I have put together some tips to help you take some great amateur photos of your newborn. But a timely reminder though – quality photographs of a professional nature do require expertise. If you want amazing shots of baby, then spend the extra money and hire a professional. However, if budget is an issue (and let’s face it, it often is), here are a few simple tips that can get you better shots at home.
Today’s article will cover newborn photography basics. The next article in the series will look at how to pose a newborn and the third will look at how to take photos of a newborn with other family members.
1. When to Photograph?
I always suggest photographing a newborn in the first ten days after birth. Why? Because they are only just growing accustomed to being out of the womb. They are still curled up, sleepy and gut-wrenchingly cute. As they get more alert, these behaviours start to subside and they can become more difficult to pose. Most importantly though, babies grow so quickly, you really do need to strike quickly to capture this stage before it passes into the fog brought on by more pressing issues like how to get a full nights sleep, how to keep the pantry stocked or even how to take a shower. This doesn’t mean you won’t achieve great results later, but it may take a little longer as baby grows. The photo below was taken of a North Shore baby at 3 months.
Beautiful baby at three months
I find photographing newborns is easiest in the morning after a feed. All is well in their little world, and later in the day you risk catching baby during the “witching hour”. Believe me, this WILL take the fun out of the whole experience. Set up your space and prepare to start shooting after baby has fallen asleep. Devote an hour to the shoot in order to get sufficient nice shots.
2. What to Wear?
Dress baby simply, in just a nappy or nude. I am not really into putting babies in buckets or baskets and dressing them up as kittens etc. I prefer shots that are natural and candid to keep the focus on the baby. But – remember babies can get cold quickly, so make sure your space is warm. I will often use an electric blanket under a nice throw rug so that baby is really comfortable when they sleep. The more contented your baby is, the more likelihood your images will be natural.
3. Lighting
NEVER USE FLASH! Shall I say that again? NEVER USE FLASH! Think… rabbit in the headlights! Find some nice natural light instead, like a window or glass door and set up your area nearby. The closer the better. Overhead household lights should also be avoided. Have a look around your home to assess what parts of the house are brightest and at what times the light does not cast a shadow across the space. The last thing you want is the perfect shot of your baby spoilt by a weird shadow from the wind chime dangling outside the door!
4. Camera and Equipment
Obviously a professional will have superior equipment (or one would hope so), but nonetheless you can achieve great photos of your baby using any half decent camera. In fact, you may even triumph. If you are unfamiliar with manual settings, you can use auto, but again, accept that your images will not have that professional edge. Whatever camera you have though, try and keep the aperture open fairly wide, around 2.8 to help blur the background. If you are a complete camera novice, just turn off your flash and use the auto portrait setting to help keep the aperture wide.
5. Setting Up
Set up a backdrop – this is as simple as just using a couple of dining chairs with a plain sheet or textured blanket draped over them and onto a couch cushion and pillow on the floor.
A couch cushion is usually high enough so that you can get down low and shoot baby from different angles. With a nice soft pillow on top of the cushion, baby should be very comfortable. It is always a good idea to put a mattress protector over the pillow and cushion, because newborns in my experience tend to always wee at some point during the shoot if they are naked (dare I say it… especially boys!). And then you can take a photo that looks like this:
Sweet dreams, little man…
If you have a helper, you can take great close up photos of baby while someone else is holding them. All the same lighting tips would apply and an example of another North Shore bubba is below:
It’s a hard life!
If this still sounds all too hard, or your creative plans are derailed for any reason, then feel free to contact me and I can put together a package for your consideration. A typical newborn shoot with Dylan & Boo Photography will cost around $250 to $600 depending on how many images you purchase.
