Photography Friday {Newborn Baby}
March 30, 2012 by Aimee • 18 Comments
When photographing a newborn, the best advice I can give you is to stay calm, be patient, and remain flexible.
- TIMING: Newborn pictures are best captured within the first ten days of life, the younger the better because you’ll be able to photograph them in a deep sleep, allowing for a greater variety in posing.
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WARMTH: Newborns tend to get a bit spastic when they’re not toasty warm and snuggled. Use a heating pad or my favorite, a hot water bottle and wrap it under the prop you’re using.
- FULL BELLY: You will capture the best pictures when a newborn’s belly is full. Wrap the naked newborn in a warm blanket to allow clothing lines to fade and offer the newborn a full feeding.
- NATURAL LIGHT: Do not use camera flash. Capture pictures near large windows or outside if the sky is overcast or you have a overhang to shoot under.
- CLEAR BACKGROUND: Don’t be shy about moving furniture, pictures or any distracting backgrounds from the area you’re shooting.
- SIMPLE PROPS: Props can easily overwhelm and distract from the true focal point, the precious newborn. Choose simple props with lots of texture. Faux fur, knit or crocheted blanket, gauze wraps or anything to swaddle the baby that allows the focus to remain on the tiny newborn. A covered boppy or bean bag are great for positioning newborns.
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GET CLOSE: The details of a newborns intricate parts are always amazing photographed. Get close to the newborn. Use the macro setting. Look through the lens and capture tiny fingers and toes, wrinkly backs, sleepy eyes.
- MOM and DAD: Nothing emphasizes the tiny size of a newborn more the incorporating a contrast with mom and dad’s hands or fingers.
- CREATIVITY: Be creative. Photograph the newborn from different positions, sides, angles. Come over the sleeping newborn laying on their back…shoot with the toes in focus and everything else blurred….capture the newborns back side.
A little personal story…
I had a sweet sleeping picture of my oldest two babies. Of course I need one of Baby B, too! I had the frame above the guest bed awaiting his sweet pose! For the first year of life, I took a monthly picture of each of my babies. I’ve done so many monthly pictures that by the time Baby B was born, I was totally chilled about the results. As long as I had a white background and he was somewhat facing the camera I was satisfied. I was chilled about every picture, with exception to one. I had huge hopes for a picture of my precious youngest in slumber…with a black background, resting in Daddy’s arms. It turned out to be quite a challenge!
Take one, two, and three all didn’t work and I began stressing! (While there were annoyances of toddler fits, bathroom breaks and hunger requests…the real trouble was that our subject wouldn’t go to sleep). I shed tears over the thought of Baby B being sixteen and driving and me at home without the treasured picture of my youngest child in slumberland! Hormones, I know! Finally one night, a couple months into life, Baby B fell asleep while feeding…still feeding, I carried Baby to Stud and whispered for him to grab every black article of clothing we owned…with some crazy manipulation, we managed to get Baby B positioned just right and captured the perfect shot! Baby B slept like a baby…and that night, so did I!!! The picture above is totally one of my forever favorites!
I love taking photos of babies but me I just aim and shoot some turn out great some not so great but I am for the most part happy with the baby photos of our girls……….and grandbabies…..
you have given some great tips here and I know they will help others take great photos of their babies….
Oh how sweet. I love the picture! And I know how that is. I have a couple of babies that have been perfect little ones as long as I don’t have a charged battery in my camera, or I forgot to get it out, or whatever. The moment I actually put effort in, somebody always gets super cranky. Oh well, the life of a mom.
Totally!!! LOL! Yes, we have to just capture most of those precious memories in our hearts!!! XO, AImee
I LOVE this post and precious story about Baby B! When looking back at the pic after reading the story, I can so tell that is Baby B. So sweet!
Thanks for these ideas: I’m 6months pregnant with our second child and hopefully (baby brain permitting) I’ll remember them when baby is finally here.
Congratulations Charmaine!!! I bet you’ll capture some beautiful pictures!!! XO, Aimee
I’d love to get some pics like this when our little boy arrives. Would be great to get he and his sister at the same time. We’ll see.
Thanks so much for this! I just did our first shoot with the baby yesterday, and they turned out so cute. Now I can’t wait to do another one tomorrow. Between these tips, your how to series, and the fact that you also introduced me to ipiccy, you’re seriously gonna make a photographer out of me! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
http://sugartartcrafts.blogspot.com/2012/04/let-me-introduce.html
(Don’t tell her, but these are looking a million times better than anything I ever took of his sister! lol)
That makes me SO HAPPY for you! There’s nothing that puts a bigger smile on my face then taking GREAT pictures!!! Tight Hug, Aimee
Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
What great tips, and I love your story on your own photo. My two are past this stage, and I try not to be upset, but I never got the perfect photos of either of them. My take is that photos are to jog the memory, and that a prefect photo does not do this any more than an imperfect one… still wish I had a perfect one though, LOL! Visiting from WFMW.
~Kimberlee, The Spunky Diva
That is SO TRUE Kimberlee!!! Xo, Aimee
These are some great ideas! I’m having my second baby in 3 months so I definitely need to remember these. I would love for you to link it up to my link party. I know my readers would love it too!
http://weliketolearnaswego.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-i-learned-wednesday-4.html
Thanks so much for sharing these tips! I just got a DSLR camera and have been backtracking on your photography course. I have learned so much and you re so awesome for sharing all of this!! I do have a few questions, though. I have a 18-55 lens and a 55-200 lens- what are the situations that would need to use one over the other? Also, what Photoshop do you recommend?
Such a sweet picture of your little one! Thanks for the photo tips, too! Happy Easter!
Take care,
Trish
Thanks for linking up to What I Learned Wednesday! I’m featuring this!
AIMEE!!! My brother and his wife had their first baby last week and asked me…. ME!!!….to take her newborn pictures! We booked an hour at a local rental photography studio complete with props and a space heater! Wish me luck!
Oh WOW! Congratulations! XO, Aimee