Adoption Day

CASE STUDY #45 Adoption Day

CAMERA: Canon D30 LENS: 24–105mm at 50mm

ISO: 100

EXPOSURE: f/19 at 1 / 180 second

LIGHTING: Profoto 800ws pack with one Profoto octagonal softbox

Assignment I photographed my daughter, Metika, for our adoption notice.

Visual Objective I wanted to capture Metika’s beauty within the context of her birth country, Nepal. So she was dressed up in a top from Bali with a scarf over her head.

The Story I had just finished a session the previous day of portraits on black, so I decided to keep the setup. My daughter had never been professionally photographed, so I first photographed my son, Makhesh, so Metika could watch and get used to the process. Then we put them together on the set, which didn’t go very well.

So, I pulled my son out of the frame and tried all my kid-tested tricks to get her attention. It was going pretty well, for a two-year-old, until we decided to put the scarf on her head. She immediately started taking it off, but I kept shooting.

It was an exhausting session and I wasn’t sure I had captured anything good. Then, I processed the images in Adobe Lightroom and, to my relief, saw this image. It was unexpected, but it worked. to create a secure and comfortable environment. For instance, I have found that placing a thin foam pad under the baby keeps them in place (or at least softens the tumble). I also play soft classical music to stimulate their senses.

Tips When photographing babies and toddlers you need to have patience and be ready at all times. You also have

medium softbox for main light

The lighting setup should also accommodate the child’s movement. One large softbox and a reflector card for fill works well. This allows the subject to move around on the set without any change in exposure.

Lastly, you need something to grab their attention. I ask the mother to bring in some of their favorite noise-making toys. When I want to attract the child’s attention, I simply raise the toy above the camera and squeeze, shake, or rattle and roll.

112 50 LIGHTING SETUPS FOR PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHERS