Taking photos of babies can be an absolute joy and pleasure, especially if you know how to shoot like a pro. If you’re a parent, or doting grandparent, you’ll want to take full advantage of every opportunity that you have available, to fill your beautiful baby photo albums with gorgeous milestone and keepsake imagery.
Our 5 practical tips can certainly help you to boost your chances of capturing winning baby photos, every time the camera shutter clicks.
1. Pick Your Moments
To get the most out of your baby photography, it’s crucial that you choose the best time to take your winning snaps. While a newborn babe will be content to nap as you snap, an infant who is more active and inquisitive may not be such a willing model.
To stand a better chance of having a fabulous portfolio of images to choose from, to arrange and display in your baby photo albums, it’s a good idea to get your camera ready during moments when your bundle of joy is content. There may also be other times of the day when your child is calm and curious, or happily playing. Having your camera primed to capture these special moments will reward you with rich pickings in the winning baby photo category.
2. Shoot At Eye Level
When photographing babies, a professional photographer knows how to create a sense of intimacy, by shooting at eye level. A newborn that is wrapped up all snug and cosy in his/her mum’s arms, or resting on his dad’s shoulder, offers up a perfect pose that is timeless and classic. To complement the adorable eye level close-up, take additional photos of their cute and tiny feet and hands.
If you’re photographing toddlers and older children, it’s best to try to capture the natural flow of physical movement. Instead of aiming for a posed shot, focus on snapping children having uninhibited playtime fun.
It can also be helpful to have an idea or plan of the shots that you want to take throughout the session. Due to a baby’s unpredictable moods, it’s always best to be prepared for anything. You may need to skip any low priority shots, if you want to be in with a chance to snap the winning shot of the day.
3. Work With Natural Light
To create a stunning display of visually appealing images for baby photo albums, it’s essential that you master working with natural light. A natural source of light produces the most flattering images, whether you’re snapping babies, children or adults.
You can use a reflector to bounce the natural light that streams into a room via a window, and around the subject. If you don’t have a professional photo reflector, it’s possible to create the same effect using the surface of a large white sheet or a piece of white cardboard or paper. Ideally, the baby should be posed close to the window, with the reflector angled to instantly lighten up any dark shadows.
4. Experiment With Professional Techniques
If you’re keen to level up your baby photography skills, you will need to experiment with different pieces of equipment and a variety of professional techniques.
For general everyday shots of baby, use a prime or portrait lens that is recommended for low light environments, The faster autofocus speed will prove beneficial, when you’re capturing baby crawling or enthusiastically eating lunch.
To enhance the quality of winning close-up photos of your baby’s tiny features, a macro lens will definitely come in handy.
A zoom lens is ideal when you’re photographing a baby that is on the move and active. Because the lens allows you to continue to frame, you increase your chances of successfully snapping a winning baby photo
To add detail and interest to your collection of gorgeous baby photos on display in your luxury photo books, it’s an excellent idea to utilise the touchscreen on your camera (if it has one). By touching the screen in the areas that you want to focus on – such as baby’s hands or feet – the camera’s large aperture will blur all other areas of the body to emphasise your chosen point of focus.
Switching your camera’s drive mode to a continuous shooting setting enables you follow sudden movements as they happen. You’ll be primed to capture live action, as baby explores the wonders of their world.
5. Use A Tripod
Although you may initially think that using a tripod, when photographing baby, is not a great idea, take a moment to consider a key advantage…
If you’re a proud mum or dad, you may not always get an opportunity to pose with baby, if you’re always on the other side of the camera. A tripod makes you instantly hands free, and available to pose with your child. You can also use your camera free hands to distract baby, so that the image captured is spontaneous, and full of expression.
A tripod is also perfect for snapping portraits of the whole family. To shoot winning photos for your baby photo albums and family photo books, set your camera up on a tripod, and switch the drive mode to self-timer. Your timer will give you a 10 second window of opportunity to strike a pose, with baby in tow, before the shutter snaps. Taking a test shot is helpful, as it enables you to tweak the focus and exposure settings, for the ultimate shooting experience.
