5 Easy Tips for Taking Photos of Your Own Baby

As much as I wish that every family had the luxury of working with a professional newborn photographer, I know that it isn’t always in the cards for everyone. So today, I am going to give you a handful of incredibly simple tips that yield big results when taking photos of your own baby.

Don’t use a flash.

I know that using a flash may seem like the best way to emulate what you’d expect from a professional newborn photographer, but trust me… this is a no-no! A studio style photographer has specialized equipment that allows them to control the strength of their light and create the illusion of soft natural sunlight. Whether shooting with a camera or even just your phone, using a direct flash can cause a really harsh and unflattering look on your angelic baby. Instead, open a window and position them near the natural light. 

Look for the butterfly shadow.

Speaking of avoiding that unflattering look, be sure that your natural light is falling down your baby’s face rather than up it. Remember telling ghost stories as a child… flashlight in your hands and pointed straight up at your face? Yea, this isn’t a scary story, so we don’t want to do that. If you look carefully through my newborn portfolio, you will notice a small shadow under baby’s nose. This is called a butterfly shadow. It’s a great indicator to look for and will help you ensure that the light is falling on your baby in the right direction.

Shoot from the head.

It makes sense that whatever body part is closest to the camera will be the largest, so if your baby’s feet or booty are what’s closest to you, then you can better believe they are going to look like the focus of your image. Think big feet and little head. That’s probably not the look you’re going for. An easy newborn photographer’s trick is to tip or angle your camera (or phone) just a tad so that the lens is closer to baby’s head and slightly farther away from the rest of their body.

Don’t forget the details.

Your newborn’s tiny fingers and toes, their dimpled hands and all of their squishy rolls. Capture it all because your littlest love will be changing so much faster than you realize!

And last, but certainly not least…

Get in the photo!

Be sure that YOU get in at least a few photos with your baby! You can get a phone tripod with a wireless remote on Amazon for super cheap and it will make capturing self portraits with your little one so easy! My suggestion: Don’t even look at the camera. Snuggle your baby, rock them, kiss them and while doing so, snap away with your strategically hidden remote. Or you can simply record a video and then just grab screenshots from that. Easy peasy!

Professional photographer or not, whatever you do, preserve these special moments so that you can relive them again and again and so that you can share them with your baby one day.

Erin of Erin Elyse Photography is a Jacksonville in-home studio Newborn Photographer in Northeast Florida. Erin specializes in beautifully capturing your timeless memories and turning them into luxurious works of art. Also serving the families of Atlantic Beach, Ponte Vedra, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, St. Augustine, Riverside, San Marco, Nocatee, Mandarin, Fleming Island and the surrounding areas of Northeast Florida.