A Newborn Session: Meet Luke + What I Learned

Legend has it that if the Mama eats the famous eggplant parmesan at Scalini's Fine Italian Restaurant she'll go into labor within 48 hours.  Earlier this summer I went with a friend and it worked. 

All Luke needed was the reservation.

Born 5 days before his due date and the day before our Scalini's reservation, weighing in just under 8 pounds 11 ounces, we are so excited to have another nephew and a cousin for Evie on the Buergler side.  She is already in love with her little "uke"

Leeann asked if I'd take a few pictures of him and I couldn't help but do a full blown newborn photo shoot. I was desperate for the experience and opportunity.

Their house is rather idyllic for a photo shoot  They have everything within the 1500 square feet of their house: large patio with green yard, brick wall, and natural lit seating areas with great textured and patterned fabrics.  

Of course their classic style and adorable baby are just icing on the cake.

I learned a lot with this session. (And more than just how badly I want a new baby!)

Technically Speaking:

• RAW is my friend!
• The great Catch-22:  Is the shot worth it over 1600 ISO? Several of the shots are super pixelated 
• The Tamron AF 17-50mm F/2.8 SP XR Di II VC
  was the best investment I've made in a long time. I was able to get many of these in a super narrow or tight area because of the wide angle. The f/2.8 makes for a great group portrait lens too!
• The built-in flash + Lightscoop has served my $20 well, but it's time to upgrade to a real external flash. The recycle time on the built-in flash is so slow I missed several great shots.
   

Subject Matter:

• Ideal time for newborn shots really is that 10-day window. At 13 days Luke was past the yummy scrunchy phase.
• Newborn shots really do take 2-3 hours:  nurse, burp, diaper change, pose / snooze, repeat
• Now I know why no one does newborn shots while the baby is awake. WONKY NEWBORN EYES!  They don't focus, and sometimes both eyes aren't looking the same direction. This is super creepy in photographs.