The Best Way to Photograph your Baby

One of the great happiness in the life of a married couple is to be blessed by a baby, And whenever it happens, Parents want to make the most out of this moment, and for that, Taking pictures of your baby from the moment he/she born till the age where your child can see themselves and feel the love of their parents.

Taking good pictures can be a bit difficult task for some parents as every parent want to capture their child beautifully but operating a camera and tackle a new born baby is not an easy task to perform together.

There are some useful Tips and Tricks for Photographing your Babies that are mentioned below:

Finding The Angles

The biggest challenge is to find the right angles that I know many parents struggle in finding the angle which is good to go.

Particularly, Newborn babies are most difficult to shoot with because they always need a some kind of support, either it’s mother holding the baby or a cradle doing the job.

Don’t give up though, Here are some angles you can use to take amazing photos of your baby.

Low Angle

One major key to get natural and beautiful shots is to get down on baby’s level, and for that sometimes you literally have to lay down on the floor to get the right shots, But using this angle can provide some really memorable pictures and it’s an amazing exercise to follow and become expert in this.

Close Ups

The most successfully achievable angle is a Close up angle, By using this angle you can take close up shots of your baby’s face or to the shoulders.

Bird-eye Or Top angle

Bird-eye or Top angle is when you get above the scene and then look straight down, You can use this angle to take photographs of your baby by standing up on the stool and set up and amazing background according to what you like and then from the top, Click a picture.

MOST IMPORTANT IS TO IDENTIFY THE HAPPY TIMES OF YOUR BABY

All parents try to notice every little movements of their babies, And there’s no doubt about looking at those small cute humans are most satisfying and relaxing, Moreover, Newborns have a same routine such of eating, sleeping, pooping and crying, It’s sometimes hard to see a newborn smiling, However, There are some moments that they enjoy and you have to identify those moments as a parent, Such as moments after feeding a baby and let them lay in the cradle, Some newborns really enjoy bathing, Moments when a baby is about to sleep or half-a-sleep, These are some moments in which your baby smiles or at least gives you an expression that can be best for photographing your newborn.

KEEP YOUR CAMERA CLOSE AND KEEP CAPTURING

As a parent you have to become camera friendly and because you never know when you baby start doing somethings which is worth capturing like Funny, Cute, Disgusting, Angry or even Crying moments. Without being a camera handy you will miss these precious moments. So for that whatever camera you have try to keep it close and charge it to full.

Another importance of keep capturing daily is, Your baby is growing every day and changing every day, Especially in the first few months and it’s an amazing experience to witness, However we as a human most don’t realize those little changes, So it’s good to record them by taking photos of your baby every day for at least initial 6 to 8 months and then what you can do is, make a time line and post all the pictures from day one to the day you stop capturing, And then you’ll notice the changes that you might did not realize.

CREATE THE BEST LIGHTING FOR YOUR BABY

Now Lighting your baby for taking pictures can be a bit difficult cause lighting is a technical subject, But again nothing is impossible and when it comes to taking pictures of your baby, You should give it a shot for some more beautiful and soothing pictures of your baby by using some lighting techniques. Below we will discuss some useful lighting techniques that are easy to create and most effective for baby photography.

Use of Natural Lighting

The best source for lighting up anything for the purpose for taking pictures is using the natural lighting of a day time, Same goes for lighting your baby by using natural lighting is to keep your baby close to a window (where sunlight gets through) but keeping in mind that Sunlight may irritate your baby, So what you try to do is find the right lighting which is enough and check in your camera frame, Then make the light softer by hanging a white piece of cloth on your window, The goal is to set to the best achievable soft lighting for your baby which is good to go.

Most importantly, Don’t Afraid of shadows, Try making little shadows by using lights as shadows add depth to your pictures.

You can set up your own Light studio

First of all dedicate a small place to that you can turn into a photography studio for your baby, it could be any area of a room or your living room according to your comfort.

What you have to do to create your own lighting setup is, You need few equipment to start practicing your own lighting setup, which is:

Lights – There are different types of light available in the market for photography but DIY makes you excited that you are going productive for your baby, and for that buy any three white light bulbs to create a light box which is going to provide light.

