Tips for photographing newborn babies

One of the most special memories there is to save is the birth of a baby, be it your child or grandchild. A baby changes so fast that even a period of 1 week can make a huge difference in the way they look. The things you miss will never happen again, they are going to do things for the first time and it’s nice to have a memory of that time.

There are 5 key things that you need to consider when photographing newborns, they are how to pose them, how to dress them, how often to photograph them, what type of look are you going for, and who should be in the photos.

As for posing newborns, you are limited because they can’t do much on their own.  You must lay them in the position for the photos.  The best way to go about this is to find some props to use in the photos.  Use things that are somewhat plain but will add to the look of the photo.  A good example of a prop is a wicker basket that you can put a blanket in and lay the baby in the basket, you can then lay them on their sides, front or back and shoot from different angles for the best shots. 

Try to shoot the photos in natural light, if possible find a north-facing window with good light and get something white to use a reflector, a large piece of construction paper or a white foam core piece from a craft store.  To use the reflector, put the baby between the widow and the reflector.

Clothing is another big consideration for the photos.  Make sure you are in a place that is warm enough for the baby to be comfortable especially if you are going to shoot some cute naked shots, if they are cold, they will cry.  Also take some shots in cute clothes that you got at showers that they may only be able to wear for a couple of weeks.

How often you should take photos is up to the individual.  I would recommend that during the first year you try to take a shot or 2 every week or more often than that.  My Grandson and his parents lived with us for the first year of his life, I took over 1000 pictures of him during that time, that may be overkill but I made a slide show of the pictures and put it together as a memory of his first year.  He is 9 now and his mom still likes to watch it once in a while.  It’s a nice way to remember them because they grow up so fast, and it’s gone.

Another thing to do to have some great shots is to look through your photos and experiment with black and white.  Some shots are ok in color but can be really great shots if you take the color out of them.  You can also shoot for black and white but I always like to have all photos in color, it is very time consuming and tedious work to color a black and white photo.

One thing you want to be sure you do is get the rest of the family members in shots with the newborn. Shots with mom are important and great memories, but shots with dad and siblings are also great memories that like said before, you can’t ever take them again.

My favorite way to take shots of kids is to get candid shots, lay them in a good spot and let them move around and watch facial expressions and watch for cute shots you can get of feet and hands as they move. I also do this as they get older, you will get some of your best shots of kids if they don’t know that you are taking their picture.

Remember that everyone wants to have pictures of their baby and you can only get them once so shoot a lot and shoot often.

To keep up with good photography news and tips check out my blog.

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