After all of the wonderful feedback that I have received so far from those of you that have downloaded my 'Guide to Photographing your Baby at Home' I thought I would do a couple of blog posts with some more in depth tips for taking your own pictures of your babies.
This particular post is focusing on taking photos of your baby laying on a bed. This has been a particular favourite for me over the past year, it's quick, easy and requires virtually no set up or prep - perfect!
The first thing you have to do is make sure that your bed is made and the sheets are pulled fairly tight to avoid wrinkles and creases - unless this is the look you are going for. White sheets work so well because they are neutral and bright.
Then, make sure the light isn't shining directly onto your bed or baby, you are looking for indirect, soft light. If the sun is coming straight through to where you are move to a different spot if possible, if not wait until the sun has passed across to ensure the light isn't too harsh. Turn off all artificial lights too.
Lay your baby down so that the light from the window is coming from the top/side of their face and is falling softly over them, try to pay attention to the shadows from their features and make sure they aren't too harsh.
Try get level with your baby if you can, or stand on the bed and shoot from above. Make sure you aren't taking pictures looking up their nose, always try to look down their nose for a more flattering angle. Be careful not to block the light coming through the window too and avoid casting a shadow over your baby that will show up in your final photo.
Play around with angles, get in close to capture the tiny details, you could even add in teddies too. You can get a whole range of photos without having to move your baby at all.
Most importantly, have fun with it. It doesn't have to be perfect, these are precious memories that you are capturing and they will be adored no matter what.
If you missed my guide to photographing your baby at home you can get it here. It is a downloadable PDF sent straight to your inbox complete with some basic posing tips and advice on how to take simple, timeless photos of your new baby. Simply sign up to the mailing list and it will come straight through. If you do end up following my advice to take some photos of your own make sure you tag me on social media too so that I can see the results!
I would love to know if you have found this helpful, and if you would like more posts like this please let me know by getting in touch. If there is a specific subject that you think I should focus on next time it would be great to hear your suggestions.