How interesting it is to photograph children at home - my realized photo ideas. At what age is it better to shoot a baby up to a year? Photo session of a 6 month old baby

A child for most families is the greatest happiness of parents, which fills their life with meaning. That is why most parents strive to capture every happy moment in the life of their baby. One of these ways is photos of children up to a year by months, which allows you to track how the baby grows and changes during its first year of life. How to do it right, we will consider in the article.

Choose a topic

To make your work look more harmonious and original, you need to choose the right theme for the photo shoot. We offer you several options:

• Little angel.
• What can we do?
• How do we grow?
• Photo in nature.
• In the world of fairy tales.
• Creative photos.

You can come up with your own version, which you like. The photo should convey the emotions that you feel next to the baby. If you are having fun, then dream up and create some kind of scenario that you will display in the photo. If the baby is a source of warmth and harmony for you, then choose classical productions in the family circle or in a cozy room. The most suitable day for a photo session is the date when the baby was born or was brought from the hospital. It is on this day that the first photo is taken, and this chain ends with the first birthday of the baby.

In the meantime, consider how to create the conditions for the photo shoots proposed above.

little angel

Angels and cupids are perhaps the most popular characters that little children are associated with. And for a photo shoot with such a theme, you will need minimal props. All you need is a set of white suits for each month, which your baby will wear as he grows. And, of course, wings.

As usual, the baby is photographed lying down. This allows you to create the perfect backdrop for your photo shoot theme. To do this, you can use bed linen or a diaper with appropriate patterns. If your baby is a cupid, then hearts, if just an angel, then take a blue piece of fabric and create the effect of the sky, on which cotton clouds can be placed next to the baby. When the baby learns to sit, do not lay him down, place the background behind him.

What can we do

As he grows up, the baby not only increases in height, but also acquires new skills. He learns the most elementary, but difficult things for him. Therefore, it is precisely such achievements that can be displayed in the album.

In order for you to more clearly imagine what the result will look like, we have presented a table below at what age the baby learns new skills.

Each child develops individually. Therefore, if your baby did not have time to acquire new skills in accordance with the table presented above, this is not at all a cause for alarm.

Mom dad, I am a friendly family

Great option for a photo shoot. How best to do it depends on your preferences. For example, you can simply sit in front of a beautiful background and take a photo. It is possible for dad to pick up mom, who will carefully hold the baby. You can repeat the poses every month, or you can change them, while leaving only the general background.

How do we grow

Conducting a monthly photo session is necessary, first of all, in order to show how the baby has changed or grown. For such a photo shoot, choose one background. Buy a height meter or a toy that will show how much your baby has grown. Place them side by side in the frame. The background, theme, and even poses are up to you. To make the photo look more harmonious, get the same suits in different sizes. Try to repeat the previous photo as much as possible, taking each next one. This will display the difference.

Photo in nature

In order to take a photo in nature, you need to choose a picturesque landscape as close as possible to your home, since you should not go for a long walk with a newborn. Then just take a picture of that scenery every month. So you capture how your baby has changed at different times of the year. In the first shots, you will need to hold it on the handles. But when the baby learns to stand or walk, you can take a picture of him and himself.

In the world of a fairy tale

Mom and dad are also children at heart. They have favorite fairy tale characters. It is with them that parents often compare their children. For example, a bunny, a cat or Masha from a well-known cartoon. This can be a great subject for a photo shoot. The costume can be rented, bought, or made by yourself.

If you want to make a costume yourself, then you need to try. You can only make a headdress, focusing on this. The most suitable ears are sewn to the cap and you can make any animal or character. But remember that the suit should be comfortable and safe. Do not use wires, sharp objects, etc. Let the baby be in the dress for only a couple of minutes, but even at this time he must be safe.

A hat can also be purchased at a clothing store for newborns. And you can tie yourself.

creative photos

You have probably seen creative photos on the Internet more than once. One of these options is to create a hand-drawn story in which the baby is placed. You can draw a balloon on which your baby flies, a ship or a raft on which he floats. A hammock among the trees in which he sleeps, or something else, depending on your imagination. It is enough just to place the baby on the drawing.

