Tuesday's tips and tricks!

Okay, so this is my first tutorial on editing and I didn’t do the font a good size, so I am going to re-type it here so you can see it better!

Before I get into editing tips for this shot, I want to discuss the importance of SAFETY when doing newborn sessions.

Many new photographer’s don’t know that some poses are called composite shots (two pictures morphed into one) and/or that a mom’s hand/finger was photoshopped out!  If you see a baby hanging from something and it looks as if they are floating/really hanging, most likely (and hopefully) it was done similar to what I did with this shot.  Also, if you see a baby resting it’s head in it’s hands, that is a composite shot and the mom/dad/assistant holds the head and then the wrists and then the photographer uses magic in photoshop to make it look real

A little note to you momma’s:

Mom’s, when you are searching for a newborn photographer, make sure you find a reputable one.  Not one who has had no experience/training.  Your baby’s not meant to be a guinea pig for a new photographer to play with.  So, look at their portfolio and see how many babies they have photographed.  Ask them if they have been trained or how long they have been doing newborns!  This will help you in deciding if you want that person to take your baby’s pictures.  I know we all start somewhere and new photographers who want to work with newborns need experience, but I suggest you shadow someone and learn first!  Also, mom’s, during the session if you feel that the photographer is not putting your child’s safety first, SPEAK UP!  Some people, myself included, don’t like saying things that make other’s uncomfortable, but when your baby’s life is at stake, it’s not something to be shy about.  Tell that photographer you aren’t comfortable and he/she should back off from that pose.

Okay, back to the tips for photographers
So, what have I been saying? Safety is key!!  NEVER hang a baby from anything without a mom/assistant near by AND without something soft underneath in case the worst case scenario happens.

I should’ve taken a picture with my wide angle lens so you could see the whole situation, but the mom was standing directly to the left of the baby, holding the sling.  The bean bag is directly under the baby by about 4-5 inches.  I would say these two things are a MUST if trying to do this shot.

So first, this picture above is pretty  much SOOC.  I adjusted the red in the baby/picture and ran portraiture (I created an action for it).

Then I got the magic wand tool and selected the background. I wanted the whole background selected, so I held down the SHIFT key (you’ll see a plus sign by the curser) and clicked on the area’s I wanted selected.  You can also delete with the option key (I think it’s the option key) if you selected an area you didn’t need.

So, in the above picture you might be able to see that the background is selected (I cleaned it up a little more around the fingers).  I selected the eye dropper tool and picked a light color in the blanket behind the baby.

Then, I used the paint bucket and brush to fill it all in.

Make sure you ZOOM in to see all the details.  Sometimes the magic wand makes hard ridges and you need to clean it up.  I made a background copy and masked out the bad areas.  I also used the clone tool to fill in spaces.

So, now the whole background is one color!

I finished with dodging the edges (making them darker) and burning the middle area slightly (lightening).

And voila!

I hope you enjoyed my first “Tuesday’s Tips and Tricks!”

I love teaching and helping others!  If you have any other questions let me know!

Liana

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