Time it right
Most professional photographers will schedule newborn shoots around day 5-10 after birth. Although you might doubt it at the time, the baby spends a lot more time sleeping at that age compared with later, and is generally more “poseable” when younger. A sleeping baby makes for some very sweet photos which will be much harder to achieve in a few weeks.
That said, once you’ve got the hang of it, there will be lots more opportunities over the next few weeks to capture your growing baby. And once you’ve started to get good at setting the scene, it’ll be much easier to get the right shot.
One of the great benefits you have over a professional photographer is that you have all day every day. So you can do a few shots one day and if you realise it isn’t working, take a break. Wait for better sunlight, wait for it to be darker, do whatever works. Aim to take a few shots/setups each day and you’ll find some great ones.
Set the scene
- Warm the room
- Filter the light if needed (don’t have a bright light shining down on the baby)
- Make sure your baby isn’t hungry or wearing a dirty nappy. These sort of things make for pretty grumpy faces
- Practice the photos with a teddy to check angles, focus and lighting before posing or waking baby
- Find a source of white noise, either an app or an online track. It will help keep a sleeping baby asleep and a calm baby calm
Write a list of the scenes/shots which might work or that you really want. You don’t need to get all of them and you’ll find some of the impromptu shots work better than the ones you thought would be “perfect” but having a list gives a bit of structure and a framework to try. Always keep your baby’s safety in mind. Don’t leave them lying tummy down, don’t rest them in positions which might cause breathing to be difficult, don’t balance them somewhere they may fall. We’d suggest at least a few of the following, and see here for some other manageable ideas:
- The master bed- it often has good lighting, space, is comfortable and warm. Pop on a favourite blanket or throw and sit the whole family together on the bed.
- Outdoors- another great scene for the family shots, find somewhere you can all sit together and consider adjusting the focus so the background is slightly less clear. Direct sun isn’t great, find somewhere softly shaded if you can.
- On a textured blanket- you can put a blanket down on the floor somewhere that the lighting works and capture your baby from multiple angles
- Sleeping on Mum’s shoulder
- Snuggled in Dad’s arms
- Both parent’s hands holding baby’s head
Use simple props
The key focus of these pictures is, of course, your baby. Adding too many accessories is uneccesary. Find simple textures without too many patterns. Feel free to use some patterns, but we’d suggest aiming for more with simple backgrounds to let the baby stand out. Try some bolder colours as well as pastels, but we’d aim to avoid yellow in the first few days, as babies often have a tinge of jaundice and a yellow outfit will exaggerate this. Some suggestions are:
- A chunky knit blanket
- A soft fleece or sheepskin
- A relatively plain wrap
- A Moses basket
- Towels. This one sounds silly, but they can be adjusted to position the baby safely and comfortably by rolling them to create the perfect shape, and have a gentle texture which can accentuate the picture
Capture details
One of the things which is really difficult to remember is how tiny your baby was. Use this early phase to capture all the tinyness. Photograph their tiny toes, their fingers wrapped around yours, the way their head fits into your hand, their little face.
Include some items for perspective, such as your hands, a toy which might last a long time, a favourite cushion. Use something they will be able to look at and delight in the fact that they used to be that little.
Take a lot of photos
These are “now or never” shots. So if you only take a few, you may well find that there aren’t any great ones. If you take hundreds and hundreds of photos, you may find it a little overwhelming to try to sort them initially, but at least you have them so that if/when you are a little less exhausted and have a bit more time to go through them, there will be some incredible finds waiting for you. Try a variety of angles, you might be surprised by how much a change improves a photo.
Don’t forget that you can edit these later too. Even if you feel that your baby’s skin is a bit red, or Mum is a bit pale, there will be filters and adjustments you can make once you are ready to make these photos just right. And we’ll be honest. Nobody is looking at how pale Mum is or how red your baby’s skin is. When you look back, it will be to look at your baby’s perfect face. (If you want to edit, this site has some suggestions and free filters to adjust things.)
The other thing about taking a lot of photos (and being prepared to take a lot by having a range of memory available) is that this is the way to capture a “funny moment” such as a sneeze or a yawn or a smile. If you haven’t become used to photographing your baby, these sort of pictures can be terribly lit, terribly focused, or just not captured. In time, these are the ones you will look back on and see glimpses of who your baby becomes as they grow.
Use a remote control
Try using a remote control to get pictures of the whole family. Using the timer can work perfectly, but involves running back and forth a lot. Instead, consider purchasing a cheap remote control, or, if using an iphone, try using an old phone as a remote switch for the newer one. There are also multiple apps available which allow you to use one phone to control the other.
Good luck! Enjoy capturing these precious moments.
