Digital backgrounds/backdrops

Digital backgrounds/backdrops

 

Digital backgrounds/backdrops 

Spending more time at home over the pass month I have been able to really get to grips with photoshop, using blending modes and gradient maps. Something which I have stayed away from out of fear. But actually, like anything, once you know how to do it, it’s not that difficult. I have also been trying to make sure I create Digital backgrounds/backdrops every day, keeping the Etsy shop active. I have applied the skills learnt and I’m happy with the results. You can see the new work added to my shop here https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AuraDigitalBackdrops

Rocking the greys…

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Digital Overlay

Developed this week, an overlay of fairy lights and white wooden floor. At various times in my studio career, I needed an overlay like this. Fairy lights, as most studio photographers will know are difficult to photograph, as studio lights often blow out the fairy lights, (so that they can no longer be seen). Here is an example of the overlay added to this pure white background. This overlay will work particularly well at Christmas and you can change the opacity, so you can change the subtlety of the overlay.

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Digital Backdrop, newborn nest with Teddy:

Parents would often bring little teddies to their newborn photo shoot. The teddies often had sentimental value, but also provided a sense of scale. The brown tones of the flooring and the nest match the teddy so well, and the fluffy sheepskin adds to the earthiness of this image.

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Here are a few of the other Digital backgrounds/backdrops created in the last couple of weeks. I even had a go at creating an outdoor landscape digital backdrop, which has really highlighted how difficult it is to get the lighting to match the baby.

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Digital backdrop/background
Digital backdrop, bluebell flowers in a woodland setting with a baby basket

 

Timelapse Video, newborn shoot, youtube

Timelapse Video, newborn shoot, youtube

So, I made a timelapse video of one of my newborn shoots. It’s funny seeing me on the video! But I wanted to give an idea of how it looks during the shoot. You can see me shooting away and you can then (at the end) see the finished pictures.

Timelapse video, newborn shoot, youtube…

My newborn shoots take a fair amount of time, primarily because I wait until the little one is comfortable before posing. I work around them and as I don’t have an assistant I always have Mum or Dad helping me. This is nice for two reasons, I know that I can step back and take a photograph as they are in the safest hands possible. It also includes the parents in the shoot and the pictures we achieve from that shoot.

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Sebastian’s Newborn Photo Shoot

I have photographed the lovely Osment family for the past four years. Their first shoot was a newborn shoot with their daughter Amelie. Sebastian is their newest arrival and I have just had the pleasure of shooting Sebastian’s newborn photo shoot. Sebastian was born early, so his shoot was much later than usual. But he still really looked like a newborn. He was very sensitive and just wanted to be with his Mum, so it was a challenging shoot. I took my time and we still got some beautiful pictures. His sister Amelie just wanted to cuddle and look after her baby brother and amazes me with her posing – she just seems to pose herself. This image below with Amelie and Sebastian was not engineered by me. I had to be quick though, as Amelie just wanted to hold Sebastian and was a bit overzealous . Sibling and newborn images are generally the most stressful part of the shoot… and sometimes toddlers flat out refuse to get into a picture with their newborn brother or sister. I try every trick in the book and the majority of the time I can get the shot. In this instance though Amelie wanted to be in every picture!

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After the sibling images I began the individual pictures, the first blanket we used was sentimental and belonged to the Osments. They’ve had this blanket since Amelie was born and I always like to use an item that is special to the family. This is the picture that went on the thank you cards that went out to the Osment’s friends and family.

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I used this fur in Amelie’s first shoot so wanted to have some continuity, this was also where I could get a good feet shot..

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In Amelie’s shoot there is a picture where Amelie is in this basket with this fur and she is looking off to the side and she is looking at her Dad. In this picture Sebastian is looking off to the side and he is looking at his Mum. I love that.

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Samantha brought a little outfit and we got some side pose pictures whilst he was in this outfit. I wasn’t sure if we could get this side pose as he was that much older and usually they don’t find it comfortable. But he soon settled and look very relaxed in this pose. If I see that a little one doesn’t like the pose I will take them straight out and find a position that makes sure they are comfortable.

 

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Of course I had to get some pictures of Amelie on her own. These teddie were both bought when Sebastian was born. Sebastian’s teddy is the one facing the background and Amelie’s teddy is looking at her whilst she is looking at me. I got a similar shot when Amelie was 6 months old.

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Finally I wanted to share this picture with Mum, Amelie and Sebastian. Sebastian looks so relaxed in Mum’s arms and I adore this picture. I just see complete happiness and a tenderness from Amelie. A lovely end to Sebastian’s newborn photo shoot.

