So Covid-19 has most of us on lockdown, all non essential work stopped, so one thing we no can longer do is have professional newborn photos taken. So here are a few tips for photographing your newborn baby by yourself.
Light, light light! Good lighting is key. Find a large window with soft light, for example a north facing window or any large window on a bright but cloudy day, so avoiding placing your baby in bright sunlight.
Bright sunlight hitting your baby gives really harsh shadows on your babies face. If it’s a really sunny day, you could hang up a white shower curtain or a piece of sheer white fabric to help diffuse the light to give the softer light you need.
Place baby so that the light is hitting baby’s head first or gently sweeping in at an angle down babies face, do not have the light coming up from babies feet to chin- this is what we call ‘ghoul lighting’ and is what we want to avoid. (Please take a moment to appreciate my skilled drawings here!)
If you can find a large piece of white card or even white fabric to place on the other side of baby, opposite to the light source , it will bounce some of the light back in towards baby & fill in some of the dark shadows.
It also may help if you are also wearing white or at least try to avoid wearing a very bright colourful top as this may cause a colour cast on your babies skin.
Babies are best photographed in very little to see all of those tiny features. Proper outfits tend to swamp newborns in photos & make them look a little bulky. A simple vest so you can see their hands & feet and those adorable wrinkly arms and legs. A tight fitting baby grow or try swaddling your baby for some cosy looking photographs.
If your baby is happy & the room is warm, just have the nappy on & drape a little blanket or fabric over and around it.
If baby is sleeping, try and gently move him or her so their body is not just straight up and down, a little curl is often pleasing to the eye but remember to keep the light coming down the face or across the face, not up.
If you have baby laying on a blanket, sometimes rolling up a couple of little hand towels/ flannels and gently placing it under their head and legs can help keep them in these ‘curly’ womb like positions.
Try and get some detail shots, if your camera will allow, get in close to their face, hands and feet etc.
Don’t forget to ask your partner to take some of you holding your new baby too. I know you don’t always feel your best just having given birth but you won’t regret having these photos done, I can absolutely assure you of that! One day those photos will mean the world to you & your child. Again sit by a window & make sure you are holding baby in the light too but with the light falling down the face not up.
So now you can take lots of photos of your new precious bundle, learning as you go, creating lasting memories of this fleeting stage. Enjoy! x
