Home Newborn Photography Tips – By Maddy Rogers Photography, UK.

HARD TIMES

Coronavirus has us in lockdown, and we are all feeling it as we have to miss out on so much we used to take for granted. One thing we now cannot do is have professional newborn photos done.

So of course if you were one of many who’d hoped and dreamed of a professional newborn session, those dreams have been dashed for many weeks.

HOW CAN I HELP?

So l wanted to show you some tips so you can take newborn photos at home, because newborns are new for such a short time you cannot simply wait and hope we can go back to normal soon.

IMPORTANT TO KNOW…..

Firstly you need to understand that professional newborn photography is highly skilled. I have been a professional newborn specialist for over ten years, and it’s taken me that long to develop my skills. So you won’t get the same results l could give you, and part of that is the camera kit l use you won’t have, and part of it is simply the skills in the photography aspect. Also, you won’t be able to edit your images.

But l CAN help you make the best out of what you DO have, whether it’s just a phone, or your holiday camera.

TOP TIPS!

The first thing to do is find a good spot to place baby for your photos. Find light. A lovely big window, but NOT with direct sunlight coming in. That will give you terrible bright areas on your baby’s face. You also want to make sure the light isn’t TOO bright. If it is, move your baby away until the light is more gentle, and softer.

WHAT WILL BABY WEAR?

Then you can look at what baby will be wearing. Avoid anything busy. Keep things plain, and pale, but any plain colour is ok really. Its ok for her to wear her own vest or babygrow, but avoid collars, or patterns. If baby is wriggly you can swaddle with plain fabric to keep her calm and still. But perhaps the nicest thing to do is have baby wear nothing but a nappy, and drape some fabric across her.

WHERE SHOULD BABY BE PLACED?

Use a nice flat surface, like the floor, or a foot stool. Don’t use a crib or sofa as you may have the arms or the sides making shadows, and you don’t want shadows falling on baby.

Then you need to place baby the right way near the window. You know when you hold a torch under your chin to look scary at Halloween? You want to try and avoid creating that look here, so never place baby so his feet are closest to the light. Make sure the light is to the side, or above baby’s head, like the diagram.

WHERE SHOULD I BE WITH MY CAMERA?

So, now you are all set to take your own newborn photos at home! Whether its a phone or a camera, its where you are when you take the photos that make all the difference.

Theres one thing you don’t want to do…..point the camera up your baby’s nose.

So you should stand over your baby, and shoot straight on, or a little DOWN their nose. It’s much nicer.

So, now you can take lots of photos, and take some every day, learning as you go, changing things, and even thinking of your own ideas.

You may even want to gently get baby into a couple of gentle positions, but remember you don’t ever want to obstruct baby’s face. You might want to try and get his hand under his cheek, like below.