures all pretty-like without having to have much knowledge of photoshop!
cantaloupe / 6164 posts
@Coco Bee: the pioneer woman has free actions for photoshop and elements. she has two sets that are pretty great. i'm a professional and i use her b&w beauty for all of my black and white portraits!
ETA: here's the link: http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/2010/03/actions-update-2/
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
@photojane: no way!! OMG LOVE. So happy I have hellobee to my rescue. I seriously was thinking about spending $30 for 16 actions lol
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
Found some more! THANK YOU Pinterest 
http://www.thecoffeeshopblog.com/p/coffeeshop-actions-and-presets.html
cantaloupe / 6164 posts
@Coco Bee: oh yeah.. i completely forgot about coffeeshop! the perfect portrait action is great.
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