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Newborn Shoots & (possibly) a model call

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So, for the last six months I have mostly been photographing newborn shoots. Luckily for me! as I love photographing newborns. It’s such a precious time for my clients and truly so wonderful to be able to capture this special time. Each year I feel I add to my skills and improve them. Above all it takes patience and calm and following the cues of the baby. This area of my business continues to be strong. I think its because newborn shoots are not about simply clicking the shutter. It takes time. I’ve photographed a fair few photographer’s babies and they tell me that they tried but newborn photography wasn’t in their skill set.

I have been posting far fewer pictures on Facebook though, partly because my clients ask for privacy which I completely respect. If a client asks me to post to social media then of course I am more than happy to oblige. I mainly use Facebook now for news or for offers. For example, every year I offer a model shoot. I am hoping to do a model shoot in August. The pictures I take in model newborn shoots are used to update my website, or to try some poses that I would like to master – but don’t want to do so on my paying clients time.

Digital Backdrops

I am also still adding to my catalogue of digital backdrops. there are twenty or so at the moment. I have added a gallery to my website where you can try some of my backdrops (small images) for free before you buy! If you go this gallery http://victoriaashman.zenfolio.com/p259041982 Click on the picture that has ‘Aura Digital Backdrops’ written on it and then click ‘menu’ by hovering over top left of the picture, you can then click download. If you go back to the gallery the picture next to it is an example of what you can do with the image, and the third image is the high resolution download, which you can download and pay for through my website.

Here is a little video with a few of the backdrops that I have on offer. It includes some instructions on how to use them. I sell them at my etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AuraDigitalBackdrops

New Year, new studio space

 

So, its 2017, a new year and its a new studio space for me. I was at Charmborough Farm for years, so it was tough decision to move. The move was necessary though, as I recently went onto the transplant list. If I get the call I will have to drop everything, so I needed to have a space I could rent as and when I needed it. I live in Frome, so its nice to be close to the studio space. I had my first shoot last Saturday and all went well, I’m very pleased to say! My new space is above epicocity gym, on the Marston trading estate. The owner Jo Beale has been very accommodating, which has made the transition much easier.

I have been photographing babies for 6 years, and many of my clients, very loyally have stayed with me. So, my business has changed in that I am now photographing more children. Outdoor photo shoots suit children perfectly. They are able to run around, be free and I think it is much more enjoyable for them. I also love being outdoors, so its great for me too. If only the british weather was a bit more reliable!

 

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New Studio space

 

My first shoot and I used greys, whites and blues, which I think are the colours that many people are using in their homes this year. I always love neutrals and whites, and greys look beautiful on camera. Little Marlowe was three weeks old, she was apparently a very sleepy newborn. But she decided to be wide awake for the shoot! We got both awake and sleepy shots though and it is always nice to get both.

Happy new year to all my clients and anyone reading this blog. Hopefully 2017 will be a great year for us all!

Digital Backdrops, on Etsy.

Digital Backdrops – Link to my etsy shop –  https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AuraDigitalBackdrops?ref=hdr_shop_menu

I’ve added more digital backdrops to my Etsy shop. One of my clients wanted a Christmas image with fairy lights. A simple request, but it took me a little while to get right. My studio lights are brighter than the fairy lights and so I couldn’t get the lights to show on camera. The image was so bright, so you couldn’t see the fairy lights at all. I realised, after some thinking that I needed to use my continuous light and a reflector. It worked well. I just had to make sure I was back as far as I could go, zoomed in, on my widest aperture and voila I could see the fairy lights! I’ve had fun thinking of ideas and creating backdrops with the fairy lights. I have also already used the fairy lights backdrop (from the bottom image) as a background on some of my sledge shots.

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Christmas Present digital Backdrop
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Christmas Present digital backdrop.

Christmas Present Backdrop – With baby composited into the shot. The backdrop for sale on etsy, has an overlay (the front of the box) so that you can correctly position baby. The backdrops are ready to buy as an instant download through my etsy shop.

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Digital Backdrop. Fairy lights with red baubles.

6 month old Baby Photo Shoot

This 6 month old baby photo shoot with Ava, was a joy to do. Ava’s big sister 3 year old Amy joined in too and we got lovely photos of the both of them. 6 months is such a lovely age, babies are very expressive and Ava was so smiley! She even woke up smiling. I must have done close to 500 baby shoots and you don’t see that very often. Ava was just starting to sit, although she was a bit wobbly. So Ava’s Mum used her hand to prop her up a few times. I was then able to photoshop Helen’s hand out of the picture. We did images on Ava’s back and tummy and also in a prop. Ava didn’t like staying on her back for long, so I had to be quick! I’ve been told babies can concentrate for a minute for every month, so at 6 months babies can concentrate for 6 minutes. There are lots of breaks and I’ve got quite proficient at reading baby cues. So I generally know when they’ve had enough. The shoot normally lasts an hour (with lots of breaks) and I can get quite a few different pictures in that time.

