I recently photographed a family friend’s new baby. It was so much fun, and my first time doing a “real” baby photo shoot. The baby was fairly well-behaved, she fussed a little, but mom quickly calmed her down. Below are a few tips I picked up:

  1. Arrange the time so that the child has just finished eating, a full tummy=happy baby (usually).
  2. Be flexible for both the child and the parent.
  3. Avoid other distractions, such as siblings, noises, and lighting
  4. Be aware of lighting, both from the flash, sunlight, and interior lighting.
  5. Try to light the baby as much as possible with natural lighting.
  6. If this isn’t possible, (I took these after dark) Make sure that the lighting used is the same color. Avoid fluorescent and incandescent mixture.
  7. Use warm lighting. Babies especially don’t look comfortable in “cold” lighting.
  8. Understand what the parent is trying to capture. Is it details like tiny fingers, nose, and toes, face close-ups, the child in their environment or a mixture of all 3?
  9. Establish what mood they are going for: sleepy, happy, etc.
  10. If possible, shoot in RAW rather than JPG. It allows for much more color adjustment after the fact.

I had a great time, and look forward to my next opportunity.

Hannah

Hannah

Hannah

Hannah

Hannah