Lifestyle Newborn Sessions: Tips For Tackling Low Light

because i am strictly a natural light lifestyle newborn photographer, i am at the mercy of the natural light in my client’s home.  i photograph all of my newborn sessions sight unseen, making it important for me to know how to use the light i am given and make it work once i arrive at my client’s home.  of course, i do my best to work with the client beforehand to determine the time of day that their home is naturally the brightest, but sometimes that brightness is still darker than i wish or we are surprised with a cloudy day that reduces indoor light.  on occasions like this, i use the following tips for tackling low light to ensure that every lifestyle newborn session i photograph is successful, whether given bright light or low light.

while light is important, there are other things that i like to ask my newborn clients before their session to help me best photograph their new family and prepare me to be successful.  to prepare your next session, read about what 6 questions to ask before lifestyle newborn sessions.

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Lifestyle Newborn Sessions: Tips for Tackling Low Light

1.  Bring the Right Gear

having the right gear in your camera bag will ensure that you can tackle any lighting situation you walk into.  because being a lifestyle newborn photographer means documenting newborn families within their home, i always carry my wide angle lenses, the sigma art 24mm f/1.4 lens and the nikon 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 lens.  having a wide angle lens allows me to fit more of the surroundings of my clients home, as well as more people, inside of the frame.  the purpose of lifestyle newborn sessions is to document families within their home, so having a wide angle lens is a key factor in doing that.  i also bring my sigma 50mm f/1.4 lens, as it is perfect for both family and individual portraits.  it’s low aperture also allows me to get some detailed photos of the baby, surrounded by soft bokeh.  more importantly, the low aperture capability of my sigma 50mm f/1.4 lens and my sigma art 24mm f/1.4 lens allow me to photograph in low light well since the low aperture allows me to bring in more light.

because i photograph my lifestyle newborn sessions with more than one lens, i carry two camera bodies, my nikon d750 and nikon d610 so that i can have a lens on each camera body and reduce wasting time by switching out lenses.  both cameras have high ISO capabilities, allowing me to photograph well in darker situations simply by raising my ISO, one of the quickest tips for tackling low light.

lastly, i find it helpful to bring a tripod.  this allows me to steady my camera and use a slower shutter speed to bring more light into my camera when the home is darker.

2.  Make Your Camera Do The Work

i love how well my nikon d750 and nikon d610 combat low light, allowing me to raise my ISO to bring more light to my sensor.  allow your camera to show off it’s capabilities and don’t be afraid to raise that ISO.  allowing your camera to collect more light for you will ensure that you are creating properly exposed images, despite the lighting situation you are given.  by utilizing a tripod, you can steady your camera and give yourself the freedom to use a slower shutter speed, allowing your shutter to stay open a little longer to collect more light.

3.  Be Honest With Clients

upon arriving, i have the client take me on the quick tour of their home to allow me to access the home’s light.  during this time, i am honest with my clients about what areas will photograph well and what areas won’t because of low light.  because i know how the light will affect the outcome of their photos, clients are more than happy to follow my direction when deciding what areas of their home to skip and what areas to focus on during the session.

4.  Wear White To Act As A Reflector

as of way of avoiding creating color casts on my client’s skin, i have always made it a habit to wear white to my sessions.  even better, white allows me to act as a reflector and bounce light off of my shirt and back onto my clients.  in the photo above, i sat my clients on their couch with their window behind their heads.  because i was wearing white and standing in front of my clients, i was able to naturally reflect the light off of my white shirt and onto my clients.  even the little things like what i wear is one of my favorite tips for tackling low light.

5. Focus on Areas Near Window Light

if your client’s home isn’t well lit or has larger pockets of low light, focus your attention to the areas near window light.  one of the easiest tips for tackling low light is to search out the light!  when in doubt, place your clients near windows to allow the natural light to work for you as best it can.  when posing, place your client near a window and turn them in a variety of directions to access how the light falls on them.   placing them in front of the window allows you to create beautifully backlit images, while placing them at an angle towards the window will allow beautiful shadows to fall upon them and create depth.  access how the light is changing the mood of your image and place your client in a way that uses the light to tell the best story.

6. Focus on the family, not on the space

i love incorporating my client’s homes into the images, it’s one of my favorite things about being a lifestyle photographer.  however, if i arrive and the nursery is too dark or doesn’t have windows, i keep my focus where it should be: on the client and their newborn.  i utilize the area of the home that has the best light and go with it!  while being in the nursery can make for a beautiful session, some of my best sessions where photographed in my client’s living rooms because that’s where the best light is.  remember the reason why your client hired you…to photograph their newborn.  keep your focus on the newborn and use the best surroundings you can find that will create the most successful portraits.

while having ample natural light is always a photographer’s dream, some of my best sessions were photographed in homes with low light.  low light has it’s advantages too, giving you the ability to create mood and depth with shadows, while creating an intimate feeling in the images that low light lends to.  keep these tips for tackling low light in mind the next time you walk into a clients home and, if the light isn’t as bright as you expected, use this to your advantage and allow the low light to inspire, not hinder your photography.

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