A Weekly Highlights Reel Of Inspiration!

Learning how to take baby photos is a great way to capture your little one’s first year and preserve it for years to come. It also gives you a great way to share your baby’s boy or girl milestones with friends and family.

As portrait subjects go, babies are super handy in that they can’t run away from your camera — especially if you’ve ever tried to photograph a toddler! But they do present some challenges in terms of limited posing options and lighting a baby laying down, just to name a couple.

So this week’s highlights reel is a collection of delicious babies from some of our Grads, with some tips, inspo and ideas to help you learn how to take beautiful photos of your own gorgeous baby!

 

1. Light

Natural light is the easiest, and it’s free! This shot is a great example of how to use soft, natural window light, and it’s one of the easiest, most fool-proof lighting setups you can try.

Baby is positioned headfirst at a 45-degree angle to the light source. The headfirst position enables the light to gently flow down from the head, illuminating the features you want to highlight, such as the eyes, the tip of the nose, cheekbones and lips. If you positioned the baby with feet closest to the light source, you’d be lighting up their nose, which is not a feature you want to highlight!

The 45-degree position creates gentle shadows on the opposite side, which help add depth and interest to the shot.

Claire Eastman, Advanced Graduate

Note the side light in this shot? Check out those gorgeous, gentle shadows on the left!

Megan Browne, Advanced Graduate

2. Bath Time

We love this simple metal tub setup. It’s fabulously portable, making it very easy to create simple, clutter-free shots that are really eye catching as a result.

Check out this post for an in depth guide on how this entire session was shot.

Related: Indoor Cake Smash Session

Justine Eacott, Advanced Graduate

Vicki Cardillini, Advanced Graduate

Merissa Wakefield, CLG Instructor

Toni McDonald, Advanced Graduate

Movern Shaw, Advanced Graduate

Cassie Halloran, Graduate

Kelle Kromarek Hann, Graduate

And here’s a way to keep them from sitting too close to the glass.

7. Get Down Low

This is one of the best pieces of advice I can give when photographing your small people: get down to their eye level. It makes it easier to engage them and for the viewer to really connect with your subject.

Related: Essential Pro Tips for Capturing Kids

Jasmin Tarczon, Graduate

8. Siblings

Don’t forget your baby’s big brother or sister!

It can be hard enough to learn how to take baby or toddler photos, let alone both together. 

Our Top Tips To Help You Take Gorgeous Photos Of Siblings Are:

1. Choose a location with good light as you’ll need a narrower aperture to get two subjects in focus.
2. Your bed is a great place for these kinds of shots, they’ll be safe and comfortable.
3. Before you bring the kids in, take some test shots, and make sure your settings are good to go. You don’t want to lose the kids before you begin by making them sit and wait through all your test shots.
4. Bring in any extra elements or props you want to use…but remember, keep it simple! Let your subjects be the star, not your props.
5. Put the baby nearest to the light source, or they’ll disappear in their big sibling’s shadow on the other side.

Want a REALLY comprehensive guide on capturing babies and toddlers together…including a downloadable posing and prompts cheat sheet!? You’re in luck! Here’s one we made earlier…

Related: Toddler & Newborn Photography Guide

Tawni Ogren, Graduate

Claire Eastman, Advanced Graduate

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