#KelbyOneChallenge: The Newborn Pic
Our KelbyOne Challenges are all inspired by Scott Kelby’s best-selling Digital Photography Book Series. You can purchase any of the books at our online store here. Want to see the next five challenge themes? Click here!
Today we kick off our 10-week #KelbyOneChallenge! Each week, we choose a winner to be published in our award-winning Photoshop User Magazine and at the end of the 10-week challenge, Scott Kelby will choose our grand-prize winner, who will win a full-year KelbyOne Membership AND be featured in the magazine! Here we go!
Challenge 1: The Newborn Pic
Submission Dates: 6/1 – 6/7 at 11:59pm ET
Winner Announced: Wednesday 6/10 on The Grid Live at 4pm ET
Taking Great Photos of Newborn Babies
By Scott Kelby
CHALLENGE TIPS
By now you’ve probably heard how hard it is to photograph babies. That may be true, but newborn babies usually have a distinct advantage — they’re asleep. That’s right, newborns spend most of their days sleeping, so getting great shots of them is easier than you’d think, but you have to put them in the right setting or everyone who looks at the photos will say something along the lines of, “Aw, too bad she was asleep.”
Generally, people like babies to be wide awake and smiling in photos, but there’s a very popular brand of newborn photography where the baby and mom (or dad) are sharing a quiet moment, and it really sets the stage for a touching portrait. I saw this first-hand when David Ziser (the world-class wedding and portrait photographer) spent one evening photographing my newborn daughter, Kira. Now, David had a huge advantage because my daughter just happened to be the cutest little baby in the whole wide world, but he did stack the deck in his favor with a simple, but extremely effective, technique—he had my wife and I both wear long-sleeved black turtleneck shirts (you can find these at Target).
Then, he photographed Kira as my wife held her in her arms (I took a turn as well). David shot very tight (zoomed in), so what you basically got was a sweet little baby resting peacefully in her mother’s (and father’s) arms. You can use a diffused flash, or you can use soft natural light from a side window.
CHALLENGE IMAGE
Use the following image as a point of reference for this challenge. Pictured is Kim Doty, our Books Editor, and her son. Image by Scott Kelby.
CHALLENGE DIRECTIONS
WHEN: Accepting submissions 6/1-6/7 at 11:59pm ET.
WHERE: You can submit your photos on one of the following 3 platforms:
On Facebook: Post your picture to our wall with caption and credit. As always, we love to hear how you got the shot — techniques used, challenges you faced, etc. Be sure to include this hashtag with your post: #KelbyOneChallenge. Submit HERE.
On Twitter: Tweet your picture with the hashtag #KelbyOneChallenge. IMPORTANT: You must tag @KelbyOne and @ScottKelby for this challenge. You must also be following both accounts. Here they are –> KelbyOne + Scott Kelby
On Instagram: Post your picture and include the hashtag #KelbyOneChallenge. You must be following our account HERE.
WINNERS: We will choose one winner and 3 runners up — because sometimes there’s just so much goodness and we really want to highlight and honor your work. The winning image will be published in an upcoming issue of PhotoshopUser Magazine and will be in the running for our Grand Prize, which will be announced at the end of our 10-week challenge! More details here if you need them. Our winning images and runners-up will all be featured on our 500px page here!
Any questions? Let us know in the comments section. Thanks, everyone. And, as always, HAPPY TRAINING!
–Ajna
