Taking newborn pictures

So one of the joys of having a child is that most people discover how to be an amateur photographer. I loved photography and journalism as a teen and wanted to actively pursue it as a career as an adult. However, I did not develop those skills until I had children. I've always said "I couldn't be an artist professionally, because God made me a mother." All the things I loved to do, and dreamed of making a lifestyle out of are now implemented daily into my life in ways I couldn't have imagined as a teenager. I am a photographer, a painter, a cook, a writer, and a professional planner. All this because I am most importantly A Mother.

One thing that I think every new parent should know how to do is make their day to day pictures look as professional as possible. I want to capture every moment, every smile, and ever milestone without having to pay a bucket load of money to do so. While I will never degrade the work that a professional photographer can do (having done pro jobs myself), I fully believe that if you have a camera, to a degree you can turn your hobby into something beautiful.

I have been fortunate enough to own both a D-SLR camera, and an average point and shoot. The average American owns a point and shoot, so that is what I recommend getting comfortable with before you even attempt an "at home photo shoot" with your little one. If you just grab your camera and click away you will notice that you will see an increase in red eye (a common problem with a P&S), unsteady shots causes images to blur, or even a dramatic light problem due to using flash. *Not to say that flash is bad, it is just not always beneficial.

• Know your camera. The stats are important, even if you don't realize it.
• Settings matter. If you haven't played around with your camera much, do so. The distance on your zoom can be critical when taking "portrait" style pictures.
• Prepare your setting beforehand. I enjoy natural light for my pictures, but find that this doesn't necessarily work as well if you are indoor using a P&S. Keep the light behind your subject!!! To utilize the natural light you want the window/door to be behind you and in front of whatever you are taking pictures of. 

For my daughters newborn pictures I did multiple things. I'm not going to lie, back then I didn't know as much about my D-SLR as I could have, and the pictures were nothing compared to what I can do now. This does not change the fact that I can look back on them with fondness. 

I used different props for her pictures. I had two sheets (some find that fleece fabric is better to use because it doesn't look faded like a sheet can). One black, and one white. I utilized pillows to prop her into the poses that I liked, and then added props (i.e. blankets, stuffed animals, hair bows) around her. I have found that the best surface (for me at least) was a couch or an armchair that I could easily crouch down in front of, all the while making it look like she was on a flat surface. By turning the chair to face the window and opening all the blinds, I got both the light that I wanted and the security of being right in front of her. I guess the best way to go about explaining this is to just show you.

As you can see, my daughter was very happy to post for the camera. These were taken when she was around two months old, and I used everything from fabric wrapped around her to the normal background of our Boppy pillow. 

Notice that there is a difference in the lighting of these pictures. For the ones I couldn't brighten I have found that black and white settings will help to give your picture a more professional look. A basic photo editor program can be used for this.  I use Photoshop Cs3 and Cs5 for most of my photo editing needs, but again most photo editing programs will work to adjust brightness, color, and the tone used for your pictures.

Good luck!