Kaboutjie SA Mommy Blogs by Lynne Huysamen
You’ve just had a baby and want to capture those special newborn moments. You may want to hire a professional newborn photographer like Love Me Silly Photography, or you may also choose to take your newborn baby photos yourself. While it may seem like you can’t get a good angle or a good shot there are some very simple tips that will help you to take stunning photos of your newborn baby.
Lighting
The most important aspect of photography is lighting. Make sure never to have light shining up, have the light shining down onto your baby from his head down his body at about a 45 degree angle.
You may be panicking now wondering how you will get professional photography lights, but this is not necessary. You can use natural light too using a window or even consider taking your newborn outside to get some photos done.
Posing
Posing your newborn baby will make all the difference. You can place your baby on his stomach with his legs folded underneath him. Make sure to have his knees shoulder length apart with his feet crossed to make sure he is nicely balanced. Try to get your baby to unclench his hands, this will make your baby look more peaceful in photos.
Make sure to always have your baby’s safety in mind, having an extra set of hands to hold your baby can come in handy.
Props
Have some props ready to try out. Baby headbands, angel wings, baby blankets, baskets and toys come in handy. If you have had a grandparent give a handmade blanket or something sentimental make sure to incorporate that in your photos.
Be Prepared
You don’t have to take all your photos in one go – it will be easier and much more fun to take a number of shoots over a period of a few weeks. You will be able to see the developmental differences between each shoot, plus you will be a better chance of having more epic photos.
Chances are high that in some shoots you won’t find much success, so doing it over a period of time increases your chances of having lovely photos.
Make sure that you have fed your baby beforehand and have some things on hand to make sure things go as smoothly as possible. You can have some waterproof pads available for messes, which are inevitable at some stage.
Happy Baby Happy Mommy
Make sure that you and baby are happy, it will make for a much more productive photo shoot and you want to keep things fun and enjoyable for you and baby.
The first part of keeping your baby happy is choosing a time of day to shoot. Chances are that your baby will be calmer, happier and more cooperative in the morning than in the afternoon but you will know your baby best so plan to shoot at the time that is best for your baby.
Newborn babies need to be kept warm, especially since you may be shooting your baby naked or close to naked. Have a heater ready and warm the room before getting started.
Nurse your baby just beforehand and possibly even in between shots too. This will keep your baby calm and content.
Play some music or have some white noise playing so that your baby is not distracted by the sound of the camera clicking. Have all your equipment ready and charged, plus all your props on hand.
Experiment With Each Pose
Instead of constantly moving your baby play around with each pose. Take shots from different angles and using different settings and lenses on your camera. You may be surprised at how different a shot may look if you walk around your baby and take it from a different angle.
Take close ups and focus on different parts of your baby too. Take shots of your baby’s eyes, toes, lips and hands. These can make amazing photos too!
Get Siblings In Too
Get some shots with your baby’s siblings too. If your other child is much older you may be able to take photos with the older sibling holding your newborn. With younger siblings you can play around with pictures of your child and baby lying together.
These photos with your newborn and older children are priceless and so beautiful.
Mommy and Baby
You may not feel very attractive right after giving birth but capturing those moments as a new mother with your newborn baby will be something so special and chances are in the future you may regret not having photos of you and your baby. Make sure to get some shots of Daddy with baby too.
Ask your husband or maybe an older child to take some photos of you with your newborn baby, or it may be easier to get professional photos done of you and your newborn baby by Love Me Silly Photography.
New born photos are so adorable and makes one just want another baby to smooch and cuddle with. I envy the photographers that do these photo shoots, it seems simple but defiantly must be a hard task. As stated in the article that not all of these photo shoots are successful and I find that to be so true. Just imagine having to deal with an infant, changing him or her and adding props and changing positions. Some babies can become moody when they disturbed, not all babies will allow you to manoeuvre them whichever way you want to.
I’m definitely not so brave to try and accomplish this at home, I would probably end up being so frustrated.
Photographers just make this look so easy by achieving such picture-perfect moments.
I wish I’d taken alot of photos of both my daughters when they were born