Draw a balloon that your baby rides on, and below it, draw a new city every month. This will create a travel effect. In this case, travel by different means of transport is ideal. Draw a new type of transport for each month for your kid. From the already mentioned ball to a large locomotive or car. Success depends on your imagination and ability to draw.

You can create decorations in a convenient way for you:

• Draw a background on paper.
• Using improvised means.
• Draw on the photo itself.
• Using optical illusion when filming.

Optical illusion

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How should children be photographed? This question is asked by many parents, so we dedicate this lesson, in which we will help you with the choice of equipment and shooting parameters, give advice on layout and work with light, and also reveal the basics of communication with children necessary for photographing them.

Traditionally for our photo school, all tips are divided into 2 parts - camera settings and shooting practice itself. And don't be confused by the number of the lesson - you will succeed! :)

Let's start with some tips for setting up your camera for photographing children.

aperture priority mode. Shooting in this mode and with fast optics will allow you to control the depth of field (DOF), which is important for portrait photography, so that the background in the photos turns out to be blurry, focusing on the subject. The optimal value will be f / 2.2-2.8 (according to shooting conditions) for a close-up portrait, and f / 2.8-4 for shooting a full-length portrait. These values ​​are arbitrary, used personally by the author of the lesson, and you can practically determine the settings of your camera that you consider more correct.

If your camera does not have aperture priority mode (i.e. your camera does not have manual settings), you can use the "portrait" mode. When using this mode, the camera's automation will open the maximum aperture for the focal length you have chosen, reducing the depth of field.

ISO- Depending on where the photo is taken (indoors or outdoors) and on what kind of light, set the ISO value to the lowest possible value to prevent noise. ISO at 100-200 - if the lighting is good enough. If the lighting is insufficient and the shutter speed at low ISO turns out to be long, you can compensate for this by increasing the ISO, but I recommend no more than 800.

Excerpt- try to use 1/200 for a static portrait when your child is posing, and if the children are not sitting still - turn up to 1/500 or higher. As mentioned above, if there is not enough light and the shutter speed in aperture priority mode is set longer than 1/125, increase the ISO or open the aperture slightly. If your camera does not have manual settings, use the sport settings mode.

Focus Mode- set the focus mode to one point - with children who are constantly moving, this will be the optimal mode. In simple soap dishes, unfortunately, you cannot select the camera focus mode (maybe you should think about changing the camera?).

Image format when shooting- if you have the time and skills to process photos, then try to take pictures in RAW format. This will give you more options for post-processing. And again, I state that digital compacts do not allow you to choose the format for saving images.

Flash / Lighting- if there is a "hot shoe" connector in the camera, it is better to immediately refuse to use the built-in flash. If photography is taking place indoors, use an external flash to bounce light off a wall or ceiling (if they are white) or use a diffuser to get indirect light. If you don't have an external flash, or if your camera doesn't allow one, try to shoot in natural light and don't worry about the flash (except when you're shooting against the sun and you'll need a fill flash).

Lenses. If your camera is with interchangeable lenses, then the choice is determined from the condition that was described at the beginning of the lesson - a large aperture. When shooting children in dynamics, it is necessary to use a zoom lens, when shooting statically, the best option would, of course, be a lens with a fixed focal length. A TV zoom lens allows you to shoot casual scenes from a distance, while a wide-angle lens allows you to take panoramic shots.

This is done with the settings, it's time to go directly to the practice of shooting.

Children photography practice

Before giving specific advice on photographing children, it should be mentioned that the child in the process of photographing should feel as comfortable and at ease as possible. You can show your child the photos you have taken, let the camera look at them, or let them take some pictures themselves.

