8 TIPS FOR A BETTER BABY PHOTOSHOOT AT HOME: EASY IDEAS YOU CAN DIY
Easy baby photoshoot ideas you can do at home, so you can capture every little milestone your baby is growing through all-too-quickly...to perfection.
Teeny-tiny toes.
Adorable yawns.
Deliciously chunky cheeks.
Baby photoshoot ideas at home to make DIY baby photography easy (PC @jamiesyang)
I know you want to capture every last detail of your sweet little baby.
But nothing is worse than peering at your freshly snapped photo and feeling disappointed by a dark, fuzzy image of your precious bundle looking back at you.
That's why I wanted to share these baby photoshoot ideas you can use at home today.
This is the same process I use to take beautiful pics of my own four children and for the photos I share with our 32,700+ followers on Instagram @theshortyearsbooks.
I’ll show you how to:
Perfect your photo exposure and lighting
Ensure a happy, cooperative baby
Set up your at-home photo studio
Capture photos with nice sharp focus
Get Baby to actually look at the camera
Pose Baby to get their “best side”
Photography a wiggly baby
Get in the photo with your baby
Let’s get started!
8 Brilliant Baby Photoshoot Ideas at Home
1. Set Up Your Lighting
THE key to taking flawless pics of your little one: lighting.
Lighting is everything.
Fortunately, you likely have an excellent camera always at your fingertips! (smartphones for the win)
With just a few simple tips and tricks, you can go from blurry, grainy baby photos, to snapshots that truly bottle up all the sweetness of this fleeting season.
Find a room with lots of natural light
If Baby is going to be sitting or laying on the floor, try placing them by a sliding glass door or large window that spills natural light all the way down to the floor.
Turn off ALL the other lights in the room and shoot near the window
Pro tip: north-facing windows are best because they allow indirect light to come in which is perfect for baby photos (without any glaring, direct sunlight).
However, even if you don’t have convenient access to a north-facing window (or you don’t even know which way north is without consulting GPS), simply shoot pictures anytime there isn’t direct sunlight coming in.
This will also avoid you having a grumpy, squinting baby in your pictures!
Turn off the flash
The harsh light of a flash can cause stark shadows in your pictures instead of the well-balanced natural lighting you’re going for, so keep your flash set to off.
THE key to great baby photos is lighting. So, if you only do one thing, follow these tips to get it perfect.
Adjust the exposure setting to the right brightness level for Baby’s face
To avoid a too-dark baby photo, just tap on your baby’s face on the screen and adjust the exposure slider up or down until it looks true to life. You should be able to see most of the details of their features in both the shadows and highlights.
It’s ok if some of the edges or background of the photo are slightly overexposed (i.e. super bright). This step will help keep your sweet little model’s face looking spot on.
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So, once you get the lighting right, yout photos should be good to go, right?
Well not quite.
The good news is, there’s lots you can do to make your baby photoshoots go smoothly, and I’m bringing you 7 more mom-tested tips today...
2. Shoot Baby Photos When Your Little One Is Happiest
Think about the time of day when your little one is all smiles.
For instance, I know my four-month-old is typically all sunshine after she wakes up for the day and eats, while she’s more likely to be fussy in the evening.
That's when you want to plan to do your at-home baby photo session.
3. Set Up Your Your at-Home Photo Studio
Set up your photoshoot ahead of time, so you can take advantage of Baby’s most cooperative window for snapping pics.
Choose the best location in your home, and gather a few cute baby photo props, think about your backdrop, and get ready!
Don't forget to slow down and adjust the focus and exposure before shooting your baby's photo. Here's how...
4. Focus Your Phone Camera
It can be easy to forget in the rush to capture your baby’s picture while they’re happy, but focusing your camera is essential to nice sharp baby photos.
Just tap on the screen where you want to focus (a yellow box will show you what your camera is focusing on).
You can adjust the exposure by tapping up or down on the icon next to the box. (Revisit tip #1 above for more details on getting flawless exposure and lighting.)
Of course, lighting and focus are important, but how do you convince Baby to actually look at the camera?
5. Get Baby to Look at the Camera
It was Mother’s Day, and I was tasked with getting a perfect photo of my mom with all of her six grandchildren (ages 10 and under!)
“Smile!” I’d direct the big kids.
“Lalalalalalala!” I’d trill to grab the baby’s attention.
“Close your mouth,” when the older ones’ smiles got a little too silly.
“ABCD…” I sang to the baby.
All while taking 734 pictures and wiggling my fingers above the camera in one final ploy to get everyone looking in the same direction.
Despite the fact that my sister was in the kitchen melting down into a puddle of teary-eyed giggles at my antics, I’m not above any shenanigans to get great pics of my kids.
I routinely sing, talk in funny voices, and make weird noises to get my baby’s attention for pictures. You may need to caw like a crazed crow to get your baby to look at the camera, but it will be worth it.
Try dangling a toy that makes noise overhead.
For mobile babies and toddlers, you may have to work a little harder to get them to stay put and look at the camera when you want them to. In fact, you may have to abandon that hope altogether, and that’s ok!
Just keep them in your viewfinder as they crawl or toddle until that magic moment they decide to look up at you (and the camera).
6. Pose Baby to Get Their Good Side
For little babies, standing above and shooting straight down captures their beautiful faces staring back up at you perfectly. Try standing on a step stool to make it easier.
For mobile babies and toddlers, get down on their level. This may involve you laying on the floor to capture a crawler or shooting on your knees for a toddler.
7. Wriggly Baby Remedies
If your cutie-pie subject is busy moving about, try using burst mode. Hold down your phone’s shutter button for rapid fire photos. At least one of them will probably turn out!
8. Get In the Photo, Mama!
As parents we have countless photos of our babies, but typically there are far too few of us actually with our child.
Make it a priority to hop into your baby's photoshoot. It's actually easy to do, even if you're by yourself.
Set your phone up against a lamp or stack of books and angle it toward where you want to sit with your babe.
With your camera open and in photo mode, go to the top of your screen and hit the clock icon. Set the timer button, giving yourself either 3 or 10 seconds to get situated. Then get ready as your phone will automatically take a series of photos.
The early months of motherhood can easily fly by in a blur of diapers, bottles, and laundry, so don't miss the opportunity to pause and capture the sweet moments with your baby.
You'll love looking back at how you've both grown and changed together over the years.
4 Easy Monthly Baby Picture Ideas & Milestone Photos You Can Do at Home
What’s next?
While you may have to resort to a lot of silliness, a little preparation, and a couple of new camera techniques, with these tips you will end up with photos of your baby that you will treasure for a lifetime.
Try these baby photoshoot ideas with your little one today, then…
Head over to The Short Years Baby Book App and upload your beautiful new baby pics now
Years from now, you’ll be so glad you did.
xo
Tracey
Tracey is the co-creator of The Short Years Baby Book App where you can build a beautiful baby book — in just 5 minutes per week. She believes it shouldn't be stressful to create a finished baby memory book you and your family will treasure for a lifetime.
July 7, 2022
