Do you want to take some lovely newborn photos? We’ve collected some good ideas for newborn photography to help you take good pictures.
All these great ideas and tips will help to evoke inspiration and improve your images. Whether you’re an amateur or professional photographer or even just parents, you can find everything you want here!
Here are 20 newborn photoshoot ideas to prepare you for your photoshoot.
Table of Contents
Capturing Sleeping Babies
You may be excited to capture a sleepy baby, but before taking the photos, it can take a lot of time, patience, and effort to get the baby to sleep. How do you get the baby to sleep? You could adjust aspects of the environment, such as the room temperature. Make sure to keep the light low. If you are a newborn photographer, you could ask the parents to cuddle or rock the baby. Swaddling (wrapping the baby in a light blanket) may also help encourage sleep. After the baby falls asleep, taking photos is easier. Many parents want to remember soft fluffy hair and milk spots—you might capture these cute things. Or you could get some smiling photos, but you need to know when the baby might smile.
Get a Close-Up
Just like taking a full-body portrait of an adult, we tend to focus more attention on a baby’s entire body and ignore some of the tiniest parts, such as the little fingers and feet. Many parents love these details of their children. Therefore, you need to get some close-up shots. For example, a baby’s face is adorable, and you could capture some close-up shots of their eyelashes, ears, lips, and hair, which would significantly impact viewers. Or you could focus on the baby’s soft and cuddly feet. Many parents and viewers’ first instinct on seeing these close-up images is to touch and kiss the baby and feel how smooth and cute they are. While photographing the baby, you need enough light and to set a fast shutter speed to avoid unwanted blurring. You could buy a tripod to solve camera shaking issues.
Create a Perfect Backdrop
Subject, lighting, depth, timing—all come together with the background to create an excellent image. Therefore, a backdrop is an essential accessory that helps take your photography to the next level. You don’t need to invest much money in expensive backdrops. There are many low-cost backdrops on Amazon, or you can DIY it. Sometimes, a subject in front of a white background seems dull and uninspiring, so you should have some colorful backdrops to choose from. Popular backdrops include cotton wraps, lace, mesh, and gauze.
Include Pets
Photographing newborns and pets together is another creative idea. But you need to know whether the baby loves pets, as not everyone loves having animals around them. Safety comes first during the photoshoot. You can capture candid moments when the baby is playing and interacting with a pet. Such pictures will show the baby’s good and unique relationship with the pet. Be on alert for any sudden movements or dangerous situations to keep the baby safe during the photoshoot
Capture a Big Family
A family portrait photo will be treasured for many years to come. You can take some casual, lifestyle pictures to make them look relaxed or ask the family members to do some posing. For example, put the baby in Mom and Dad’s arms. Or you could more candidly record some joyful moments with the parents.
Use Different Props
Using props is also a popular trend in newborn photography on social media. Using some exciting and novel props creates beautiful and more engaging images. But infant safety comes first. Ensure that props are well-built and sturdy. Don’t buy second-hand props. Some popular props for newborn photography include cozy baskets, wood crates, and bean bags chairs. Newborn photo props may add interest and artistry to images and draw more attention to the cute baby. The props should be safe, versatile, and affordable.
Hand Holding
Often, a baby likes grabbing onto their parent’s hands or fingers lovingly with their tiny hands. It makes the parents say “aaawww,” and it shows solid and unique family bonds and expresses how little and vulnerable the baby is. After seeing these photos, the parents’ first reaction will be to hug and protect the baby. You can ask a parent to put their fingers in the baby’s palm and stroke it or do it yourself, and the newborn will then curl their tiny fingers around them. Try to capture cherished moments or preserve precious memories. The child will look back at these photos one day and relive all of the feelings.
Capture Great Moments
What did you feel when you first met your baby? Surprise and happiness. You can capture babies’ facial reactions when they meet their parents for the first time. This moment will be a cherished and unforgettable memory. Sometimes, black-and-white photos come out well and create a documentary feeling. Or you can capture some details to show the strong ties between parents and their children. For example, babies smile when their parents hold them or rest them on their bellies. Many natural and candid moments are worth capturing.
