7 Tips for Photographing Babies and Toddlers

Baby pictures are a treasure, but getting good ones is quite a challenge! Here are 7 Tips for Photographing Babies to get cute pictures without the stress!

The first smile, the first step, bath time – baby photos are treasures! As we grow older, they get more valuable in our eyes. Not just because of the lovely memories they capture of the most beautiful time of our lives, but also because there has been a lot of effort behind each picture! Taking photos of babies is exhausting; they do not follow directions; they are extremely unpredictable and can get anxious at the sight of strange people or equipment. That’s why it makes sense to put some thought and effort into planning to take your baby’s pictures, so you get the most unforgettable pictures of your child’s magical phase.

7 Tips for Photographing Babies without Stress

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1. Always Keep your Camera at Hand

Always carry your camera with you, with the battery charged and enough memory. Most of the latest generation phones take some excellent photos. If you have a higher quality camera or a DSLR, do not keep it in the last drawer in your house, always have it ready and at hand. That perfect photo op can pop up anytime, and can go away in an instant too!

2. Don’t Wait for the Ideal Pose

The key to getting the perfect picture is easy: keep shooting! Don’t wait for the ideal moment instead, go the route of professional photographers and take multiple shots of the same scene. If your camera has a burst mode, use it. Some of the images in the sequence will be the one you were looking for, and you can always delete the ones you do not want afterwards.

3. Capture All Emotions

Do not photograph your kid only when he it’s smiling angelically, but also when he pouts, frowns, shows astonishment or euphoria. Everything your child does has its own charm, and you don’t want to miss any of it!

4. Get Closer

To capture that perfect pout, try zooming in the baby’s face as much as possible. A lens of 125 mm is ideal for portraits: the background is blurred and the focus remains on the child’s face. If you do not have much practice, you can make a more open photo and then crop the image on the computer.

5. Opt for Natural Light

The best light to photograph children and babies is natural light, especially at sunset and dawn, when the sun’s light is softer. Avoid the sun being in front of the camera, so that the image is not back lit. Also do not put the child in front of the sun, because the picture will have counter-light. A soft light that comes from a window is always more flattering than a camera’s flash. If you are taking photos outside, under the shade of a tree, for example, you will need a fill flash.

6. Choose Baby Clothes Well

To get good pictures of children, experts advise to dress them with bright, solid colors, without stripes, pictures or prints. It’s best to keep the focus on the baby, and busy patterns and prints can clutter the picture. The classic tones used to dress babies (pink, cream, sky blue) are often unflattering in photographs. Avoid the stereotypical image of the little baby in bed with the white bedspread. Think different!

7. Don’t forget the Background

Before shooting the camera, take a look at everything that’s around your child. Avoid unsightly objects, like piled up laundry baskets, a power strip with plugs and cables next to the TV cabinet or a parking lot. Look for a simple background, so your baby stands out – outside in the garden, try a background of grass or water. Inside the house, go for a wall of a pretty color or a large sheet of fabric.

And here is the number one among all the tips for photographing babies – do it when your baby is completely unaware of your intentions! Catch a moment when your child is not paying attention to the camera: while playing with a stuffed animal, while splashing water from a bowl or intently exploring a toy. You will get better results this way than if you say “look, look at the camera” waiting for your baby to turn and look at you to take the picture. The most chaotic moments – playing in mud, finger painting with dinner or with Mom’s lipstick – these are moments you want to capture forever. So skip the posing and enjoy every moment – that’s what life’s all about!

Author

Alex Schult is the founder and CEO of Photography Talk, whose work has been noted by many famous magazines such as Huffington Post, Inc. Magazine, Forbes. Photography Talk has been around since 2009 and has had a great impact on photography worldwide.