Newborn Photos at Home

How to Take Better Photos of Your Baby

Nothing beats professional shots, but with some tips you can get better newborn photos at home on your camera or phone too.

Lighting
Lighting is a key factor in capturing a beautiful image. It is best to shoot indoors, by a window, using natural light. Avoid direct sunlight as it casts harsh shadows. Ideally your baby should be angled such that the light flows from the top of baby’s head on down their body at approximately a 45 degree angle. Just look for a nice soft shadow underneath your little one’s nose to make sure that you have this right. Best time for shooting outside would be around sunset time or early in the morning, overcast days are also good as shadows are very soft.

Angles
Changing your angle is one of the easiest things to do to make your photos look that little bit different. For some reason it seems easier to photograph up a baby’s nose, but it’s usually not very flattering. Make sure that you can stand high enough to aim down without getting the view under baby’s chin or up the nose. The best shots of children are taken at their eye level, so get low to the ground to take your pictures if your baby is sitting or standing, or lying on the tummy.

Background
Simple is best. Keep backgrounds simple and clean. Tidy up the scene of distracting items such as nappies or bottles. Uncluttered backgrounds, such as a beach, grass, a cream blanket are great.

Reflections
Be careful of what you wear when capturing photos. Any bright outfits (as red, blue, yellow and ect) could reflect up into your little one’s face. Wear a neutral or dark outfit when taking pictures. This color cast concept doesn’t just apply to what you are wearing. There are other items in the room or next to the baby that could introduce a reflections. Walls, furniture, drapes, blankets, big toys could introduce a color cast into your subject. Keep your surroundings in mind and find the location that will best prevent these color casts. You can remove colourfull objects from the scene or put some neutral blankets on top of them.

Safety
Please make sure your baby’s safety is the number one priority while you are taking his or her newborn photos at home. Make sure you have an over the head strap on your camera if you are shooting from above the baby. Never stand on anything above the baby in case you fall. Personally I do not offer over-complicated poses or set-ups in my newborn sessions, this is just not my style. There are some interesting but unnatural baby images you can find browsing internet. I believe those images should always be done as a photoshop composites.

Get in the picture
You mean the world to your children, and no matter what you are wearing, what you look like today, you are their mum, and they want to remember you being in their lives. Exist in photographs for your children, for yourself and for the people who love you. I regret I don’t have many photos of myself and my little boy together during his first year. I should have got my husband to take some shots of us more often, even on his phone. I miss my boy being a little baby already. I am very happy though that we made an effort and got professional family photos of us done every few months, this is the best investment we did.

Backing up
Print the best photos regularly. Always back up your digital images. They are irreplaceable and valuable. Saying that I’ve just realised that last time I did a back up of my personal photos was about 6 months ago. This is what I am going to do tonight.

Here is a few casual and simple photos with minimum editing from my family album. Indoors ones were taken using natural light from the window, outdoor one was shot on overcast morning.