Damon Benjamin Soler, born 29 March 2011
For a while now I have been talking about my son and how I have not put that much time on my photography and other projects. As a photographer I would not hesitate too much to take photos of unknown people and publish them. Just like Farris Smith playing Jazz in Paris or some of the other street photos I took. But taking a photo of my own son, or wife or a great friend is a whole other matter. Now those photos need to be perfect.
And I am still a long shot from having a perfect photo of Damon. I keep looking at Anne Geddes photos and wonder how in the world she does it. Get the baby in the cutest positions and take a perfectly well lit image it’s quite an art.
Yesterday as it was getting really hot in Paris (see my tweet on that) and Damon wasn’t going to be wearing any pyjamas, I took this photo of him on our bed. It’s pretty good, but it’s not perfect. However it’s straight out of the box, only work done on it is a crop.
The light source is pretty good, it’s a large window on his right facing east so no direct sunlight in the evening in a very dark room. It’s a little under-exposed on the left, but I actually quite like that so am keeping it that way.
Voila world, here is Damon he was born in Paris on March 29th, 2011 and is celebrating his three month birthday very shortly. A big step for him and a big step for us. We’re happy to have him in our family and he seems just as happy to be there.
Photo Tip:
Babies are cutest when they are sleeping. Try and shoot when they are sleeping and you’ll get some amazing images.
Martin Soler Photography 
Lovely photo of a beautiful baby. You’re right about babies being cutest when they’re asleep. A lot of Anne Geddes photos look like someone drugged the baby, dressed him up like a toy rabbit, and stuck him in a giant eggshell. A friend of mine who watched her cousin (professional photographer who specializes in that kind of baby photo) said that one of the most important props is a huge sheet of white formica. That’s how she gets the all-white background that makes the baby seem to float. Bright lighting is also a mainstay. A good time is right after they’ve nursed, when they’re feeling drowsy.
Congratulations on your new son!
Congrats first off! A new father myself have been inspired to shoot my little one. What I’ve discovered is that it takes about 20 shots to get 1 good one. They’re always on the move. You’ve got great lighting on this shot and it’s movement free! Here are some of mine to maybe help inspire. Cheers!
http://www.bfhstudios.com/blog/red-afghan-27/
http://www.bfhstudios.com/blog/145-days/
Brian – you must be an incredible photographer if you have a 20:1 “good shot” ratio. For me, it’s more like 100! 🙂
Beautiful picture !
Pingback: My Baby portrait, Damon Soler
Cute and beautiful baby, the light makes his eyes look wonderful. Taking baby’s photograph is not easy, I have to be super patient to get the good result, But it’s worthy, it will become treasure for our family.
Pingback: Bauhaus, Dessau – where it all began | Martin Soler Photography