Peek-a-Boo!

Hurray, I got to take my first baby pictures! Or my first proper baby pictures I should say, as the stuff I do for school photography with 30 seconds per family doesn't quite count.

I find photographing children is always a challenge and a laugh. It can be very frustrating but is always exciting as you never know what to expect. I just got a new assistant, who's been very useful so far:

I find that the best thing to do is always to try and keep calm. Young children often don't understand why their parents and everyone else are acting funny and it can make them a bit tense. How many times have I heard things like 'Come on, give us a smile' said in an agitated, almost angry way, creating the opposite reaction as what you're trying to achieve. If I've got time, I find that the best way to deal with non-cooperative children is just to ignore them and take photos of their parents or toys on their own. That usually bring them back. So, here's a few shots of what I did yesterday, using a low-key setting (black background), a soft box and a spill kill:

And for a little bit of inspiration, I would recommend having a look at the work of Sally Mann, that I find absolutely beautiful, as controversial as it is: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2010/may/29/sally-mann-raw-material#/?picture=363062442&index=0