Singapore Newborn Photographer

July Mommies & Babies

Howdy people! Hope I'm not giving you a baby overload on my blog. It's just so much fun and joy photographing babies and children. Yes, some do cry while others sleep but when the cries gradually turn to smiles and laughter, both the mommies and the photographer become at ease knowing that phew.. the little one is going to have some nice photos of them taken.

So back in November, I was given an assignment to photograph 13 babies and 13 mommies in a single day.  All the babies during the shoot were born between late June to end July (July Mommies Group)

In all honestly, the job was both fulfilling and tiring. The tiring part was inevitable because the shoot lasted for a full 6 hours. Thankfully my partner / wife was assisting me so as to make the flow of the photo-shoot more seamless. YES it was also a very fulfilling job simply because the expectation of the assignment was met and all the parents left with a smiling face knowing that the photographer (me) has captured lovely photos of their dear little ones.

Haha.. enough said, here are some photos taken on the day of the shoot. Enjoy!

Happy 4 Month Old Sweethearts!

You must be wondering why is it that I'm always photographing baby Melanie and baby Chloe. Well that's because these two babies are my darlings and I know for sure that I will miss the days when they are this little in future. That's why whenever possible, I'll take pictures of them as they grow up so that we as parents can refer back to these pictures to reminisce the times when they were still babies like that.

Like any new parents, juggling between work and caring for the kiddos is always a challenge that causes stress, anxiety, unhappiness (especially between husband and wife), frustration and so forth. But what's awesome to know is that all those aforementioned negative emotions will dissipate when your kid gives you a big bright smile or giggle or better still, laughter - and you'll then realise that everything that you've given is absolutely worth it.

As both baby Melanie (7th Aug 2014) and baby Chloe (8th Aug 2014) turn 4 months old, I (we the parents) thank God for his grace on these two adorable babies. May they continue to grow up healthily and happily always. Happy 4 Months Old Sweethearts!

Extracted from @sharinpoy Instagram post:

Here Mummy's prayer for this little girl:
May you grow up to serve Him All of your days.
May He lead you and guide you In all of your ways.
May His hand bless your future with Friendships that last.
May you cherish your youth And not grow up too fast
(Chorus taken from Rachel Aldous' A Mother's Prayer)
 

Here's a lovely picture of my wife Sharin with baby Chloe (left) and my wife's elder sister Maggie with baby Melanie (right)!

Baby Chloe & Baby Melanie

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To begin, allow me to introduce the stars of the photo-shoot. They are baby Chloe (my lovely daughter) and her cousin baby Melanie (my lovely niece). Both Chloe and Melanie were born in August this year, just a day apart from each other in the same hospital. Somehow I feel, these two baby girls are destined to be as close as sisters when they grow up, just like how close their mummies are to each other.

As I seek to add pictures to my portfolio, being a daddy photographer gave me the opportunity to do just that. Having these two precious little babies allowed me to constantly practice shooting with my baby models, play with the lightings to ensure the lights compliment the subjects, meddle with the props, think on my feet, etc.. I must say, I can handle babies really well now (after the few months of practice Chloe gave me).

In my previous post, I mentioned that in a baby photo-shoot, most of the time is spent on every other thing related to the babies Except photographing them. But when you do get down to taking their pictures, their expressions can sometimes blow you away.

Take for example this picture below, Chloe was busy crying and Melanie was well.. shocked! Priceless expression from baby Melanie.

Some behind the scene pictures.. Having a two Profoto B1 Air made a world of difference in lighting these precious babies.

[Picture left] So as the shoot progresses, it ended quickly (within 30mins) because both babies started being cranky (time for their nap). [Picture top] We all know that photographers love to 'Seize the opportunity' and that's exactly what I did, seized the opportunity to take the both of them sleeping, just like the picture below.

After about an hour and a half, both Chloe and Melanie came awake. So immediately, the mummies and I sprang into action by helping them change into their next outfit for the next shoot. Like all human beings, babies too need time to warm up after they come awake but perhaps we were too anxious in changing their diapers and clothes, the babies became agitated and showed me their displeasure in this photo.

Another two behind-the-scene photos to show how the next few pictures will transpire. Seriously, it involves the mums hopping up and down and making all sorts of baby language noises just to gain the attention of the two little ones.

[Picture above] Any home can be a make shift studio. With the right backdrop and a sofa, voila! We've now got a red background. [Picture right] Most parents would know that the colors that babies first see are Red, Black and White. As red background is too distracting for the babies, we had to quickly change a background to one that's of a more neutral color.

The babies being 3 months old have gained a fair bit of muscle mass hence rendering them less flexible as compared to when they were just infants but we still managed a few good pictures nonetheless.

