Do you have a nice camera that sits in the corner of your closet? An adorable newborn that you just want to soak up every last detail of? Well, read on and you’ll be able to capture some sweet moments of your little babe in no time with our handy newborn photography tips from our #RookieMomSquad’s Photography Mom Kelsey Smith
The Best Newborn Photography Tips for New Moms – LEARN HOW TO GET BETTER PHOTOGRAPHS OF YOUR NEWBORN
WHERE TO EVEN START?
So, I have to post this obvious disclaimer. Hire a professional if you are only interested in a posed newborn photography session. Do not attempt those crazy poses, newborn safety is always first. A trained professional newborn photographer will be your best bet if you are only interested in a posed newborn session. They can get you those amazing images while keeping your baby’s safety their top priority. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about how to get the most out of the in-between moments of your newborn’s life.
First on our list of newborn photography tips, take a breath. Photography is an incredibly hard subject to learn, definitely not one that just comes to most people overnight. So give yourself some grace and realize the longer you keep at it, the easier it will become. There are so many resources at your fingertips to help you along in your journey, many of them free! Clickin Moms is one of the most affordable resources you can invest in. Check out some of their classes here: https://store.clickinmoms.com/
SETTING THE SCENE FOR NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHY
Turn that camera on! No, really, this is actually the first tip. Life, laundry, dishes, groceries, and all night nursing sessions can take up 99% of your time as a new mom. Turning your camera on and taking the time to photograph your newborn is half the battle.
Next of our newborn photography tips, turn the lights off. Seriously. Having your lamps and overhead lights on will make for some funky color casts in your images. Utilizing your home’s natural light will definitely bring your lifestyle newborn photography up a notch. Some of the most beautiful newborn images are solely lit by natural light. Find a window too! Window light is some of the most gorgeous and easy to shoot in light that there is! Lighting is everything with photography and following this one simple trick will instantly improve the quality of your photographs.
Moving on, ditch the tutus and the larger-than-life pearls for your baby. Natural and neutral onesies, Â simple swaddles, or better yet, bare baby bums highlight just how perfectly tiny and precious your squish is at this very moment. The simpler, the better, in my honest opinion.
Have a sleep machine? Blast it! Don’t have one? Turn on your vacuum cleaner and let it run in the corner. Crank the heat (babies love the warmth!) and feed your babe. You should have a perfectly content kiddo in no time.
WHAT TO CAPTURE WITH YOUR NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHY
Grab those details! The teeniest of toes, the flakey little skin, the thigh rolls, all of it! Newborns are only this little for today, so capture as many of those tiny features as you can. There is nothing sweeter in this world than newborn eyelashes so make sure you get close!
Get in the shot, too!
Find that window light we talked about earlier, snuggle up to your sweet newborn, and have your partner take a few shots. You might not feel camera ready after just giving birth but you will absolutely appreciate these images later on. You need to be in the photos too. Your kids deserve to have images of you WITH them, not just of themselves. Please, trust me on this.
Make sure to capture the sweet sibling love.
There is something so precious about siblings falling in love for the first time. Have big brother lay down on their bed and nuzzle their new sibling, get high above them, and shoot down. Tell your older kiddo to touch noses with the babe. Better yet, if you want to get a picture of them cuddling but big sister isn’t having it, ask her to smell the baby. She’ll get in so close, it looks like she’s giving the softest of nuzzles. You will love this sweet little connection they’re making!
Capture the daily life, too.
The diaper changing, the 4th outfit change of the day after a blowout, tubbies in those tiny newborn tubs. Photograph the naps and the tears. Capture the yawns and the nursing marathons on the couch. There are so many precious details worth documenting in this season of your life.
The last part of our newborn photography tips is probably the most important. Don’t get frustrated when things aren’t going exactly as you planned. Imperfections are perfect too. Some of my most favorite images of my own kids aren’t ones that would win any technical awards. They are the photographs full of love and chaos. You know, all the things that families are.
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