4 reasons why I hired a photography mentor
Today we’re talking about mentoring and coaching as a newborn photographer!
Here are 4 reasons why I believe continued training and professional development is still required, 7 years into (and beyond) my business and why I will always keep learning every day.
Workflow:
Improving the workflow of a newborn session is important for the most comfortable and quick session for your bub. The idea is to keep stimulation to a minimum, by not having to ‘over-handle’ your baby. By having a well-planned workflow for how your session will go, and which poses/props your baby will be placed/posed in or on, means your session is as efficient as possible, making it easier on bub and easier on you as new parents.
2. Camera angles:
To keep up my most professional service possible and final results, it’s not just about posing your baby into a cute position. I also need to be able to capture your baby from the right angle to create a photograph that reflects your baby as they are right now.
A cute pose photographed from an unflattering angle isn’t much good for a professional baby photographer, so knowing the best angles to capture your baby is just as important as lighting, posing and wrapping your baby for beautiful portraits.
3. Improving baby wrapping skills:
You can have all the best gear and equipment, all the most beautiful and expensive props and wraps, but if you don’t know how to use them, what good was it to spend all that money?
Having a great camera and all the right props and knowing how to safely and beautifully pose a baby is fantastic, but your wrapping and styling can bring the level of ‘polish’ and ‘finesse’ down a few notches, very easily.
Now, my wrapping skills aren’t super pro, so I knew this was an area for tremendous growth and learning, for me to be able to elevate my skill level to a more professional level.
It takes fresh eyes, new techniques and lots of practice to get it all right in camera - including baby wrapping!!
4. Lighting angles:
This was definitely an area I wanted a professional eye to look over my studio setup. As much as I have confidence is knowing which direction I want the light falling on bub, I wanted to see if there was more I could do to create a more professional look to my lighting.
Turns out, there was! Small tweaks to exposure, the direction and angle my studio light is set up in and even a few tweaks to how the light should fall across the baby have helped to improve my lighting during newborn sessions!
To be a professional newborn photographer, there are so many things to learn! Safe baby handling practices, being the number ONE requirement!
These 4 things make up the rest of what I believe are the important foundational skills of of a newborn photographer: baby posing, wrapping, camera angles and lighting.
By continually seeking out mentors and training myself, crafting and honing these skills is the only way I know how to offer you the best of myself as a professional newborn photographer.
Hiring a mentor every 1 - 2 years keeps me striving to be the best I can be for you! Learning every day, improving every day, and gifting you all of my skills, experience and mentoring during your newborn session.
Jade Read
Maternity | Newborn | Family Photographer
0423 372 338 | jade@jadereadphotography.com.au
www.jadereadphotography.com.au
Studio: Gold Coast