Remember, babies are precious and they grow up real fast. So seize every opportunity to capture fun portraits of them, just like these pictures. If you're interested in having such portraits of your kids done, just drop me an email at info@kelvinluffs.com and I'll be most willing to sit down and conceptualize ideas for the shoot.

Here are a few more pictures for your viewing pleasure. Have a great week everyone!

It's Been a Good 6 Weeks..

 

A baby is a blessing. A gift from heaven above, a precious little angel to cherish and to love...

Grateful, worrisome, anxiety, confusion, helplessness, sleepiness and happiness are how we as new parents have felt in these past 6 weeks. 

Like any new parents would do, my wife and I would constantly worry if baby is fed well, whether she's getting adequate rest and regularly consulting Dr. Google and our paediatrician friend on an array of topics concerning baby's well-being etc. So each time when we think we've got her figured out, she'd spring up new surprises that would leave us dumbfounded.

Well, what I would say is that baby Chloe definitely fills a place in our hearts that we never knew was vacant.

 

Here's a picture of baby Chloe at 6 weeks in her bare body.

Here's daddy (Kelvin) having some father & daughter time together.

And we are proud parents of baby Chloe!

My Little Precious Chloe

So what does having a newborn in the family means to me as a photographer? Loads of fun time taking pictures of my little precious Chloe of course.

Haha.. well, it is definitely more than that. Prior to the arrival of baby Chloe, I had always asked myself if I was capable of caring of my baby while concurrently juggle the photography business - it was a fear that had lingered with me till the day baby Chloe was born.

On the 8th of August 2014, when I finally saw our little princess Chloe for the first time; this first time gave me an experience I will never forget - the sensation of being overwhelmed by an immense sense of joy causing me to burst into tears. 

Suddenly, all that fear that I had harboured prior to seeing baby Chloe became a source of strength. Perhaps you may call this fatherly instinct that I knew I had to be strong to provide and protect not only baby Chloe but my lovely wife Sharin. This is also the source of strength that pulled me through the many sleepless nights in the past couple of weeks.

What I can say is that the arrival of baby Chloe has given me an even deeper sense of responsibility towards my family and my business. What better way than to make my baby Chloe a part of daddy’s business - be daddy’s model of course!

Here are some photos of my little precious. Hope these photos will give you the inspiration to not only love your children and family more but to take out your camera and start documenting the loved ones around you.

Happy shooting everyone!

Baby J’s Newborn Photoshoot

Since the inception of Kelvin Luffs Photography, there have been many ‘firsts’ opportunities given by our lovely clients who believed that we will capture and preserve precious memories for them.

So here’s our humble experience from the recent newborn photo-shoot.

After receiving the confirmation of this assignment, my partner (wife) and I felt super excited - in that this was the first of its kind of photo-shoot for the company and it was also a good time to put all that researching, learning, reading, practicing and shooting into good use.

As soon as the excitement subsided, reality dawned upon us that we were under-equipped in our baby props. Thankfully, my partner/wife was great at sourcing and found plenty of knitted material suitable for newborn shoots. So during the time leading up to the eventual shoot, we had acquired basic equipments, like beanbag, a small selection of throws, hats, headbands, wraps, crates and baskets for this shoot.

It was through countless of reading, researching and friends of ours giving birth that we understand that newborns are delicate and must be handled correctly. Although this was our first time handling a newborn, we were cognisant in the suitable temperature for most babies to be comfortable, cognisant with using white noises to keep baby deep in slumber and we were cognisant on how to handle baby safely and gently. We also checked with the mummy on baby’s feeding schedule so as to work with baby’s feeding time. I’d say that since every assignment is different, being knowledgeable and well-prepared is the key to any successful photo-shoot.

In addition to knowing what makes baby comfortable, it is also good to know that newborns are beautifully squishy, floppy and bendy under 14 days old which, coupled with being deep in slumber, makes them excellent for gently posing them into adorable positions that parents love. However I wouldn’t recommend doing the newborn shoot after 2-3 weeks - thats when baby start to develop muscle mass which would make them lose flexibility, which is key to making posing possible.

Here are some useful information for mummies looking for a newborn photo-shoot - The average session for any newborn shoot can range from 3-4 hours. Everything can happen within the session Except the photographer taking photos - WHY? Well, in a typical session, the time for the actual picture taking would probably range from an hour to and an hour half. The rest of the session will involve setting, cuddling, reading baby, soothing for sleep, changing diapers, cleaning up poop and golden shower, feeding and lastly gentle posing. It is without a doubt that the baby runs the show during each shoot.

Do enjoy these adorable photos of Baby Janelle.

Let's not forget the wonderful parents of Baby J!

Have a great week ahead everybody!