Newborn photography is a genre that requires specific considerations. Newborn babies are the most delicate models, and they require protection. Thus, you need reliable, stable equipment that will allow you to shoot at low power, outputting light that feels more natural — something only Profoto flashes can offer.
Germán Arce, one of the top experts in this photographic genre, tells us about successfully making the step from natural light to Profoto “natural light”.
The session
Germán Arce has spent many years working with “natural light, which had come to define our photos”, but there came a time when he decided to take his style to a new level. “Every session with a newborn baby is a 3-hour long adventure, where you have to consider a thousand different things to achieve the best results. We were looking for reliable light quality, which would allow us to stop worrying about the technical details and concentrate on the human side,” Germán tells us.
The challenge
The goal was to achieve as natural skin tones as possible, which made Profoto the logical choice. “We wanted well-defined highlights and a soft falloff towards the dark.” To bring continuity to his style, he was after limited depth of field to be able bring a softness to his images, shooting with very wide aperture.
The solution
According to Germán, “The B1 gave us everything we were looking for. The ability to shoot at very low power allowed us to continue using maximum aperture to fulfill our needs. The light quality, temperature reliability and power consistency between one shot and another result in images that are practically ready in terms of color the moment they are taken.” Furthermore, he chose the B1 for his studio because it allows him to work comfortably without any cables getting in the way.
What is the Light Shaping Tool of choice for these types of photos? “The Softbox RFi 3X4 is large enough to create soft light without losing defined shading, something that would be difficult to control with another larger modifier.”
His evaluation of the gear has been very positive. “We definitely feel that our photography has evolved as we have moved away from working with natural light, which can be volatile and unreliable, in favor of equipment that becomes nearly imperceptible because it simply works flawlessly.”