The place where you will take pictures, if it is situational, but try to think in advance of 2-3 scenes that you would like to capture. Shoot outdoors (for example, in a park or forest) and indoors (for example, a bedroom or a room where a child plays). Find a spot with a simple, low-key backdrop for posing (and make sure there's no carpet in the back!). Choose places where children will have fun and interest, then you can take pictures of them in a relaxed atmosphere in the game.

Hidden photography- try to photograph children as discreetly as possible. They can do their favorite things at this time. Use a TV lens.

Avoid staged shooting where, for example, a child sits among toys with a sour face and stares blankly at them. The picture is called "Happy Birthday", but another name suits it best: "I got this photographer and all your gifts." Unfortunately, social networks are just teeming with just such photos.

posing- older children love to pose, but small children are not very attentive to this and the photos in which they pose may look a little unnatural and forced.

The best time to shoot babies is between 6 and 9 months. Then we have the most angelic faces, wide eyes and the most controlled mood. During this period, babies look at what they are shown, lie where they are laid, touch what they are given. In general, ideal models. In a year or two, character begins to appear. Here, as luck would have it. Maybe all the games that you have prepared for him will be completely uninteresting to him. At three or four children, it is difficult to make them stand in one place. Do not even hope that you will put a small child in front of the lens, and he will smile at you radiantly, turn in different directions and react to everything you say. Will not. 100%. The film set turns into a platform for active games, and you always want to play not where you take pictures. But closer to 5 years, the child can already pose well.

Take pictures at the level of the child's face- an ordinary small child is not higher than half of your height, and if you photograph him from your height, the pictures will turn out to be ordinary and not expressive, and the proportions of the child's body will be violated. Therefore, sit down at the level of the child's eyes.

Using the zoom. You can increase the focal length by zooming, but do not forget that in this case, lenses with a variable aperture value reduce aperture, and, accordingly, the shutter speed increases and the depth of field increases. It is better not to use the zoom, leaving the lens at wide angle and take pictures in the surrounding context, while not forgetting that the pictures should also be dominated by the children's faces, and not just the environment.

Focus on the eyes. Pay maximum attention to the eyes of the child. Clear eyes in the picture will always draw the attention of the viewer to it.

Background. Pay attention to the background of your photos. The background gives context to photos, but it can also detract from the main subject. Before shooting, remove all unnecessary objects from the frame. Experiment with backgrounds of different colors and textures, or vice versa, take a picture so that the background is not visible at all.

clothing- choose clothes in which the child will be comfortable and which will reflect his personality. It's also good to have a few different costumes if you're filming in different locations. Avoid bright, flashy colors and accessories in the frame - they distract attention from the child's eyes and create a kind of color spot - the visual center of the photo.

For original pictures use continuous shooting mode.

Include other people in the frame as another way to help the child to be liberated - add parents, brothers, sisters, friends, etc. This will add intent to the relationship in the frame and distract the child from the photographer. Shooting two children is more interesting than one, but also more difficult. Here the emotions of one child must coincide with the emotions of another, otherwise there will be complete confusion. Here, too, it is easier to give them some kind of task and film what they will do. Only then the photo will not look simulated.

Make your photo session as fun as possible. Try to cheer up the child, ask him to do some funny things, this will make the pictures more energetic and help the child to relax. The more fun the child is, the more sincere and original his pictures will be.

Light scheme, which you will apply indoors, should not be complex and heavily customizable. Tell the children to stand here, and they will move half a meter to the side. And it is on the side that the best shots will be. If your light is set to a specific point and a specific angle, you will not succeed much. It is easy to shoot children against a white background, where a step to the right, a step to the left does not play a big role, although, of course, you still need to follow the light, and, if possible, correct it.

Separate photography in kindergartens and schools

The production process of school photography requires careful organization. The fact is that taking a photo of one class, usually, you can spend time comparable to one lesson. There are twenty-five to forty-five students in a class. The lesson lasts forty-five minutes. Therefore, the photographer has only one minute for each portrait.

