I’ve never had the opportunity to shoot newborn photography before so I’ve been very excited to play around with taking some newborn photos of the little man once he got here. I had some ideas floating around in my head of photos I would like to try with him. If your budget is tight, you want to spend some time having fun with your little one, or just practice your newborn photography skills here are some ideas you should try.

Tips for success before you begin…

• Firstly, unless you have studio lighting and know how to use it, shoot with natural light. Get baby in front of a big window or outdoors.
• From experimenting during the shoot I have learned that knowing your baby’s habits is important. For example, if you want sleep pictures, wait until baby is in the middle of a rem cycle where he won’t be woken up with positioning and don’t try to start photographing right before the time he normally wakes up crying to feed.
• Use a Boppy pillow for propping and support. You can cover Boppy pillow in different blankets for color and texture variation.
• If you’re trying naked shots with a boy, make sure you also have something to cover his goods so props and blankets are less likely to get showered on. Same diaper changing principle applies!
• Don’t get frustrated! Stay calm and positive and your baby is more likely to feed off those good vibes.

Showcase the Birthday or the Due Date

I waited to take this shot until after he was born so that I would know his actual birthday and could mark it down on the calendar instead of his due date, but this would be a great idea for a pregnancy reveal as well.

Props:

• a flat calendar of the birth month. I found one online that I printed off and marked the date on with a heart.
• a pair of shoes your little one will wear or other accessory
• an ultrasound photo

Choose a nice background to create a flat layout of your props and arrange them in a way that is aesthetically pleasing. Take an aerial shot.

Little Details Collage

As simple as this one is, be creative in thinking about angles and composition of the shots. All you need is your little one and you can start taking photos of all the things you love about your baby: hair, eyes, nose, ears, lips, fingers, toes, belly button. Take 6-9 shots and create a collage in your photo editing program.

Remembering the Birth Stats

Swaddle the baby in an aesthetically pleasing blanket or swaddler that will go with the color theme you want to create for this image. This photograph will represent all of your baby’s birth stats.

Props:

• blanket for background and baby to lay on
• measuring stick to lay next to baby to showcase length
• weight or scale to show birth weight
• clock to set for time of birth
• calendar to mark the birthday
• blocks or other representation for baby’s name
• elements of the season baby was born in

Create a flat lay of everything on top of the blanket. It would be a good idea to cushion baby with more layers underneath blanket choice if not already cushioned by carpet. Lay baby down first with measuring stick next to him/her and then play around with positioning of the other elements, making sure they all correctly indicate the birth stat.

Play Up the Season

Pick an element and colors of the season baby was born in to use for a simple and sweet photograph.

Props:

• For fall, use a pumpkin, leaves, or an apple.
• For winter, use Christmas lights, knit hat and gloves, pine cones or snowflakes.
• For summer, use a flower wreath or crown around baby’s head or body, a bed of flowers, or sea shells.
• For spring, a flowering branch, umbrella, or basket.

Document Growth

Every month take a photo of baby in the same spot with maybe a teddy bear or a chalkboard background to see how much your baby grows each month.

Props:

• represent the baby’s age in month with a sign, shirt, or other prop
• use a stuffed animal for something static to compare baby’s growth to

Something Personal

Choose a theme that is personal to you and use props to embrace that theme. Could be anything … a special stuffed animal, book, sport, hobby, or style that you like.

Props:

• Anything that goes with your theme
• Matching clothes too?

Just Baby

Forget the props – or use very minimal ones and just start snapping shots of your baby to remember him in all of his newborn cuteness. Using a Boppy pillow or a basket and an ensemble of different colored and textured blankets play around with your baby in different positions, clothing etc. Try a couple naked shots. Add an accessory. Have fun!

PS: I feel like it should go without saying, but just to add a disclaimer … make sure you are being gentle and careful moving baby around in positions. Certain newborn photographs you see online by professional photographers are not one shot photos and are multiple images composited together. For example, newborns are not able to support themselves with their heads propped on their hands nor would they last very long in that position even if they could do it. As it is, for the above image I composited two photographs together because Landon couldn’t keep his legs together on his own to keep himself covered.