Few moments in life are more exciting than the birth of a baby. A baby's first photographs are images you will treasure for years. With a specialized approach, babies—like animals—can be guided during a photo shoot, even if that may not seem possible at first. As a photographer, you may be used to giving directions during a portrait session, but babies require an entirely different approach.
After years of photographing newborn babies for photo birth announcements, photographer Alex de Smit knows the dos and don'ts of baby photography. This article offers tips and techniques for creating timeless photographs of babies that can help you get started with baby photography.
Equipment and Supplies
First, make sure you have a fast camera with reliable autofocus and eye detection. A newborn's eyes may be open only briefly, so when that moment arrives, a fast camera with good autofocus is a real advantage. If your autofocus does not offer eye detection, manual focus is preferable. With more recent cameras, however, effective autofocus is rarely a problem.
For lighting, preferably use one attractive, soft, round light source, perhaps with a pleasing hotspot. This looks especially natural in close-ups. A rectangular softbox reflected in a baby's eyes is less appropriate.
It is also worth considering whether to use flash at all. Sometimes flash can be useful for giving the baby a wake-up call with studio strobes—not aimed directly at the face. In most cases, however, it is more attractive and calmer for the baby to use continuous light, such as an LED light whose color temperature can be adjusted when combining it with ambient light.
You also need an attractive background that is not too busy. Keep a reasonable selection of backgrounds and choose one with the parents. Hang the background, or, if the child is being held in someone's hands, place it on the floor and stand on a step stool to photograph from above. A step stool should therefore be part of a baby photographer's equipment.
Because you will naturally have your laptop with you, you can easily select the best photograph with the parents on the spot. If none of the images is convincing enough, make another series. Repeat this until you have an image you are truly happy with.
Timing
Timing is one of the most important tactics in baby photography. By the time a baby is a few days or several weeks old, the parents usually have a reasonable understanding of the baby's daily routine. That is the first thing to take into account.
As a photographer, you naturally prefer the baby's eyes to be open during the session. It is therefore important that the baby has not just had a full feeding before the shoot, because a full baby will often fall asleep.
The baby should not be too hungry either, because that will trigger the baby's natural alarm—and a crying baby is not what you want in the photograph. Good timing is essential. The best time to photograph is just after the baby wakes up and before the baby starts longing for milk.
Environmental Factors
Babies are extremely sensitive to all kinds of external factors. Because you do not want to photograph the baby completely bundled up, warm the room well so the baby can be photographed comfortably in a cute outfit, an undershirt, or with a bare upper body.
Preparation
As with a regular portrait session, plan the type of photograph you want to create in advance. Agree with the parents on the style, setting, and the baby's clothing. You can photograph the baby in a close-up or from farther away in a beautiful crib or similar setting, together with siblings, or with one or both parents. Closer is often better; use a wide aperture for a blurred background. Converting the photographs to black and white or sepia is also a frequently chosen stylistic option.
Once you know what kind of portrait you are creating, you can work more purposefully and concentrate on capturing the right moment during the session instead of considering these questions while shooting.
If you decide to photograph the baby from farther away, make sure there is as little clutter as possible in the frame. Remove toys, bottles, and pacifiers and try to keep the scene as pure as possible.
Patience
You may prepare everything carefully and have the setting and lighting perfectly arranged, only to find that the baby does not want to cooperate at that moment. If the baby is crying, keeps their eyes closed, or is otherwise unsettled, be patient and change the situation as a kind of reset: simply do something different with the baby for a while instead of continuing with the original plan.
A parent can talk to the baby, hold the baby differently, offer a pacifier, or—rather meanly—place a cold washcloth against the baby's feet. Sometimes the baby's mood then changes completely, giving the photographer another opportunity to try.
Even in a seemingly hopeless session filled with waiting and experimentation, a 30-second opportunity to make the perfect photograph can suddenly appear. The photographer must remain completely alert throughout that apparently unworkable situation, ready to react immediately with the camera.
The photographs in this article may look idyllic, but they were often preceded by a difficult process and moments when a successful outcome seemed unlikely. Even so, if you photograph babies regularly and wait calmly, the session almost always produces an extraordinary image—especially in the eyes of the parents.
View more baby photographs by Alex de Smit.
