Capturing Baby Smiles - 5 Ways to Take Better Photos of Your Baby
Although I strongly recommend getting a professional session when bubs is 2 weeks or under, this doesn’t mean you’re not going to want some sweet photos of your bubs during all the other weeks! Here are 5 tips to really do help!
RULE NUMBER ONE though - Do NOT attempt any of the ‘pinterest’ poses you may have seen online. This includes placing babies in buckets, bowls and more.
As a professional, I have spent over ten thousand dollars on learning newborn posing and SAFETY.
This was AFTER I became a mother - so please believe me - for the safety of your baby - do not pose them using poses you’ve seen on the internet. These poses are for professionally trained newborn photographers only.
HOW TO GET THE SMILES!
Here’s the thing, no - we don’t have some super secret way to get smiles out of your baby. What we DO know is when they are most likely to be smiling.
Babies smile in the first few weeks as a reflex and this reflex comes out during the first stage of sleep.
Almost all newborn baby smiles come out during this time, so be prepared as you are putting your baby down and they start to hit that very light sleepy stage, where their eyes roll back sometimes or they have funny little facial expressions.
This is when the smiles happen.
Most parents miss this because they put their baby down to sleep then walk out of the room - so if you want baby smiles, this is the time to get it!
WRAP THAT BABY
One of the reasons we want babies asleep during a session is because they have tiny little flailing arms they cannot control! It doesn’t make for a relaxed, beautiful image, as cute as those chubby arms are.
So if you want to make it easy on yourself, wrap baby SNUGGLY - enough so that they don’t feel like they can get their arms out and spend all that time trying to wriggle their way out of it.
This helps with baby sleep too - a well wrapped baby is a content baby!
If they prefer arms up that’s fine - bring their little arms up just under their chin and then wrap twice tightly (and safely) over their arms and then the rest of them.
Once they are nicely wrapped and sleepy, it’s much easier to get a sweet little shot.
RAISE THAT HEAD BABY!
One of the biggest tips I can give you if you’re posing bubs straight on your bed, is to put a little rolled up face washer or similar underneath the covers, just under their head.
Babies don’t look their best laying ‘flat’, and one of the reasons our photos look so different is that we understand the angles that make baby look his best.
Raising the head ever so slightly will make all the difference to your photo.
ALL THE LIGHT!
As a professional I can see what light looks great and how to utilise it with my equipment.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t start to look around your home for the best spots either!
Light needs to be diffused, and that’s what helps babies look soft, sweet and with that deliciously creamy skin - so placing a baby right near a window isn’t going to get the same effect.
If you can, open up the blinds, hang a thin white sheet over the window and then place baby nearby on something safe. You’ll get a much softer appearance to your photo and baby won’t be squinting around staring out the window!
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FLUFF
Anyone who has been to my studio knows that pretty much every thing I own for the babies has texture - soft fluff, wool, anything that is going to bring out the best for baby.
Don’t go out and spend a lot of money - even Kmart has some nice little scarfs you can use as wraps.
Faux mohair looks great, anything which is soft and matte. A nice plain doona cover is great too if you’re after more of a lifestyle shot.
Those are my 5 tips! While nothing replaces the kind of session you can get with myself and other professionals, your baby is only small for the briefest of times, so make the most of it.