Love / Hate

I have a love hate relationship with shooting newborns.  I hate them because they are so, so, so hard!  I love them because babies are so dang cute when they finally do fall asleep!  Here is what a lot of patience can get you:

Keys to getting these shots:

1)  Great light!  I shot these in my home office.  It has two big doors and gets amazing light.  It’s just a teeny tiny bit small.  I wish it were bigger so I could have shoots here all of the time!

2)  A HOT room.  A space heater placed not too far away and a heating pad was used to warm up the blanket in the top shot (put the blanket on the heating pad before shot was taken so it was warm and to avoid having to clone out the cord).  I placed the hammock in the dryer to warm it up before that shot.  Well, I also had to do that because he peed all over the hammock in attempt number one

3) A new baby.  I only shoot newborns in the first 10 days.  I’ve just had bad experiences after 10 days.  Liam was 8 days old in these shots.

4)  A very patient Mama and an even more patient photographer.  It pays to wait until the baby is really asleep.

By the way, this is my friend Jamie’s baby.  You’ll remember Jamie because I posted pictures of her baby shower here.  Liam was born on November 30th and was 8 lbs, 12 oz and 19.5 inches long!  BIG boy!  Congratulations, Jamie!  Liam is absolutely gorgeous and perfect and so much fun to photograph!  I hope he’s getting used to having a camera in his face because I will be there photographing all of his big moments for years to come!

Borrow Lenses Used Equipment Sale

I might be a little late posting this.  I got the email this morning that Borrow Lenses is having their annual used equipment sale, but I’ve been out shooting a cute newborn and haven’t had time to post  They  have some great equipment at great prices and I’ve told you all how I think buying used is great when you know where it’s coming from and how it’s been treated.  Check it out and see if you can buy yourself an early Christmas present!

I also got another email from Kelly this morning asking if I thought it was better to buy a new 50D or a used 5D from Borrow Lenses.  There are pros and cons to buying either of them.  I personally think the 5D is far superior camera to the 50D.  However, the new 50D will have a warranty on it while the used 5D won’t.  That’s a risk you have to be willing to take.  The shutter could fail tomorrow or you may never have a problem with it.  I would contact Borrow Lenses and ask them specifically how many clicks the 5D has on it (obviously the less clicks the better) and ask them if anything has been replaced on it.  That will give you a better idea of what you’re getting.  Personally, I would feel more comfortable buying lenses used versus camera bodies used.  Or if I were to buy a used camera body (which I have) I would buy it more for my backup camera than my primary camera.  However, I bought a used 20D way back in the day and have never had a problem with it, but it was only used as my backup body.