Newborn Photography is all about safety & welfare of the subject – the baby. As a photographer you will hold, comfort, soothe, pose, wrap & often even feed & clean up your subject, even when the parents are present. Newborn usually refers to babies from birth to about two months of age. Infants are babies from two months to one year old. Toddlers are babies from one year to four year of age.
- Newborn Photography sessions are normally scheduled in the second week of birth & should not last for more than two hour.
- The session would involve setting, cuddling, reading baby, soothing for sleep & gentle posing. Here baby runs the show so do one session a day. Every baby is different so every shoot is different
- Use Home/Covered area as location
- Use early morning hours for the Newborn Shoot. Afternoon can be tricky
- Newborns are delicate & must be handled correctly. You have to be sensitive – take care of circulation, temperature at all time, as they cannot tell you when they are uncomfortable
- Safety first for newborn photography. Keep your subject comfortable
- Be flexible, take time & be patient for newborn photography as things may change quickly
- Capture the emotions & expression of newborn, include the personal element, try to capture composite image – invest time with parents to understand expectations
- Full Belly equals a happy baby. Make sure that baby feed & burp is taken care before & after the shoot
- Keep it simple, use simple & creative props & accessories for newborn
- Don’t focus on the photography gears for the newborn. All DSLR Camera are good However you can use Canon 5 mark 3, full frame camera to have better image quality
- Use Canon 24-105mm Zoom & 50mm Prime Lens for newborn
- You can go macro to capture tiny, cute & small body parts by using Macro Lens
- Use aperture between f/1.2 to f/2.2, Use ISO of 100-200 & Use Shutter speed of 1/125th of second
- Use window/Indirect /Natural light & reflectors for the newborn
- Never ever use flash lights /Flood lights/Harsh lights/Direct Sun light for newborn shoot
- Keep the baby warm & dry – keep clothing/blanket nearby. Maintain a temperature of 85°F
- Play soothing background music at a medium pitch to keep the vibrancy & energy during the shoot. It also make the baby active
- Get the basic poses first for the newborn – the back, the side, belly/ tummy, wrap baby, small details etc.
- Engage young siblings, pets…. only if it is safe. Mom should be included in the image no matter what
- Picking up some awake shots can make most compelling photo images
- Use color coordination in your scenes. Also experiment with Black & White or de-saturation of Colours in few shots for contrast/softness
- Get down low to their level, take close up & capture nursed shots, keep your camera close to you to capture happy moments
- Be creative with your angles
- Go with burst/continuous shooting mode to avoid missing of moment
- Own your style & go for experimentation, if required. Ensure comfort of Subject & parents both
- Keep some cloth, diapers & wipes readily available to clean up the mess & also keep a bag for dirty items
- Shoot in RAW mode to capture the maximum for Post Processing Table.
- Rock with your post processing as you may require working around skin tone & re –touch. Be creative & stylistic with your post processing. Make sure that the baby looks real
- Newborn photography is quite enjoyable & amazing experience of holding a precious new life in you hands & be able to document all the precious details of sweet little ones
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