Some Lights you can buy from the market are:

Incandescent bulbs.

Fluorescent aka Photo Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) Also called Energy Saver.

LEDs (light-emitting diodes).

Flash Bulbs.

White Yarn or Diffusion Paper – Direct exposure of light on your baby can make your baby angry or ruin your photography session, and for that you need to soften up your DIY light box by sticking white yarn on your light box or you can buy diffusion papers from the market and stick it on the light box, that will soften up the light and also creates beautiful shadows and detailing in the pictures.

Reflectors

Reflectors can be very useful as they bounce the light back into the scene, They mostly act like an additional light source and also helps to create shadow or light a particular area, You can also buy this product from any equipment shop or online.

Collapsible Backgrounds for Photography

Another amazing tool to buy for setting up a small home studio for you baby is Collapsible backgrounds, This is a cheap but very amazing product in providing the best backgrounds that can give a feel of studio, They are called collapsible because you can fold them up and they are available in different colors as well, So witness the transition of a room into a studio and capture amazing photos of you newborn baby.

Lighting newborn babies from the top of the head to the chin

When you’re using studio setup to photograph your children, It is good to use studio lighting in a way that Light your baby from the left and above the head and let the light flow downwards to the chin. Below is the example picture in which light is coming from the left side. When you see shadows under the chin and the nose, those shadows are a good indication that the light is placed correctly.

Posing your baby correctly is very important

It is very important to pose your baby correctly, Posing your baby in the right way not only make the picture beautiful but it will be easier to light the baby, By posing correctly means to create the curves in the image, As we love to see the curves in the babies.

Importance of Dressing up you babies

Newborn babies should be the star of the show when it comes to the Photography session, so dressing in bright colors or busy patterns is often distracting, Try considering neutrals as a palate like (gray, navy, tan, white, ivory, soft blue, soft pink, etc.)

The beautiful part of doing a photoshoot in your house by yourself is you can create pictures adding your values to it and even things which is close to your heart, You can use them as a prop in your pictures, like self-knitted sweater is best in giving textures in your photos and it also looks amazing with the baby.

KEEP YOUR BABY SUPPORTED ON SET OR WHILE SHOOTING

Doesn’t matter if you make a decision of taking pictures of your baby at home or you decide to take your baby at the studio and let the photographer do the job for you, The most important thing should be in notice is, Parents should know how to keep your baby supported on the set or while shooting. And for that, you need to learn some of the traditional and effective ways of carrying your baby in your arm and making them comfort while shooting them, There are some ways to carry your baby in a comfortable way while taking pictures on the set or in the home.

Do the face to face hold

This is a great way for mother to hold a baby in way that looks like a mother is interacting with the baby and here’s what you have to do to get it right:

Place your hand behind your baby’s back and neck, Put the other hand on their bottom and then hold the baby in front of you, Now this can be a great pose including mother and baby together in a single frame, interacting to each other.

Do the Cradle hold

This is usually the most common way to carry a baby in your hand but it look great in the picture and also calming for baby, as the baby gets full support of your hand on the back.

To cradle hold your baby, Lay your baby down on the and then pick it up by sliding one hand under the neck and head, and the other under the bottom and hips. By this way you can bring your baby close to your body and move them in comforting motion.

Make chest to chest contact

Lift up your baby by sliding your right hand under the baby’s back and put your right hand on the back of the baby along with covering the head of it, and put your left hand at the bottom of the baby to provide full support, then Bring close your baby to your chest, Make them listen your heart beat.

Just make sure that your baby’s head is facing one side.

The “Hello World” Hold

Not all babies are the same, some are really curious to see what going on around and likes to look everywhere with their eyes wide open, There’s a way to hold your baby in a way that is best for curious baby and also for some great fun pictures.

To do this hold, Let your baby’s back rest against your chest so that his head gets support, Then place one arm under his bottom and place the other arm across his chest, And make sure that the baby’s head remains supported by your chest, And if you’re sitting down then you can place the baby on your lap.

We hope this article will help you in getting the best photographs of your new born baby, As we know how every parent wants to look after their babies in the best possible way they can do, From buying clothes to bathing them right, from feeding to sleeping and to take the best beautiful pictures of your baby.