May
28
2014
Zoey is a miracle. She was delieved at just 25 weeks gestation when her mother was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia and HELLP Sydrome.
Zoey weighed just 1 pound and 4.5 ounces. She was in the NICU for almost 3.5 months. This is her actual newborn picture.
By the time I photographed Zoey she was almost 4 months old and at 41 weeks gestation. She had been released from the NICU about 1 week prior to our session. Greenville SC Preemie Baby Photography does not often occur in the tradition first 3 week period of newborn photography. These little miracles require their own timetables.
She weighed just 6 pounds and 1 ounces. She was full of Joy: the experience of good in the midst of suffering. Zoey Joy smiled at me: a miracle made possible by modern medicine and brave NICU staff.
Photographing preemie’s presents additional challenges to the photographer, the first of which is safety. These babies have weak immune systems. What a photographer thinks is just a touch of cold could be a dangerous virus called RSV that would produce life threatening consequences for their weak lungs.
I never take preemie’s into the studio unless my whole family is free of sickness and I always wash and then sanitize my hands before touching a preemie. If I’m sick, I’ll happily refer any newborn clients to an alternate photographer with availability.
Preemie’s are also past the 0-14 day stage we like to refer to as “womb memory.” Womb memory is the extra flexibility in a baby’s joints from being so recently tucked inside his mother. Womb memory coupled with a newborn’s propensity for sleep, allows newborn photographers to pose the babies all those curly positions.
Preemie’s don’t have womb memory and are far less flexible. They also possess more strength than a newborn due to chronologically being older. Finally, many preemies are sensitive to excessive touch. So posing a preemie is a delicate matter of trial and error to see which positions are comfortable for them. Zoey loved only a trio of the traditional newborn poses and we varied those up with different styling, blankets, and props.
Lydia and Micheal, thank you so much for sharing your precious miracle Zoey Joy with me. It was an honor to serve you during this season of celebration for your family.
If you just delivered a preemie or micropreemie, don’t hesitate to inquire about booking a session. I’m willing to attempt a newborn type session for any baby up to 45 weeks gestation. You deserve to celebrate your new little one.
Additionally, I’m happy to come out to the NICU and photograph a complimentary session so you can have professional images of your little ones brave first days.
May
07
2014This is the third installment in a series about choosing the best Greenville SC newborn photographer for your needs.
The first post talked about the minimum qualifications any newborn photographer should meet. The second post talked about the qualities you have that might make you a great match for me. This third post is going to show you how to judge a photographers work.
Why Should You Look at the Quality of Work?
There are four things you can discern by the images in a Greenville SC newborn photographer’s portfolio. Just from looking at their images, you can learn the photographer’s…
- skill with a camera and their retouching software
- skill posing a baby
- concern for the baby
- personal style of imagery
Today we’re going to talk about judging the photographers skill with the camera and retouching software. Next week, I’ll talk about the other three things you’ll be able to see in a photographer’s portfolio.
Skill with a Camera/Retouching Software
Are the images well exposed?
Exposure is the quality of capturing the world in the brightness that our eye sees. It’s partly a camera skill and partly a lighting skill.
Under-exposed is when an image is too dark with almost no light tones.
Over-exposed is when an image is too light with almost no dark tones.
A perfectly exposed image should have tones ranging from dark to light and looking very much like your eye would perceive the scene.
How Well is the Image Retouched Using Editing Software?
Photoshop (and other retouching software) can be a tricky subject. It can be used for dramatic effects such turning a piece of pizza into a super model, but more often it’s used for more minor things.
In newborn portraits editing software is used in the following ways.
- to remove red from the newborn’s skin to make it look creamy
- to remove blemishes and peeling skin
- to create the Photoshop Magic that results in those images would be unsafe for baby.
- to apply the photographers own effects that give them their signature style
- to smooth the remaining baby weight from the mother’s middle or face
An Image Case Study
Here’s a little case study. Zoey didn’t have a whole lot of blemishes, but she does have a raspberry angel kiss on her forehead. I personally leave these sort of marks unless asked to remove them. I’m not going to subject any of my mothers to pre-Photoshop scrutiny (because most of them didn’t know I’d done it!), however, every other type of edit was done on this image.
Post-processing can be not done at all, done tastefully, or overdone. It’s easy to see when an image has hand nothing done to it, but it’s not always so easy to see an over processed image so I’ll give you an example. The following image has had too many skin corrections applied making the baby almost orange and washed out and the skin texture looking like a Barbie doll. The range of contrast in the original image has been removed.
Compared to the original, we can see that the over-processed image hides the rich contrast/details and makes the baby look plastic.
I hope that you’ve learned a bit about judging your potential newborn photographers skill with her camera and her retouching software from this post. I’ll be covering the three other areas that you should judge a photographer’s work by in a later post.
If you love what you’ve seen of my work and would love to work with me, contact me today to get your due date on my calendar!
Mar
12
2014As your Greenville SC Baby Photographer, I want your baby to be the focus of images. Therefore, I’ve filled my space with a collection of props to meet that goal.
A session with Quiet Graces provides access to all of these props. However, clients often choose to bring a few special heirloom pieces such as grandmothers Christening gown, the quilt great grandma made, the 5 generation old bassinet, or the hat auntie knitted. I’m happy to photograph these special pieces for you to remember in addition to photographing your favorite props from the studio.
Hats and Props for Greenville SC Baby Photographer
I keep to a color scheme of mostly neutral creams, browns, beiges, and gray to keep the focus on your baby. I’m slowly adding a few purples, mauves, and peachs for girls. I’m adding some olives and navy for boys. Most hats are simple bonnets and the occasional beanie style. For girls, I have some tie back headbands as well. Most of these were hand knitted while watching NCIS with my husband. Those that I did not make, I will link to the shop where I purchased them in case you’re interested in supporting their businesses.
Hats and Tiebacks for Girls
Braided Tieback: Newborn Size
Read More»Feb
26
2014I turned 30 on January 9th of this year. To celebrate, my kiddos and I ran around town and did 30 random acts of kindness inspired by Ann Voskamp.
We bought someone’s coffee at the Starbucks drive through.
Gave away books to screaming toddlers at Target.
Left quarters and soap at the laundry.
Left sidewalk chalk at a playground.
Visited the fire department and police dispatchers and handed out candy.
And so much more.
My girls most loved pushing carts back to Hobby Lobby and leaving dollar bills for unsuspecting kiddos at the Dollar Tree.
But my favorite moment was heading up to Labor and Delivery unit and asking those sweet nurses who delivered my boy to give away a session for me.
Meet Lilyana, my birthday twin with the most beautiful hair and the sweetest parents I have ever met. I was so blessed by giving them this gift. This session, for me, was clearly affirming for my decision to be a Greenville SC Natural Newborn Photographer. My reason for preserving with this business is photographing these babies at their tiniest and giving tired moms and dads the gift of memory.
Feb
13
2014A Greenville SC Sleepy Newborn Photographer need lots of patience. Sometimes babies just don’t want to sleep.
Nine day old Nick was just content to stare at me and my big black box for a long time. He never cried during his session. Yet, he didn’t want to sleep for a long time.
But eventually, with patience, little ones always sleep. Nick first drifted off in this cozy little bowl.
And after a feeding he finally settled down to rest. Newborn sessions always run by the baby’s schedule and I follow their cues. As always, the portrait below is a bit of Photoshop Magic. Daddy’s hands never left his little boy.
My favorite images from this session are the family portraits. I love the tenderness of new love most; all those emotions surrounding this new little one.
D family, I truly enjoyed getting to know you. Nick is an adorable little guy and I look forward to watching him grow over the next year!
