Increasing Your Milestone Session Variety with Kasey Duvall
Photographers often discuss the challenges of variety during sessions with little ones during their studio milestone sessions. That was one of the most intimidating things about my milestone sessions when I first started my business nearly 5 years ago. At times I was unsure how I was going to fill a gallery with limited posing and props, especially in-studio. I felt as if everything was so much more limited than if the session were to be outside or a family session. Learning which poses work best through the years (age dependent of course) and growing my backdrop collection have helped me improve the variety of images in my milestone sessions.
Backdrop :: Moon Shadow
Backdrop :: Silver City
Backdrop :: Deep Woods
1. Sitting . Usually after about the 6-month mark, my clients are sitting up. I like to always start with a sitting pose on every backdrop. I like to turn the baby different angles to achieve different looks while I’m moving around with my camera so that every image is different. I layer different fabrics and change their outfits to coordinate with each backdrop. This makes my galleries have a wider variety for the clients to choose from.
Backdrop :: Busy Skies
Backdrop :: Backdrop Deep Woods
Backdrop :: Busy Skies
2. Tummy Time. Tummy time is usually a short-lived pose but dang, it’s CUTE! I pull up hoods, take them down and change from portrait to landscape several times to achieve different looks. A lot of the time this is the perfect opportunity for close-ups of their sweet little faces. But, watch out if you use curly layers, they will try to eat them!
Backdrop :: Silver City
2. Overhead. I would say overhead shots are probably my favorite. I love to layer different fabrics and textures and get those babies giggling. (It usually works too!) Sometimes they will want to roll around, which is fine. I always let them take the lead, as to not be too pushy. Babies at this age can be very temperamental if you are too swift to move them. ALWAYS be playful... and if they fear you.... let their parents do most of the talking with them and help with posing changes.
Backdrop :: Rustic Mountain Milestone Blanket
For every milestone session I choose 3-4 backdrops and I have everything styled before the session starts. Every now and then parents will bring their own cute outfits for their babe, which is great! I always make sure to communicate what color drops I will be using so we can be on the same page. I get all of my backdrops from Intuition Backgrounds, and I primarily use fabric backdrops. They store easily and can be thrown in the laundry for sanitation! I use subtle textured backdrops MOST of the time apart from Intuition’s Milestone Blankets. The backdrops you see here are some of my favorites. For this session I ended up using 5 different backdrops because the little guy was extremely happy and easy going.
Kasey Duvall is a photographer based in Southeast, Missouri. She started her photography business roughly 5 years ago and she specializes in Newborn and Children Photography.
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