You’ve decided to be a newborn photographer, or at least give it a try, and you think what do I need?!?!?


Basically, there are 3 categories of things you need: photography equipment, posing equipment, and props. Each one of these things can be completely overwhelming, so I’m going to share a 3-piece blog where I go over what I use and the bare minimum you need to get started.


part 1: photography equipment



CAMERA- WHAT I USE


I have a Canon R6 with a 28-70mm. That lens basically lives on my camera. There are a ton of blogs and YouTube videos already about Canon vs Nikon, so I’m not going to go into that. But I will say I had a horrible experience with my first Nikon camera, so I switched to canon and never looked back. As far as lens go I'd recommend getting a 50mm and truly learning how manual settings and aperture affect your photos. After that upgrade to a higher end lens.


CAMERA- WHAT YOU NEED


Whatever you get I recommend getting a full frame camera. In the simplest terms it’s a professional grade camera and the quality is better. This is a place I would make an investment at the beginning instead of upgrading later.

A series of intimate close-up photos showing someone wearing a cream-colored sweater against dark fabric in soft lighting.
A series of selfies showing someone with dark hair wearing a black graphic t-shirt in various poses and expressions.

LIGHTING- WHAT I USE


I just bought new cordless tropes for the studio and I'm really happy with them. They are Westcott FJ2500 https://www.fjwestcott.com/products/fj250-touchscreen-250ws-strobe


Modifier- PLM



PLM Modifier


https://www.paulcbuff.com/Light-Modifiers/PLM-Umbrellas/86-White-PLM-Umbrella.html


https://www.paulcbuff.com/PLM-White-Front-Diffusion-Fabric.html


Light Stand(c-stand): https://amzn.to/2WCUsR6

New Monopod Light stand: https://a.co/d/0dOJSLly

I'm obsessed with these light stands, they save so much space and are so easy to move.


LIGHTING- WHAT YOU NEED


If you don’t have lighting or you have cheaper lighting not to worry that’s great to start! I started out with natural light, then got into alien bees, which are cheaper strobes and then eventually the setup I have now. Does it make a difference? It definitely does, but you can still work at a professional level using natural light or cheaper strobes. Also, something to keep in mind, studio light and natural light can look exactly the same! It’s all about learning light direction, and quality of light.