Low Milk Supply

If your breastfed baby is having difficulty gaining weight or you have been diagnosed with low milk supply, these 7 tips can help increase your breast milk production. Low milk supply can be easily resolved if you make smart choices.

Source: http://baby.about.com/od/breastfeeding/tp/low-milk-supply-tips.htm

Stella Irene Augustus Dan Aykroyd Donna Dixon Brooklyn Joseph

Singing to a Different Tune and a Promotion

Parents skip to the bottom, photographers and people looking to license music read on.

So I had aspirations of finishing my new website in the first week of January and am now in the uncomfortable position of working on it on the side (which is like casually saying you're raising a child in your free time). Like many photography websites, mine was going to use music to compliment my photography (and there is a promotion coming) so I went about the arduous task of trying to license my favorite songs. In case anyone is interested, Boutell has a great write-up on how to do this but for the time pressed individual\parent here's the summary:

• Go to ASCAP, BMI or SESAC (great acronyms huh?) to find your favorite artist. Most artists work with one of these organizations and each has different terms and fees for licensing their associated music.
• It costs about $300 to license the music for commercial use (i.e. you'll financially profit from the use of the music either directly by including it in paid product, like slideshows, or via marketing, like a website).
• If you happen to like Moby (and I do), he actually set up MobyGratis.com to facilitate the use of his music in non-commerical works. When I approached him about using his work for my website, he agreed in exchange for a reasonable fee that'd be donated to charity. Very awesome.
• Finally, TripleScoopMusic has been a great resource for the music I use in client slideshows and is more reasonable at $60, if you can find what you're looking for.

After this hassle, I'm glad that I give my clients copyrights to their photos so they can choose to make prints themselves. This saves them the hassle of getting my permission, provides them real value and keeps me accountable to provide enlargement that are better than the local labs so they buy from me. Okay, now that I've got that self-serving marketing blurb out of the way...

I'm offering a discounted two hour photos shoot ($390) with all the usual bells and whistles (consultation, lighting, 4"x6" prints to keep, online gallery, loads of fun and of course high resolution downloads/copyrights). Fine Print: The only catch is that there are specific photos I need for my website and the shoot must be in January or February before the photography season picks up. If you're interested leave a comment or contact me at Phat Baby Photography. Anyone who follows me knows I don't offer promotions to avoid the sinking feeling of buying something only to find it on sale the week later. So act now, operators are standing by.

Update: Thank you for the many inquiries and bookings. I'm now booked through February, but given the response will see if there are other ways to accommodate those who want to help me with my creative projects.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PhatPhotographer/~3/YQ7M2EnNTUU/singing-to-different-tune-and-promotion.html

Jesse James Louis JonBon Jovi Dorothea Hurley share your baby photos

Where is my good side?

Phat Baby Photography (i.e. me) is frantically updating its photography website. In the process of fixing up the "About Me" page, I discovered, in some weird twist of irony, that the most recent portrait of myself is either from my drivers license, passport photo or security badge for Zoe's daycare. Do you see a theme here?

So while the kids were at school, and the wife was at work, this mouse decided to play. The experience reminded me of quite a few pearls of photography wisdom which I'll gladly pass along to my somewhat captive audience:

• Black really is more flattering. My other sweater made me look fat.
• I don't have a good side, but looking head on I realize just how large my ears are.
• The 3rd photo below made me realize why kids so readily laugh for me and my camera.
• Details matter. Subtle shifts of the chin, a tilt of the head, positions of my hands which aren't even in most of the pictures changes the entire composition.
• While I tend to move my clients to different backdrops every 15-20 minutes, it's actually quite easy to crank out 100+ poses in the same time with one backdrop and get a nice variety of expressions, moods and compositions.

The overall experience was a nice reminder for me of what my clients must feel when in front of the camera. There was no one around and I felt pretty silly and nervous (more on that below). Special thanks this week for my Facebook followers who chimed in on what portrait they liked best. If you'd like to play along feel free to comment below on which you like or follow this link to my Facebook page and then tune in the new year as I post your recommendations here and on the new website.

BTW: By the time you're reading this, we'll be driving back from Tahoe so wish us luck.

Technical Baby Photography Tips: All the photographs were taken at 1/160, f2.8, ISO 100 using a 100mm prime. The 100mm Canon f2 is one of my favorite lenses and frequently overshadowed by either of the 85mms Canon offers. It's a tad longer which I find ideal for baby photography.

These photos are the result of a two light setup which you can see below. The key light is 24" softbox (my favorite lighting modifier) set really high up so that there is a subtle fall off of light towards my chest. The reflector was used to bounce some light back into the shadows and under my chin. Half the time my smiles in the photos are because I'm triggering the remote with my right hand while holding the reflector in my left. That is except for a few shots where both hands were in the photo and my big toe triggered my PocketWizards (they really should make the button bigger). The last speed light is on the background with a neutral density gel to give me that nice halo effect making me look like some type of angel or something.

For the detail oriented, my light meter reading was taken near the top of my head. Given the light fall off, I actually should have done it a bit closer to my chin since overexposing my black hair isn't so bad, but having a face underexposed by 1/3 stop isn't quite as nice. The oversight is easily correctable in post-processing but figure someone out there will benefit from the nuances.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PhatPhotographer/~3/M4H_rYiCap8/where-is-my-good-side.html

Victoria Beckham David Beckham Jesse James Louis JonBon Jovi

Infant Car Seat Carrier Guide

Parents often get caught up in buying the "best" infant car seat for their baby. However, there is no one "best" restraint. Rather parents should look at a number of factors to determine which car seat is best for their car, their baby, and their lifestyle.

Source: http://baby.about.com/od/babygear/p/infant_car_seat_carriers.htm

JonBon Jovi Dorothea Hurley share your baby photos Louis Bardo

Character Crib Bedding

Looking to decorate your nursery with a specific character theme? Crib bedding is available in multiple popular cartoon characters. See which manufacturers put out certain designs.

Source: http://baby.about.com/od/livingwithbaby/qt/character_crib_bedding.htm

SUNDANCE THOMAS Kerri Walsh Nelson Eddy Cristian Anthony Muniz

Italian Soup

This hearty Italian soup combines meatballs, chick peas, pasta and spinach. It's a low calorie meal sure to please.

Source: http://baby.about.com/od/welcomingbabyhome/r/italian_soup_with_meatballs.htm

Victoria Beckham David Beckham Jesse James Louis JonBon Jovi

Baby Grasping Skills

Babies' ability to grasp and manipulate toys advances rapidly during the first year. Learn developmentally appropriate exercises that will enhance their gripping skills and promote cognitive development.

Source: http://baby.about.com/od/growthanddevelopment/qt/grasping_skills_in_babies.htm

David Beckham Jesse James Louis JonBon Jovi Dorothea Hurley