Record Everyday Moments with Family Members
Engaging activities make every day more fun and positively impact parent-and-baby bonding. You can take photos of meaningful and thrilling games. A parent can read a book to the baby while holding them in their arms. There are many ways of taking lifestyle photographs to show intimacy and how much the parents love the newborn.
Ask the Parents to Kiss the Baby Together
Parents kissing their baby helps strengthen their relationship with their child and tells the child they love them. Make sure to capture the best moment. You can also take some images of each parent kissing the baby separately. You need to think outside the box and photograph perfect pictures. Also, using some props, such as a headpiece or hat, to elevate the photo works well.
Give the Baby Nice Costumes
If you want to take some excellent images of the newborn, baby costumes are necessary. Baby costumes come in various styles and themes. Dress the baby up according to different themes, such as a Halloween theme. There are many Halloween costumes to choose from, such as Boy’s Toothless Classic Toddler Halloween Costume. You could dress the baby up to reflect the baby’s or parents’ personality. For example, if you want the photos to look silly and playful, dress the baby up in a mermaid costume!
Create Fairy Lights
A bokeh background is a perfect addition to your newborn photos. Get some string lights and hang them in the background. Then put the baby on a blanket and let the kid play. Prepare your camera and take some candid photos. Make sure that you use a wide aperture to narrow the depth of field. You can use a telephoto lens to enhance the photo blur.
Select a Color Theme
Color schemes play a vital role in newborn photography. Carefully selecting the colors of the blankets, background, and other accessories will improve the quality of the finished photos. If you have no idea how to choose colors, look at a color wheel. If you are a newborn photographer, discuss the color scheme with your clients to get some inspiration and take the perfect photos.
Burst Mode
If you really want to take some cute and striking photos, try setting your camera to burst mode. This mode is helpful when you want to take images of a baby walking and crawling. Make sure that you use the burst mode during perfect moments to take pictures constantly. When is the ideal time? When the baby is active, such as when they are running or stretching out.
Creative Poses
There are hundreds of guides on how to pose a newborn naturally. Keep in mind, when taking newborn photographs, put safety first! Whatever the next pose, keep them safe. You have many poses to choose from, such as a frog pose. Put the baby’s legs to the side and place the baby’s hands under their head, cupping the chin. Or try a bundles-of-joy pose. Pick out and try a variety of poses.
Sunset and Sunrise
Many photographers tend to use natural light. The golden hour (the first hour of sunrise and the last hour of sunset) is the best time for photography. You can take your baby outside, pick a good location, and then take some great images in soft light. If you want your shots to get noticed and stand out, capture pictures with silhouettes and backlighting when the sun is close to the horizon.
Touch Noses with the Baby
This pose conveys the intimacy between the baby and the parents. Ask one of the parents to touch the baby’s nose with their nose. Eye contact enhances these images. The pose also highlights any similar facial characteristics.
Get Brothers or Sisters Involved
Siblings can be an interesting element in the images. If there are any siblings, photographing them is fantastic and builds a strong family bond of brotherhood and sisterhood. You can ask the older child to wrap their arms around the baby. Make sure that you make the older sibling feel as important as the newborn. A newborn photo with a sibling is a must-have.
Take Images of Breastfeeding
Some photographers may feel shy about taking breastfeeding photographs, but don’t worry. It is a great chance to show an excellent mother-child relationship, which is the central theme of this photo. Focus only on excellent composition and capture the calm and bonding moment. Avoid photographing a mother breastfeeding in public. If you are a newborn photographer, please discuss this with your clients.
Make the Images Fun
It’s important to capture delightful moments, such as when baby yawns. Prepare your camera when the baby is yawning. Then freeze this great moment for the future. All parents will love these images so much.
Conclusion
There are countless more newborn photography ideas on the internet. You can look for these tips and practice. You will take great baby photos, whether you are a professional photographer or not. If you want to take some beautiful images of your child, collect some ideas and be patient! In the end, you will get a variety of cute and loving newborn photos.
