Hello Sugar Bee Readers!
We’ve had a lot going on around our place these last few weeks.
We adopted our beautiful baby girl 3 weeks ago and our lives will never be the same.
We love her.
Because of our sweet new addition, I decided that today I will share with you some tips on taking pictures of newborns.
1. Take Them Early
Newborn pictures are best if they are taken within the baby’s first 2 weeks of life.
During this time they still have that “brand new” look. They sleep more, they haven’t started losing their hair (gotta love baby bald spots:), and they don’t usually have baby acne yet.
If you’re past that point, don’t worry, just take them as soon as you can.
If you’re wanting pictures with the umbilical cord still attached, try to take them within the first 5 days.
2. Feed them First
Make sure baby is fed prior to the session. I wouldn’t want someone poking and prodding at me when I’m hungry.
Baby doesn’t either.
3. Keep them warm
Babies that are warm and fed are usually pretty content and easy to work with. Use a blanket in between shots, keep the room warm, etc. Their little bodies are still learning how to keep their temperature up after being in the womb so the warmer the are, the happier they are likely to be.
4. Keep it Simple
Overall, simple is best. If possible, avoid crazy patterns on shirts or cartoon characters/animals. Most likely you will like the simple pictures better… and your baby will appreciate it when they’re older and their picture doesn’t look completely out of date.
I like to take naked/diaper baby pictures along with the others and, quite often, it’s those pictures that the parents end up liking best.
I’m convinced there is nothing cuter than wrinkly newborn skin.
Also, it’s nice to get parents in some of the pictures. Have mom and dad wear something simple, like a plain black shirt. You want the baby to stand out, not the stripes/designs on mom and dad’s clothing. Plus, new mama’s are generally pretty self conscious considering they (more often than not) just birthed that beautiful babe. Black is flattering and is probably what they feel the most comfortable in anyway.
5. Be Safe
Keep your hands clean. Your props clean. EVERYTHING clean.
Make sure mom or dad, or someone else, is ready, right next to the baby if the babe is on any sort of elevated surface. They move unexpectedly and it’s not worth taking any chances.
6. Don’t over-edit
Newborns are so beautiful.
Completely perfect.
It makes me a little sad when I see a newborn picture that’s completely unnatural and overly edited. I just don’t think it’s necessary. They are as perfect as they come.
If you have any more questions about taking pictures of newborns, feel free to ask.
Side note: I try to take pictures outside and with natural light whenever possible but when I’m doing an indoor session with a newborn, most of my lighting equipment is AlienBees.
Good luck with your future newborn pictures!
Be sure to visit me at The Dancing Toad Blog!
To those Sugar Bee readers that have been following our adoption story and the sweet few that helped with our fundraising efforts and helped us spread the word when we were so hoping to adopt… THANK YOU!
Sinea says
Oh, how wonderful! Congratulations on your little blessing…a baby! Wow. The photos are extraordinary. Had to Pin the little feet. That’s the best of all, in my estimation.
Jen Gagnon says
Congratulations! The pictures are so cute 🙂
trina says
Congratulations! These tips are definitely needed. Our due date is not until end of Jan, but I love learning and making notes so I’m not struggling and searching for info.
Stephanie Mitchell says
This couldn’t have come at a more perfect time! The hospitals around here have a photographer come in to take pictures of newborns, but they’re always so expensive I can’t afford to buy them (I just paid for a baby to be born…they really expect me to have an extra $200 laying around?) I’m excited to use these techniques when our new little one is born in January!
Liveseygirl says
Congratulations x
Mia Evans says
I like that you pointed out that everything should be clean when organizing newborn photography to be safe. I will make sure to communicate that when I have found a photographer that I can trust. It’s our first baby, so we are just excited to document everything in the best way that we can that is why we want to do this. Thanks for the tips!
Mia Evans recently posted…Ottawa Newborn Photographer | Baby Caleb