Take gorgeous photos of your newborn baby at home

If you’ve had or are expecting a baby can’t have professional newborn photos taken because of lockdown (or any other reason) I hope that with these simple tips, you will still have photos of this special time that you’ll treasure forever.

As a newborn photographer, my first priority is always the safety of the babies I photograph, making sure they are content and handled with care. I never battle, or force. If a baby is not settling or playing ball, I change tack. The golden rule is to not have too many expectations, or at least to keep them realistic! Otherwise you’ll find yourself seriously stressed out! That said, I’ve also learnt that persevering through a bit of baby whinging can have its rewards. So don’t give up too easily but know when to admit defeat.

Start with a contended baby

The first things to check when embarking on any kind of dealings with newborns are food and temperature. Are they hungry? Or too cold/overdressed? You can tell when a baby’s too cold if their skin is mottled. Overheating will cause rapid breathing and sweating. This is extremely rare - I warm the photo studio right up and the adults sweat buckets but it is comfortable for newborns, particularly when they’re undressed. It’s for a short period of time and is always closely monitored.

Other tricks you can try if you want to help your baby settle and you’ve tried everything else - loud shushing (this very quickly becomes a habit!) - or try a white noise app! Rocking with big movements rather than gentle ones, holding or laying them on their side; softly patting their back or tapping lightly on their side with your finger tips to help release trapped wind, and swaddling.

Simple shots

My rule of thumb when taking pictures of your own baby is to keep it simple. Don’t try to get elaborate poses in a basket, or fancy effects with wrapping. Simple swaddling is great, or a plain vest or sleepsuit.

I would not advise going on Pinterest or trying to imitate a professional newborn photographer’s poses. Heaps of training and experience goes into making more advanced posing safe for the babies and it’s a lot harder than it looks. Rather, focus on capturing some timeless, natural moments well. Those are the ones you’ll treasure.

Here are a couple of ideas to try out.

1. Baby on the bed

Newborn photos don’t have to be too fancy. Make sure that baby is the centre focus of your picture - take away any clutter that distracts from your baby’s gorgeous face!

The classic, timeless, iconic shot of baby lying on the bed.

All you need is a room with a bed (preferably double), and a window.

Place baby a safe distance from the bed edge with the window to the side (move the bed closer to the window if you need to). Make sure the light isn’t coming from the feet side - this will create unflattering shadows on baby’s face.

Baby can be awake or asleep, and it’s up to you if you want to throw in some blankets for tussled texture or have it neat and minimal. Play around with it until you’re happy with how it looks.

2. Baby peeking over the shoulder

Make the most of your baby’s alert time. Newborn photos don’t only have to be of baby asleep.

Next time your partner is having a cuddle with your baby, get him or her in the right light and get a shot of your baby’s face peeking over the top of the shoulder. Or ask him to take the photo of you with the baby.

This might be one that needs to be done while your baby is awake and alert, looking around, otherwise you’ll just get a great big forehead! Have the window light falling on baby’s face, coming in from the side is ideal but just make sure the window isn’t behind your baby.

It’s a lovely shot to do with a bare shoulder, maybe during some skin-to-skin time.

3. Tiny in the cot

The ‘cot shot’ is nice to do when baby is asleep. Even if you usually have a moses basket for day naps, pop them down in the cot next time they fall asleep.

If you have the cot all set up, even if you’re using a moses basket for now, take a photo of your newborn in it. It’s a lovely way to show how small they are now, and you can make a mental note to try and take a similar photo in 6 months time (and another in 12 months!).

Same rule applies with the direction of the light - from the side, not from the feet or top of the head.

4. Photo with mum

This should be at number 1. It is the most important and probably the one least done. This is not to say that photos with dad aren’t equally as important - make sure you get those too! It’s just that more often, mums shy away from being in photos and we need to force ourselves sometimes! Dads, this is important!

I know, I know… when you’ve just had a baby you feel frightful - well at least I did! But if you were coming in for a newborn session you’d get dressed, put on some make up and brush your hair. So do the same at home one day and ask your partner to take the photo. And mums, commit to regularly requesting that he takes the photo. #existinphotos - very important.

Stand near a window (window to the side), and hold your baby high up so that his or her face is close to yours. The photo can be a close up, and best taken from slightly above your eyeline. Close your eyes and breathe in that heavenly scent of your baby’s head. Feel the weight of that little body in your hands that you’ve been waiting for for so long and been through so much to have, and inhale the moment. Really try and have some of the emotion captured. This picture is for you and your baby, many years into the future. Don’t forget that.

5. Sibling Shots

Parents with toddlers and older children coming to my studio for their newborn photography session are most keen for these shots - the family and sibling shots, and I totally get why! These are the photos that every mother and father is going to cherish the most, and the hardest for people to do themselves. As a photographer the thing I love capturing most is relationships, connection and love, and good thing I can work fast and get these shots quickly.

Have things set up before. I’d suggest using the bed, so have cushions propped up and clutter cleared. Choose a time of day when the light is good - not too harsh. Get them into plain clothes - dress for girls, jeans and shirtless or white t-shirts for boys.

Bribes. Perfectly acceptable in this scenario although can cause more distress depending on the age and child. I recommend white chocolate buttons and cheerios. Milk chocolate will have them dribbling and grinning ghoulish brown so beware of that.

Photographing siblings is usually a challenge, but a simple one to try is lying them both on the bed with their faces quite close together. Put a pillow under their heads. Have the window to the side if you can - make sure it’s not coming from the feet end or from directly behind the top of their heads. If they’re on a soft blanket then clumsy impulsive toddler moves shouldn’t harm the baby. Sitting up is also good, though you might need the other parent there to have a supportive hand close to baby’s head.

Don’t expect to get studio or professional results but with a bit of thought about where the light is coming from, what the surroundings look like, and making an effort to have your subjects look nice just like you would if you were visiting the studio, there is no reason why you can’t have some photos of this time that are a step up from the usual blurry snaps.

I’m available as soon as lockdown is over to create the images of your proud moments that you can hang HUGE on the wall. After all, this is something to celebrate!

My photo studio for newborn photography sessions is in Truro, Cornwall.

To book or enquire about a session with me, get in touch - I’d love to hear from you.