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CHICAGO (CBS) – If you’re looking for a creative gift for a new dad this Father’s Day, here’s an idea.
As CBS 2’s Susan Carlson reports, a Chicago photographer is turning heads for his heart-grabbing pictures. We stopped by his studio to see how he’s able to capture the magic.
Photographer Sri Iyer seems to have a natural-born ability to photograph newborns. We found him busy with a photo shoot of Kelise Yang, who is just 5 days old.
“Newborns don’t move, so we have a lot of flexibility,” he said as he took a shot of Kelise.
Why did Kelise’s parents decide to get the pictures done?
“I think any time there’s a special occasion such as the birth of your first child – this is our first baby – you just want to document everything,” said her mother, Carina Yang.
Yang was one of many babies who come through Iyer’s studio. And while one might not realize it, newborn boys and girls are much different, Iyer explained.
“Girls are aware of what’s going on much, much sooner than boys,” Iyer said. “Boys love to sleep. Girls like to shop.”
So while Iyer says baby boys make good models up to 2 months old, he has to photograph girls just days after birth, before they get too fussy.
The trick is to make them comfy, starting with a toasty studio that’s almost 90 degrees.
“Inside the belly is really warm, so we try to mimic that kind of an environment for them, so they feel natural and comfortable and they’re at ease,” Iyer said.
Perhaps Iyer’s best secret weapon is his wife, Jana. She explained the preparation necessary for the photo shoot.
“The belly is full and burped,” she said. “Those are the two important things that they have to do.”
Jana Iyer has a knack for calming infants.
“It’s the touch. I give the warmth,” she said.
She also has mastered the technique for getting the babies into picture-perfect position.
“Inside the womb, they’ve been in all different kinds of poses in there; their legs are all squished to the body,” she said. “It’s kind of nice to replicate that.”
And oh baby, what a result. Carina Yang called the shots of Kelise “amazing,”
“She looks exactly like your husband in this one,” Iyer remarked to Yang.
And Kelise usually as calm as she was for the photo shoot?
“Not in the last few days,” Yang said with a laugh.
Iyer also has some tips for parents trying to achieve the perfect newborn photo on their own. He says
not to expect or wait for a smile. if you try to control it, it looks unnatural.
Also, cocooning keeps the baby warm and cooperative, plus it looks beautiful. And for tough, twisty poses, leave it to professional.
For more about Sri Iyer and his photo studio, click here.
Calm mommies make calm/happy babies. Calm/happy babies = great newborn sessions. We have very simple requirements - Feed the baby at the time we specify in the guidance email we send. Bring a bottle for us to feed the baby… and she did. We keep the parents away for the first 60 minutes or so. No issues. She was with her Kindle and got some rest. We had to bring her in to see some of the cutest shots and she was delighted!