A portable studio in a miniature version consists of a studio flash with a power of 150 joules (with a distance of 130 cm from the umbrella to the eyes of a child, it gives aperture 8), an umbrella with a diameter of 100 cm (it is bad to move the umbrella more than thirty meters from the eyes. At the same time, it ceases to give soft black and white drawing, and it is impossible to use large-diameter umbrellas: they take up too much space), a reflector to the right of the photographer (twenty cm from the child’s shoulder) and a source of drawing light (ideally, it should stand so that during the shooting process you don’t need it too much move frequently, about 20 cm above the child's head, angle - 45 degrees to the axis of the lens).

Opening a hole even more than 8 is bad, because there is no margin for depth of field, and in the event of the slightest mistake, you can get a marriage. Given the pace of shooting, it's best not to risk it.

Children at recess break loose, rush like meteors, now and then knocking down the fence of chairs built around the studio. It costs them nothing to fill up any of the flashes on the floor. Therefore, at breaks, shooting stops, the photographer retrains as a security guard.

The lens should allow you to shoot a half-length portrait from an arm's length. This is important, because now and then children have to straighten shirt collars, ties, and bangs. Portrait lenses are distinguished by their soft pattern, shallow depth of field, and usually large aperture.

When shooting a class, turn off autofocus and frame the frame so that the head of the person being portrayed occupies three-quarters of the frame, there is not too much of the body, and there is a small amount of blurred background above the head. Now focus on the child's eyes and seal the focusing ring with tape. The main thing is that the scale of the image of the heads does not change in the process of work. When they all come together on one cool vignette, heads of different sizes will look ugly. You will have to focus by changing the position of your own head: either approaching the client’s eyes, or moving away from them. Not very convenient, but the product is guaranteed standard at the output. Another important little thing. At the moment of shooting, the camera mirror is raised, and you lose sight of the person for a brief moment. And it is at this moment that he strives to blink. There is only one way to avoid this during the shooting process: you need to look with one eye into the lens, and with the other - directly at the child and, if necessary, shoot a take. To insure against mistakes, now and then looking at the camera display, is not an option - the pace of work gets lost.

On the eve of shooting, children usually receive a lot of “useful” advice from their parents. A trained child, sitting on a chair in front of the photographer, inflates like a bubble, begins to straighten her hair, collar, chew her own lips, or gives out such a wry smile that it is just right to burst out laughing. A lot in this case depends on the behavior of the photographer. You can't let a child recover. As soon as you sit him down and straighten his hair, clothes, immediately ask him some stupid question that has nothing to do with shooting, but requires switching attention. For example: “How much will the square be?”, “What is your cat’s name?”, “Turn your nose a little to the left”, etc. You should have quite a lot of such blanks in stock so that for each next child the question is unexpected.

Children usually stand in line near the studio and watch everything that happens like a small performance in which the photographer is both the director and the actor at the same time. And because of whether the children are interested in the performance, their behavior during the shooting depends. At the moment when the child hears the question, he willy-nilly shifts his attention from the desire to be beautiful and control the muscles of the face to thinking about an unexpected question. His physiognomy at this time acquires a natural expression. This is the moment of truth, catch it, press the trigger. After a moment, the child will think about the question and respond: he will begin to speak, smile and begin to play “handsome” again.

You should not shoot talking children, squeeze smiles out of them if they themselves do not smile at you with full confidence. Uneven teeth or all sorts of glands in the mouth are very ugly. It's better for these guys not to open their mouths at all.

Children should not be allowed to stand directly behind you. They begin to make faces, show horns, in a word, entertain the one who is already filming. This knocks down the rhythm of shooting, interferes with the creation of the optimal mood of the whole class. Confidence, benevolence, calmness, mild tolerance for children's pranks and at the same time firmness in organizational requirements are absolutely necessary. If you can get the teacher to tidy up her tomboys, and you don't waste time combing recalcitrant tufts and arranging collars and ties, you will be able to rent an entire class in forty-five minutes and still not "produce" marriage.