I normally find 3 year olds the most difficult to photograph. They are at an age where they are independent and it’s difficult to get them to be in a picture if they don’t want to do it. They have also found their freedom, so understandably don’t want to sit still. But Amy was great, such a lovely big sister and we were able to achieve quite a lot. This was a lovely 6 month old baby photo shoot, it is usually one of my favourites and this shoot was no exception!

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So smiley! and just adorable. 6 month old babies like grabbing their hands at this stage and I love being able to capture this.



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Both Ava and Amy’s first teddies are in this picture. I love it when parents bring items that are sentimental and we are able to incorporate them in the shoot.

 

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Etsy Shop Digital Backdrops

Here are the digital backdrops I’ve created over the last month. I’ve used a few for myself, for my own galleries, and I’m sure I will be using the red sledge Christmas backdrops very soon! (My Christmas Shoots start in September.) I’m updating and adding to my Etsy shop each week, and I’m really enjoying the process.

I started doing the digital backdrops after one of my newborn shoots. My clients desperately wanted a certain setup, which I said was of course no problem. It wasn’t a complicated set up. The first hour of the shoot was a breeze and the newborn slept like a dream. We did the beanbag pictures, which all went smoothly. The beanbag pictures are flow posing the baby on their back, side and tummy and then we did the parent and baby images. For what ever reason, it could have been wind! she woke up and didn’t want to do any more pictures. But I hadn’t done the setup the clients wanted! I knew we’d already got great images in the first half of the session and I didn’t want to upset or distress the baby in any way. So we called it a day. After the shoot I photographed the setup without the baby and then was able to composite an image (from one of the earlier beanbag shots) When the parents saw the setup they bought the picture and were very happy. My brain then started to whirl, if for whatever reason this happened again, I could just composite the baby from the beanbag into a prop shot. It’s been fun creating digital backdrops, and I have many more ideas!

 https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AuraDigitalBackdrops?ref=hdr_shop_menu

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Digital backdrop, Newborn dark wooden bowl
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Digital Backdrop, Red sledge, snowy background.
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Digital backdrop, red sledge with teddy

 

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Example of what the digital backdrop can look like… composited baby onto the red sledge.

 

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Example of what the digital backdrop can look like… composited baby on the sledge with the teddy behind

 

Newborn Photo Shoot with Azari

A wonderful newborn photo shoot, with the lovely Azari. I’ve been photographing this family for the past couple of years and they’re all great. The oldest Jai even helps me out, and a very good photography assistant he is too! Azari slept the entire shoot, so we were able to achieve quite a few poses. I love this image with the bonnet. It was one of the pictures chosen to go up on Mum’s wall, one of three 20″ x 16″‘s sized prints. I love them all, but when I look at this picture I find it very gentle and calming. Azari was premature by a few weeks, and we actually did the shoot very close to her due date.

Harriett chose all black and white prints and I must say I do love black and whites. They are just so timeless. The printer I use is a canon ipf8400 and it prints wonderful pictures. The inks are pigment inks too, which means they will last up to 75 years. So, wonderfully, maybe these prints will be passed down to Azari’s grandchildren.

We did pictures of Azari on her own and with her two siblings. (I always do the sibling images first) Aston is now the middle child, and at 18 months old found the shoot a bit confusing. We managed to get a beautiful shot of the three of them though, and I’m so pleased we did. Sibling shots can be the most challenging in a newborn photo shoot. This is because, not only are you trying to get a good picture with all that entails, i.e. thinking about the lighting, posing, details. But also safety has to be paramount. In this instance, my go to pose for siblings which is lying them down, didn’t work. So instead I was able to put Aston on the white wooden chair and Jai to his side, holding his sister. It is a beautiful picture, I’m very proud of it, and Mum loves it.

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Newborn baby Azari, she was still very flexible, and was very comfortable in this position.

Newborn images in my newborn bowl.

Sometimes with newborns, it takes a while to find a position they really like, this was Arlo’s whether in the bowl or in his Mum’s hands. They certainly let you know when they are comfortable and when they are not! This bowl is fairly small and I’ve had some newborns that I know are not going to fit in it. Safety is my concern at all times, so I had the Mum keep her hand on Arlo, so he felt safe, she then lifted her hand up just above and I took the picture. I then cloned her hand out of shot.

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These shots in his Mum’s hands are so precious, he was very comfortable in this position. This image makes me feel sleepy! I always love it at this point of the shoot, when the newborn is deeply sleeping. It took a while with Arlo, but we absolutely made the most of it when he did. I also pick up on the vibes of the parents, a bit like the newborns, and I’ve found if they are calm so is the baby. This session was very chilled out and so we were able to achieve what we wanted to achieve x

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