Kid stuff: Babies need to be coddled like temperamental supermodels, which means having favorite foods and toys on hand. And Ms. Koh also often brings a space heater. “As soon as you undress babies they get cold and start crying.” A well-timed treat can get a sublime expression. “At 9 to 12 months a single Cheerio makes them smile and changes their life.” But she does counsel against using toys to coax a reaction. “I don’t like using toys, because if they really want it, I feel bad about not giving it to them,” she said. “Once you give it to the baby, it’s in all of the shots.”

Camera Stuff: The type of camera isn’t critical, but be prepared to work quickly. “I notice babies burn out before long,” she said. For that reason she suggests being well familiarized with your camera before the shoot, and use a camera with a continuous shooting mode, which keeps firing shots rapidly as long as the shutter button is pressed. “That’s really important with babies and kids because they are often on the move,” said Ms. Koh. If you are using a camera with changeable lenses, spring for some high-end glass to replace the “kit” lens that comes with the camera. “That kit lens is worthless,” she said. She tells her workshop attendees that if they want to go pro, “Save up $1500 for that 24-70mm zoom because it makes such a difference. That does so much to separate your work from a consumer photo.”

Every picture tells a story: Ms. Koh looks to have three elements in the perfect photo: action, a defining detail, and background that contributes to the story. Action – which she sometime calls conflict – could mean the baby is facing a challenge, whether it’s a struggle to stand or hold a spoon for the first time. A defining detail would be one that marks a passage in time, like the baby’s bald spot that will soon cover over, or a passing fancy. “You think they are going to love trains forever then all of the sudden it’s done,” she said. The background should serve a purpose, such as putting a child in a baby chair with an adult chair behind it, “so we feel how small that baby is,” said Ms. Koh. Don’t worry if you can’t get all three, especially the background. “If the background doesn’t have a purpose I am zooming in and cutting the background out,” she said, or using depth of field to blur it out.

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