Senior classes are more difficult to shoot. The girls are all fashion models. They may sit in a chair with their back to the light because that side of their face seems better to them. Asking to move is useless. It is necessary to prepare in advance for the rearrangement of the light and mark on the floor the installation site of the rack with an umbrella. Large guys will have to shoot while standing. Conversations with them and distractions should be more sophisticated and humorous. Commands in an orderly tone do not pass. In a confrontational environment, filming goes badly. Many guys have teenage acne. Therefore, stock up on good covering powder and masking pencils. Under the friendly laughter of the guys, they will have to paint their cheeks and foreheads at a fast pace, not listening to objections. The result is quite decent portraits without pimples and freckles. The alternative is computer retouching.

That's all for today. I hope the materials in this lesson were interesting and useful for you. Good luck and all the photographic to you!

I am often asked at what age it is better to photograph a child under one year old, so I decided to write a small article about this. Up to a year, our children grow and change rapidly, so I recommend shooting the baby several times: at 10 days, 4-5 months, 8-9 months and at 1-1.5 years. In my opinion, these are 4 key points that need to be captured. And every time we shoot a baby at these stages, we get completely different shots. Then the children do not change so much and you can shoot once a year.

Photography in 7-10 days. In our city, photography of newborns is not yet very popular, and for the most part due to prejudices that a child should not be shown to anyone before a month, and that sleeping children should not be photographed. I believe that this age is very important to capture, because some 20-30 days will pass and you will no longer see your baby so peaceful, tiny, gentle and touching. I recommend shooting newborns at 7-12 days, at this time they sleep soundly like angels and they are comfortable in the “globular” position, after 14 days they no longer want to lie like that and will be more awake and worried.

4-5 months. At this age, babies already hold their heads perfectly, can lie on their stomachs for a long time with an emphasis on their hands, look intently at all the toys and smile when they hear a gentle voice. Shooting turns out to be more diverse than at 2-3 months, when the child has to be shot mostly lying on his back. It is convenient to use decor with such children.

8-9 months. This is my favorite age. When I shoot such babies, almost all photo shoots turn out to be excellent and diverse in terms of emotions. At this age, babies already know how to sit and crawl, which is very important for a variety of poses. They are so inquisitive and they are interested in everything that it is easy to evoke positive emotions in the baby. At this age, their eyes are open to the world, their smiles shine, of course, it is a pleasure to capture such emotions. If you are in doubt what age to choose: 5, 9 months or to coincide with a photo shoot for a year, I advise you to shoot the baby at this age. This age is the most suitable for shooting with decor.

1-1.5 years. At this age, it becomes more difficult to shoot a baby, because he is already beginning to show his character. He needs to go where he wants to, dig pebbles and pinch grass, and he doesn’t want to sit with his parents on a blanket and look at “aunt”, and not at his new shoe or gnaw at an even more interesting stick J At this age, parents need to be more strongly included in the shooting process, since it is no longer staged, but more reportage. Most often, these shootings take place in the “seize the moment” mode. But nevertheless, such shooting turns out to be very interesting in terms of movements and emotions. I do not advise you to prepare a non-portable decor for shooting a one-year-old child, because you will have to run after the baby with this decor. . I recommend doing this kind of shooting outdoors.

In general, at whatever age the shooting takes place, the mood of the parents and the child himself is very important. If the child is sick or has not had enough sleep, it is better to reschedule the shooting. And of course, if the child is tired during the shooting or is naughty and does not want to be photographed - you should not scold and punish him for this, some children lose interest after 5 minutes of shooting, in this case, no matter how angry you are with him, you need to take yourself into hands and create an atmosphere of warmth and fun, then the shooting will go smoothly ... :)

Get ready - there will be a LOT of photos))))))
1. My very first realized idea is, of course, from the series "What do children dream of". I couldn't get past her. The idea is not mine at all, but it is so beautiful that it has found a sea of ​​​​followers. I embodied all this for the monthly Glebasha, who did NOT sleep during the entire photo shoot!) But he should have)
My husband asked me to do a similar series for my youngest son, but I so terribly dislike repeating myself that other ideas came into play for Timka (charging for the brain))))

2. "Animal Photoshoot"))), as I called it ...... Everyone who came to visit our house brought a soft toy and as a result there were so many of them that they could be grouped by families: this is bear, this is bull, hare, mouse , tiger ....

