Newborn Photography Tips

If you have a shutterbug stuck inside you that makes you do maniacal things in order to get that “one right picture” in your kitty; and if you are extremely fond of infants, then may be photographing newborns is not such a bad idea for you. On the contrary, you might end up enjoying capturing the blissful moments of these little bundle of joys. However, capturing these little ones inside your camera is an ordeal in itself, as they are neither trained models who’ll pose as you want nor mere objects that you can adjust here and there to get that perfect shot. They have their own schedule and are oblivious to what you intend to do. But hard work and patience always pay off and having been able to capture that perfect precious moment will definitely seem like a much bigger reward for your patience and hard work. So if you’re a novice photographer or a parent who is a novice to photography, don’t go flashing your camera off at the baby; just continue reading to know about tips for photographing newborns and capture your baby’s finest moments that are sure to make you lose a tear or two for your baby.

Tips For Photographing Newborns

First and foremost - never mess with the baby’s routine and never try to force it out of sleep or in a particular pose; lest you want it to scream. Every pose doesn’t have to be with your baby’s eyes wide open. Be patient! A sleeping baby look is equally precious as the smiling one.
Be ready when it’s time to move in quickly. Have the batteries of your camera fully charged when not intending to take snaps. Keep the camera near where your baby is. You don’t want to waste precious time in going for camera hunt when the baby starts to do something priceless.
Turn off the flash. You don’t want to blind your baby by continuously taking snaps with flash. Use natural lighting as much as possible. It’s there; you just have to locate it. In case you want to use artificial lighting, try using minimal, just for elegance.
Keep the baby as the focal point of attention. Avoid using too many decorations or props in the background as they lessen the “wow effect” of the overall photograph. Try to hold baby’s attention towards you by whistling from behind the camera or by rattling a toy. Be quick in taking the snap.
It’s the expression that counts. Don’t spend too much time playing with your camera in anticipation of one crystal clear shot. Baby’s expressions come and go in a flash. As long as you’ve captured the expression, it’s fine. You can make the rest of the picture look as you want; courtesy photo editing softwares.
According to the baby’s routine i.e. when it is temporarily done with eating, pooping, crying, and sleeping; dress up your baby in different cutesy costumes and start taking pictures. There are a ton of neat and fun baby outfits available like a baby tuxedo, bunny costume, cute little bow laden shirt and much more. Be careful though, as a newborn’s skin is very sensitive and you wouldn’t want to give your little one an allergy or a rash.
Instead of costumes, you can also wrap your baby under an antique looking blanket, placing it on pillows, in baskets, on your hand, or anything you can find in your home that you think will make for a good photograph.
Don’t lose out on any “first time” pictures. The first time the baby is handed over to the mother. First time the baby is breastfed. First time the baby meets everyone in the family. First time the baby gets home. First time the baby is bathed. Take them all. Their worth will only grow with time!
Keep the shots coming. Don’t restrict yourself and don’t lose heart. It’s a probability that 99 out of 100 shots won’t be as you intended them to look, but the one shot will make it worth the pain.
Try different angles. Get low, zoom in on the baby, go right, and go left, take shots from above, and take shots while running (stop motion shot since you can’t make your baby run). Just be creative and intuitive.
Try in different color tones such as normal colored, sepia, and black and white. The “first time” shots will look great in black and white, other than those keep changing the tones for effect. You never know which shot clicks!
Don’t get too involved by focusing too much on photographing your baby. Don’t just capture memories, be a part of them too. All this will be worth only if you witnessed every moment through your own eye first.

Newborn photographing is an art — you need to be quick and swift; lest you lose on that precious moment. So, go ahead and get clicking.

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