How to Take Photos of Newborn Twins

Taking newborn photos comes with challenges, but imagine if you had two newborns at the same time! How do you light newborn twins to avoid one casting shadows on the other? How do you pose them? What about settings and which twin do you focus on?

This was a topic we’ve been wanting to write about for some time, and when Click Love Grow Advanced Grad and family photographer Charlie O’Neill shared a stunning newborn twins session she shot recently, we asked her to share everything she learned!

Read on to grab her easy tips for taking photos of newborn twins at home…

I recently had the pleasure of photographing newborn twins and I fell in love. Twins have the most special relationship and it’s incredible to see it and capture it even as babies.

Photographing twins is not as scary as some people think!  There are some small considerations to make around positioning in relation to the light source, aperture and where to focus… but it’s actually not that far removed from taking photos of a single newborn baby.

Related: DIY Newborn Photos

1. Light

Soft natural light from a window is the easiest way to light newborns and newborn twins are no different.

Top Down Lighting

I lit the babies and positioned them just as I would for one baby, which is using soft natural light with the top of the baby’s head nearest the window whenever possible. In this way the light washes down their body rather than up-lighting them.

You can also use top down lighting when baby is in a basket, their bed, or in someone’s arms. In this set up with the Moses basket, I positioned the basket so the top was closest to a large window.

Moses basket with window at the top

Side Lighting

I also used side lighting for a more dramatic look which is easiest with one baby. When doing this expose for the highlights and check that the light and shadows blend well to avoid jarring hard light shadows.

Side light for more dramatic lighting.

Outdoor Light

2. Timing

The issue of timing when capturing newborn twins is no different to a single newborn, in that it requires patience and flexibility. But this is doubly so with twins, as you’re dealing with two babies who may be on different schedules or have different personalities, so schedule lots of extra time for feeding, changing, and soothing.

Shoot at a time of day when the babies are normally at their most content, fed and changed. This makes it easier to get the more posed photos, and if they do get fussy this can be a good time to take photos of them being held.

Lastly… if things do go exactly as planned, just go with it!

3. Posing

My main goal when posing any newborn or family is to show connection, and this is no different when newborn twins are involved. I wanted to show a connection between the babies but also individual connections between them and their parents and any siblings.

So I aimed to capture a combination of posing the twins together, on their own, with big sister, with each parent and as a full family.

Posing Ideas

The Moses basket is my best friend for newborn photos. I love that you can lay a baby in a basket and instantly it feels like a planned, posed shot. In the basket I captured the following poses:

1. Both babies wrapped next to each other on their back
2. Babies on their sides facing one another
3. Individual shots of each baby wrapped and unwrapped
4. Detail shots of each baby’s hands, feet, ears and mouth
5. Both babies together dressed in matching outfits

Related: Macro Newborn Photography

Another of my favourite places to take photos of babies is on their parents bed and these are the poses I love the most:

1. Both babies wrapped, laying in opposite directions but with their faces together
2. The babies laying together, loosely wrapped in a blanket that I then arranged around them to resemble a heart
3. Both sets of feet loosely wrapped up together
4. Laying beside each other with their heads closest to the lens and their feet pointing away to see how sweet their little heads are next to each other
5. Big sister cuddling them both!

Easy poses with the parents that I like to try and get:

1. Dad cradling both babies heads in his hands
2. Mum with both babies
3. Dad with both babies
4. Mum and dad together with both babies
5. Family photos

Related: 101 Lifestyle Newborn Photo Ideas

4. Settings

I love to shoot fairly wide open to let light in and create a nice blurred background, which helps makes newborn photos so soft and dreamy.

But with twins, you need to get them both in focus while still creating that nice blur, so the priority is aperture. I shot at f/3.2, whilst also ensuring my shutter speed didn’t drop below 1/250.

All of the shots of the twins together were shot around aperture f/3.2, shutter speed 1/250s and ISO 500. I shoot wider when photographing the twins on their own and details, and narrower when photographing the whole family.

• Twins together: f/3.2
• Twins with sibling: f/3.2
• Individual twins: f/2.2
• Details: f/1.8
• Whole family: f/3.2 to f/4

Related: Blurred Backgrounds with a Kit Lens

Settings: Aperture f/3.2, shutter speed 1/250, ISO 500

Settings: Aperture f/2.2, shutter speed 1/250, ISO 800

5. Where to Focus

When the twins are positioned on the same focal plane, you can focus on either baby’s eye. If one twin is closer to the camera, grab focus on that baby’s eye, and you can zoom in to check both babies are acceptably sharp, which you can achieve with a slightly narrower aperture than you might use when capturing just one baby.

Related: How to Get Groups in Focus

When babies are on the same focal plane, you can focus on either one and get both in sharp focus.

Charlie O’Neill is a CLG Advanced Graduate and professional photographer based in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, where she specialises in lifestyle family and newborn photography at Charlotte Oliver Photography.

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