So another photo experiment came up)

The other day, by the way, I donated almost all these toys and other soft toys to charity - children do not play, but they take up a lot of space. May they bring joy to others.

2. "Hat Party".... Reviewing and folding children's hats according to the seasons, we intended and took plenty of pictures))) Applying some knowledge of Photoshop, we got funny collages with memory)

4. Regular restless readers of my blog know my love for angels) A small part of them took part in "Angelic photoshoot". The plots were selected according to the theme - sleeping angels and sleeping Glebasha, reading angels and reading Glebasha)))), angels with spoons, mugs and fruits and Glebasha, ready for dinner)))))

Now the collection has grown VERY, and the photo shoot would be very long)))))

5. By the time Timka was born, I already imagined what newborn photography was like, having seen enough photos from my favorite photographers). the child refused to sleep at all! And then for the first weeks my back hurt terribly, and also my chest ... In general, it didn’t turn out quite newborn photography, and already a 15-day-old awake baby)))) I don’t show heels and fingers)), only “costumed” ideas))) Everything herself - accessories herself, amused herself ... I sent all the other residents of the apartment with my dad for a walk on the street) )) Not everything worked out, but still)

6. Photos with numbers.

Up to a year old, we celebrate every mini-birthday of a child - the first month, two, three .. Somehow Karina even asked me: "Why does Gleb have a birthday every month, and mine is once a year?" ....

Numerical photographs are very popular. Moms add up a number from diapers, from jars of fruit puree, from oranges, from maple trees, from rattles .... Anything that just doesn’t come across)))

Well, of course, since I sew, my numbers turned out to be textile)

7. In addition to numbers, of course, you can use letters!) Here, too, you can roam your fantasies - letters from the alphabet of plastic, wooden, textile letters, write on the board. And now the words wooden for decor are very popular, if you have a jigsaw, you can buy plywood or chipboard in a hardware store and make a super decor from the word.

And I found these pictures in our photo archive)

8. The following series of pictures belongs to the category "The clothes suggested the idea")))

For a long time, fashionable mothers have been trying to dress their children fashionably, stylishly, and then take pictures of them and show them in a topic such as "Fashionable kids", "Children's look" - I like to browse such topics, I honestly admit) Family-look pictures are very popular.

Now there is so much variety of fashionable clothes that photos in any case with the right wardrobe will look awesome.

The birth of a baby is a significant event for any family. Most parents try to capture in the photo every moment of the life of the crumbs, starting from the first minutes. Taking really high-quality pictures of the baby is not easy. A small child can be capricious, you can’t ask him to stand up beautifully, to take some kind of pose. How to photograph newborns, let's try to figure it out with the help of the article.

Can I take pictures of children under one year old?

In many countries there are signs that prohibit showing babies to strangers. It is especially widespread among the older generation. Parents are often afraid of diseases, germs, damage, evil eye, envy. From the point of view of psychology, such fears are quite understandable: fear for the life of a child is one of the strongest parental phobias.

On the medical side, this rule has a reasonable explanation: the newborn needs time to adapt to new conditions. First, he develops immunity at home, among loved ones, then this circle gradually expands. It is also believed that young children are especially vulnerable to people with bad energy.

The ban has a religious explanation. According to Christian tradition, on the 40th day after birth, it is customary to conduct a rite of baptism. A new person receives a name and a heavenly patron who will protect him until the end of his life - this is what Orthodox believers believe. As long as there is no guardian angel, a Christian is vulnerable to the forces of evil.

Is it possible to photograph newborns, it's up to parents. Over time, many details are forgotten if they are not captured on film. It is not necessary to arrange photo shoots with a large number of relatives or post all the photos for everyone to see. The main thing is to preserve important, touching moments for history.

