Great Photo Ideas for Your Newborn!

New parents have only one chance to capture their baby’s first special moments such as first bath, crawling, walking and etc. As a professional photographer who has been photographing babies and children for ten years, here are some great ideas to keep in mind when photographing your newborn.

Prepare and Plan Ahead of Time:
It’s important to make sure you have your camera nearby and ready to go. Without the camera ready and at hand, you may miss some great moments.
Whether you’re using digital or film, keep the following in mind:

1. Batteries: have a fully charged battery (digital) or new replacement batteries (non-digital)
   
   
2. Photo Capacity: have your memory card ready to go and a back-up one just in case (digital) or extra rolls of film on hand and ready to load (non-digital)
   
   
3. Turn the date stamp option off on your camera if you don’t want it appearing on your photos
   
   
4. Practice using your camera BEFORE your baby’s arrival so that you are comfortable with its operation and you’ll be more relaxed and confident
   
   
5. You should turn off the camera flash, as well as the red eye reduction, since a newborn’s eyes are very sensitive to bright lights. Avoid having bright light shining on the baby. Instead, use either a soft overhead light or natural light near a window.
   
   
6. Take lots of photos so you have many to choose from for your albums, sharing with friends, etc.
   
   
7. Consider trying black and white film for a soft, timeless feeling.

Clothing & Background:
Remember your baby is the heart of the photo. Choose soft and muted colors, patterns and textures. You don’t want the loud plaid or busy print clothing to take away from the baby in the photo. Likewise for loud or too busy backgrounds. Keep it simple.

Taking the Photo:
It is difficult to pose a newborn. So it is best to try and capture those special moments when they happen. As small as they are, babies do lots of photo-deserving things – eating, sleeping, getting a bath, bonding with family members!

As tiny as your newborn is, there are lots of little details to get close-up shots of – little toes and fingers make wonderful photos! Also, close-ups of your sleeping baby’s face are wonderful images to cherish!

Also remember how much babies grow and change so very quickly! Take photos often and do not let months pass in between taking photos. You will quickly see by looking at the baby’s first photos a few weeks after their arrival how much they’ve actually changed in such a short amount of time. Those are once in a lifetime moments – make sure not to miss any!

Storing your Negatives/CD’s/Photos:
Develop early on an organized, safe way to store your negatives, cd’s and photographs in a dry and temperature controlled environment. Make certain to document the dates of your photos so you don’t have to try and guess when it was taken when you look at them months or years from now.

Selecting a Professional Photographer:
With family’s busy schedules, sometimes the photos you keep meaning to take never get taken and before you know it, months have passed and you still haven’t gotten that photo that you’ve been visualizing in your head. Selecting an experienced professional photographer to be your family photographer is an integral part of creating your family photo history.

Interview potential photographers first and ask to see samples of their work. Ask about the methods they use to get babies and children to cooperate and make the photo experience fun and enjoyable for everyone. Look for a photographer that offers the option of using their own studio or coming out and doing a location shot at your home or a favorite family spot.

Professional family photographers often have several creative ideas that you may not have even thought of – don’t be embarrassed or afraid to ask for ideas – after all – this is what we love to do and do it every day!

Editorial provided by Keith Hopkins of Keith Hopkins Photography, Midland Park, NJ.