Jane Atter Photography

5 tips to newborn photography at home

NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FOR PARENTS DURING THE LOCKDOWN

Since the advice goes from the government that we should all stay home in order to protect ourselves and the society against the Corona virus (COVID-19), my photography studio has postponed all the photo sessions until the end of May 2020 when (hopefully) the lockdown is going to end.

However, babies are still going to be born before that time and I understand the desire of the new parents to capture their new baby in their tiny newborn stage.  How? You ask me. Newborn photography isn’t easy and requires a lot of patience and time (that is one thing we all have now being locked in our houses  J)

I have prepared a few tips that will help you to take nice photos of you baby.

• 5 TIPS TO PHOTOGRAPH YOUR NEWBORN BABY AT HOME:

1. LIGHT is everything. Make sure you place your baby next to a large window (it will give you a good amount of light that will help quality of your photos.
2.  One thing to remember – make sure that window dos not have direct sunlight shining through, instead either choose a window on northern side of your house, East or West are also good (keep an eye on the time of the day when they window starts getting direct sun light)
3. If the only window you have is on the south side with the sun rays beaming through you can sheer this light with some white chiffon curtains or fabric to remove harsh lighting or wait for a cloudy day.

ELEVATE & SUPPORT baby’s head – it is very important to take newborn photos safely. So please make sure your baby’s head is supported at all times.

• DECENT CAMERA – Camera does not determine quality of your newborn photography and does not create baby or any other family portraits for you, but sure does help you with this task especially in your home studio.
• With our phones being advanced year by year there is a good chance that your smart phone can do a decent job with the photos. If you are using iPhone 11 Pro, then choose a Portrait mode, this will blur the background of your photo to a nice boke and photo will have that almost professional looking finish.
•  If you have a DSLR camera and would like to try it, I would highly recommend checking out my tutorial on Exposure triangle that will help you understand settings better. If not, do choose Portrait Mode in your camera and put your ISO on Auto.
• Camera lens – if you have a DSLR and don’t know what lens best to buy for photographing your children, I would recommend starting off with 50mm 1.8 lens, which is a great and  non-expensive starting option for all of your family portraits.

• WARM & FULL TUMMY – key thing to successful newborn photography is to make your baby comfortable and asleep. Babies love being warm! Remember how toasty warm it was for your baby inside mummy’s tummy?
• By making sure your baby has a good feed and before his photo session, and good burp – this will help your baby sleep longer and allow you to change positions without waking him up.
• Babies love being warm! Remember how toasty warm your baby was inside mummy’s tummy? By heating the room to 30+ degrees you provide your baby with the comforting feeling he lived with for the past 9 months. Feeling secure and warm is what will help your baby sleep longer and deeper during the session.
• Use an extra blanket to cover baby up until he falls into a very deep sleep if necessary.

• ELEVATE & SUPPORT baby’s head – it is very important to take newborn photos safely. So please make sure your baby’s head is supported at all times. You can do so by placing a little towel roll under your photography blanket. Add as many towels as you need to make sure baby’s head is elevated and his face is not dig into the blanket and you can see face in full.
• If baby’s head falls backwards, then put extra support under the back of the head and under baby’s back.

• CAMERA ANGLES – this is where magic happens!!! All of the newborn photographs are illusion!!
• Turn your camera so baby’s head is always above baby’s feet
• Make sure you don’t take photos up baby’s nose – chose a more flattering angle by photographing slightly above your baby — it is a lot more flattering when you can’t see baby’s nostrums
• Position yourself so your camera sees baby’s face first and then the rest of the body goes into boke – not only your  baby’s face is the main focus of newborn photography, but also you will minimise the rest of the baby’s body, so he will appear even smaller on all the images.

Happy photo session and please do share your newborn photos with me, I can’t wait to see them! Share this link to your other pregnant friends so they won’t miss an opportunity to photograph their baby’s at their newest stage.

If you still need help — please do not hesitate booking a professional photo session. However tempting it is to take your own photos, you can find it harder than it seems on the surface. Professional Photography is not only guaranteed beautiful photos that your family will enjoy for the rest of your lives, but also a a chance for the parents to sit back and relax for the whole of 4 hours. You don’t need to do a thing, everything will be done for you.

Follow our Facebook and Instagram pages for more inspiration and helpful tips on newborn photography.