Photo shoot style

There are two main types of family photography: staged photography and everyday style. Consider the pros and cons of each.

Staged shooting

When staged shooting, the details of the future photo are thought out to the smallest detail. This format allows you to embody a lot of original ideas, create real masterpieces for a home photo album. Often a professional photographer is invited to shoot staged shots, who knows how to set the right light, take the right angle.

Minuses

It will take time to implement the idea, sometimes a long one (prepare the props, arrange the shooting location correctly, prepare the baby, make up the mother). Work can drag on for several hours, you will have to take breaks for feeding and hygiene procedures. If the baby is naughty, the shooting will have to be postponed, the preparations will be in vain.

pros

A professionally shot frame will best convey the atmosphere of the first months of your baby's life: mother's love, father's care, happiness from his birth. Usually, these are the most presentable pictures of the family archive.

casual photos

The task of everyday shooting is to photograph moments of a child's ordinary life. Here much less attention is paid to details, it is more important to catch a good shot. First smile, first toy, first walk, meeting grandma. You can find a reason to shoot every day, the main thing is to keep your camera ready.

Minuses

Most often, such photos are shown only to relatives. The frame may contain unnecessary details (house clutter, unmade bed) or moments that are usually hidden from prying eyes (breastfeeding, bathing together). The photographer makes mistakes: bad focus, blurry background, wrong lighting.

pros

Everyday photos evoke especially tender emotions over time. They hold the most precious memories.

Shooting rules

Let's figure out how to photograph babies so that shooting is a pleasure for all participants in the process.

1. Choose places or objects familiar to the baby (baby crib, parents' hands, favorite rattles, pets); among them, the baby will feel calm, his behavior will be as natural as possible;
2. When shooting is planned for a long time, pre-feed the baby, change the diaper;
3. If you are filming a child naked, lay an oilcloth under the main fabric to protect the furniture from “surprises”;
4. Check the sounds that your equipment makes in advance. Sometimes the camera shutter clicks loudly enough to wake or even scare the baby; do not forget to turn off the flash;
5. Make sure that the surface on which the baby lies is soft, pleasant for delicate skin; on a perfectly flat plane, the child will not be too comfortable; place soft toys and pillows under the head and back;
6. Choose a solid background with small bright details for a photo session, otherwise the small body will be “lost” among colorful objects;
7. It is more convenient to photograph babies sleeping, so they are less active, they almost do not cause trouble;
8. Set the camera to burst mode when photographing a baby in motion (on different models it may be called “sport”, “burst”, “continuous”); the camera takes up to 3-4 frames per second; pictures will not be smeared, and from a large number of photographs there will always be a few especially successful ones;
9. Do not forget to process the received images in a graphic editor; even on the best shots, sometimes it is worth correcting the light or removing unnecessary visual noise.

Newborn photography safety precautions

Sometimes, in pursuit of the frame, adults forget about security measures during a photo shoot. Objects that seem harmless at first glance can cause inconvenience to the baby or create a traumatic situation. What seems to us a trifle can make the baby nervous, experience serious discomfort. How to photograph babies without risk to health?

We will deal with the basic rules of safe shooting.

