How to Take Professional Looking Baby Photographs at Home
From the minute your baby arrives in the world, you want to capture every precious expression and milestone in his life. But studio portraits can get pricey, and you never know if the baby who is happy at home is going to be screaming and red-faced when it’s finally your turn to go in front of the camera. Taking pictures at home is a more relaxed approach, and even if you aren’t a professional photographer, you can take beautiful photos of your baby.
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Instructions
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Wait until the baby is rested -- or sleeping -- to take pictures. Trying to take photos when your baby is tired, hungry or fussy is only going to cause frustration and disappointment.
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Dress the baby in simple clothing or just a diaper -- or nothing at all for the classic baby bottom shots. Bright colors, patterns or fussy clothing distract from a baby’s face and expressions.
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Create a neutral background for the photos. Hang a white or black sheet behind the baby to hide distractions in the background and keep the focus on the beautiful baby.
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Remove clutter. A single toy or blanket in the photo keeps the focus on the baby, while a pile of teddy bears is distracting.
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Place the baby in soft light for the photos. The best light is natural light from a window on a slightly overcast day. Experiment with several locations until you find the right lighting -- the best window will vary depending on where you live, the time of day and the size of the windows.
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Focus on the baby’s eyes when taking the photo. Infants move around a lot, but if you focus on the eyes, it should look good, even if some of the rest of photo slightly blurs from motion.
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Shoot from a variety of perspectives. Get down next to the baby and shoot from eye level, turn the camera at an angle and experiment with different levels of zoom.
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Use distractions to get a variety of expressions. Have someone stand behind you and make funny faces or shake a toy to coax a smile from the little one.
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Set the camera on burst mode, or use the portrait setting on a digital single-lens reflex camera. This setting allows you to take multiple pictures in quick succession, capturing expressions that change in an instant.
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Experiment with different settings on your camera if you are using auto mode. The camera’s user manual explains what each setting means, and how to use t effectively. For example, use the macro setting -- indicated by the flower on the dial -- to take close-up shots of tiny fingers and toes; the camera will focus on the foreground image and blur the background.
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Tips & Warnings
Take plenty of pictures. Out of dozens of shots, only a few may be what you're looking for. The more pictures you take, the better chance you have of getting the elusive perfect shot.
Avoid using a flash when taking photos of infants, especially if they are sleeping. The burst of light can startle a young baby, putting a quick end to the photo session.
References
- Photo Credit Comstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
