5 Tips to Make The Best Baby Photography
Bringing home a new baby is cause for celebration, as are the unique moments that follow. After settling into your new life as a parent, a baby photography session is one of the most common next steps for Mom and Dad. Read on to find our 5 most important tips that will help you take the best photos of your newborn child.
Baby Photography Tip #1 – Play With Light
Photography, at its most basic, is the capturing of light at a specific moment in time. This light can come from two main sources; the sun and artificial light.
Be aware, the sun’s light can be harsh for a newborn, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t photograph your baby outdoors. Try holding your photoshoot on a slightly cloudy day, or in the shade of a large tree. This will help diffuse the sun’s light, remove harsh shadows and blown-out highlights. Most importantly, be sure that the sun is situated to the front of your child, and not behind them, as you want your baby’s face to be lit by the sunlight. Backlit photographs are difficult to perfect.
For interior shots, sunlight is not always available to light the scene. In this case, get creative with your light source! Try using unique sources of light, such as holiday lights or lamps with unique bulb colours to add to your baby photoshoot’s atmosphere. You could even use a well-placed flashlight to highlight a portion of the scene. Try experimenting with bouncing light off walls or filtering it through sheer fabrics. Sometimes this diffused light can really add to the photo’s atmosphere.
Keep in mind that most indoor lighting is significantly less bright than the sun. Because of this, you may want to use a tripod to keep your camera still and reduce blurring or add a flash to brighten the scene. If you choose to use your flash, try and get it to bounce off the ceiling by placing a white notecard in front of the flash at a 45° angle to the ceiling. This will help prevent the flash from filling in natural shadows and flattening the scene.
#2 – Plan Your Scene
There are many simple ways you can take an ordinary photo and make it extraordinary with a little planning.
For example, if you are planning an interior baby photoshoot you can cover the scene with coloured paper or a muslin backdrop to give your baby photo a personality. You can also play with different textures to help highlight your child. Placing them on a soft blanket or beside blooming flowers can really add to the photo. Or you could do the exact opposite and use a flat, white background to put all the focus on your newborn.
#3 – Be Creative
The best photographs sometimes come from the most creative ideas. We want to share with you some outside of the box ideas that we hope inspire you to use the tools that you have at home to take an amazing picture of your baby.
Try playing with the scene to add depth to your baby photos. You can do so by shooting the scene to look like it was taken from a different perspective, or even add a third dimension to your flat photo. To create the 3D photos displayed on this page, we used an iPhone and Android app called LucidPix. This app will take your baby photos and use AI to make them 3D with a single tap of a button. It couldn’t be easier! The more creative you are, the better outcome you can get.
#4 – Choose A Theme
When you choose a theme for your pictures, it can help you find the accessories and props you need to make your baby photo great. Inspiration could come from a favourite movie, your baby’s birth season, the gender of your baby, or anything else that is important in you and your baby’s life.
In this case, the accessories, outfit and main colour of the scene can go a long way towards making the perfect photoshoot. With that in mind, when you choose a theme, go all-in with it! Have some fun!
#5 – Move The Perspective
Why not try different angles and change the perspective of the picture? You can use a ladder to increase the distance from you and the baby and create a bigger sense of perspective, or you can change the angle by moving around your baby until you find the perfect perspective. Sometimes by simply changing where the camera is located can make a huge difference in your photos.
Like these 3D images?
To create these fantastic 3D photos, we used a smartphone app called LucidPix. This no-cost app can take your regular photos and re-make them in immersive 3D. Give it a try today!