Room microclimate	The optimum air temperature in the room should be 23-25°C. If you are filming a child naked, the air should be warmed up to 27-28°C. Ventilate the room before taking long shots. If there is an air conditioner, do not turn it on with a child.
Weather outside	An outdoor photo shoot can only be held in comfortable, calm weather. In summer, make sure that shooting does not lead to sunburn (awnings and clouds do not protect against ultraviolet radiation, and the delicate skin of a newborn burns out very quickly).
Lighting	Doctors ask parents not to photograph a newborn with a flash, it can scare the baby, injure the delicate retina of the eye. Do not install too bright artificial lighting. Choose as much natural light as possible. It is strictly forbidden to photograph newborns in a dark room using automatic flash.
Shooting props	Everything that is located around the baby must be safe. Infants are characterized by sudden involuntary movements, waving their arms, which is why it is impossible to photograph newborns surrounded by heavy or traumatic things. Soft toys, light objects without sharp corners, without prickly parts are well suited. Use natural fabrics, they do not cause irritation, do not accumulate static electricity. Be sure to thoroughly wash anything that the child may put in their mouth, especially when the props belong to strangers (the photographer, for example).
Insurance	As safe as the situation may seem, one of the adults is at arm's length. Newborn reactions are unpredictable. A sudden sound can cause a sharp flinch. Babies are frightened by their own chaotic muscle contractions or hiccups. Any careless movement in the absence of guards can result in a fall, even a slight height can lead to injury. Photographing newborn children in the arms of younger brothers and sisters is possible only with parental insurance.
Non-standard plans and poses	Recently, non-standard plans have come into fashion: in cabbage, in a basket, in a gift box. The “frog” pose is very popular, when the baby lies on his stomach, tucking his arms and legs under him. Many tend to imitate famous photographers, not knowing that most of these pictures are photoshop. In all non-standard poses, the parent or assistant holds the baby tightly from different sides, then one is mounted from several shots, removing the hands of adults using Photoshop. They remove the baby during sleep, so as not to scare him with an unusual situation.

Baby Photo Ideas

Close-up

Close-up photographs of individual parts of the baby's body are not often found in a home album. However, with the right focus, they allow you to fully convey the charm and fragility of a small creature: a thin fluff on the cheek, soft folds of the palms, tiny fingers. Especially touching are the hands of parents next to the baby.

Take a close-up shot of little feet in daddy's hands, or the expression on the baby's face when she sleeps in her mother's arms. Such photos do not require special preparation, because only your baby will be in focus, and a slight mess or unkempt mother will remain behind the scenes.

Usually for such photos use the macro mode, which allows you to capture the smallest details. The final shot is often done in black and white to emphasize the main idea.

family photos

Often parents photograph only the baby, forgetting about the value of family photos. Excuses are different: mom got fat after giving birth, dad is too lazy to change a T-shirt, not that day, not that mood. But think about the fact that years later your child will be very interested in knowing what you were like at the time of his birth. Don't deprive him of family history.

It is not necessary to turn a family photo into an exhibition model where everyone looks like mannequins. Take live pictures of everyday life. Great shots can be captured when a child plays with older children, looks at a pet, smiles at mom or sleeps with dad.

fantasy photo

Sleeping babies are an excellent basis for creating fantastic stories. In 2-3 hours you will have time to deploy real magic around the baby, the main thing is to come up with a plot in advance. Any safe items will serve as decorations.

For example, we make an astrologer out of a baby. We spread a plaid of a suitable size in dark blue or black, put the sleeping baby on its side or back approximately in the center. Around it, we carefully lay out the stars and planets cut out of foil or multi-colored paper. Tinsel will serve as the tail of a comet, mother's handkerchief will become a cloak. From a soft plastic straw from the juice we make an astrologer's wand, carefully insert it into the cam. We photograph the resulting image.

Most of the decorations can be folded from multi-colored pieces of fabric (blue sea, green meadow, blue sky) or cut out of paper; snow and clouds are made from cotton wool, tree trunks are made from twisted knitwear. Let your imagination run wild and you will create the best fairy tale for your treasure.

Minimalism

A photograph in which there is nothing but the baby itself requires a special aesthetic. If you observe all the subtleties of light, color and texture, you will get a masterpiece worthy of a separate photo frame.

Usually, for such a picture, a minimum of clothing is left on the baby: a hat and panties. The background is chosen in a discreet color (preferably warm pastel shades), but with a pronounced texture: a large-knit blanket, animal skin, fabric or rug with a clearly distinguishable pile. The photo must contain an object that will focus the attention of the audience: a bright hat, a large soft toy or the name of the baby, lined with cubes.

Baby photos are a source of warm family memories for many years to come. Photograph your baby as often as possible, because at the age of up to a year, he literally changes every week.