If you’ve never had kids and wonder why your mom-friends keep showing pictures of their babies to you every chance they get or why they are so obsessed with taking baby portrait photos, the answer is simple. Baby Portrait Photography is a very fascinating and enjoyable leisure!
Mothers and fathers have taken the art of baby portrait photography into their own hands. In fact, if you’re a new parent, I bet you have a camera tucked in your bag all the time. To capture the witnessed unexpected ‘firsts’ or simply, capturing the right moment that candidly presents itself, are sure the ultimate joys of a parent.
Poses at Specific Ages
However, there is also a challenge in taking baby photos; and that is, babies do not know how to pose. The subject is still too unaware of its surroundings or at certain ages, unpredictably active. So it would be helpful if we could be least expecting their abilities to strike a pose. We know babies can barely hold up their heads or retain a particular position at 0-3 months that’s why we would need to hold them to pose.
Experiment on how the baby could be held but make sure that the focus of the photo would be on the baby and not on anyone else. You must find a way to capture only the baby’s profile while being held by another person. There are still limited positions you can capture when you are taking photos of babies between the ages of 3-6 months. The good news is that babies can now hold their heads up so it’ll be much easier to get the face into a profile. Costumes and props that are safe for these ages may also be used to liven up the photos.
Babies begin to sit around 6-9 months and this is when you can capture very odd poses from the babies. Since the babies start to become very active, this is the time when you need to master the shutter speed feature of your camera. And from ages 10 months onwards, some babies may be able to recognize that their photos are being taken and might even hold their poses a little longer. Candid photos may do very well during these ages.
10 Things to Keep in Mind about Baby Portrait Photography
- Make sure that your camera has filmed all the time and that your batteries are fully charged all the time
- If you are using a digital camera, it is best to have batteries ready.
- Familiarize yourself with the use of shutter speeds and camera flashes.
- Do not be afraid to take ultra-close up photos of your babies.
- Try shooting at distances and capturing the drama of the scene.
- If you are going to pose your babies, hold them securely.
- Your babies need not be dressed in costumes all the time, just make sure they are clean unless you intend to take photos of them wiping chocolates on their faces which is very adorable too.
- Try shooting in grayscale. Black & white photos come out very classy and elegant, so if you intend to frame the photos, you will never go wrong with it.
- Remember that babies can easily get distracted if you caught your baby doing something very nice, be quick in clicking the camera or you might miss the moment.
- Get others involved. Have your relatives of family members make coo-coo sounds to make the baby smile or simply talk to the baby to get eye contact.
There is nothing like capturing the essence of a child in a photograph. They grow up so fast so you want to really get every precious moment on film. You will learn simpler baby portrait photography techniques as you go along, and you’ll be proud each time you get a cute little smile recorded for eternity.
Contact Us
Have more headshot questions or want to learn more about individual headshot options & book an appointment call us at 203-255-4002 or visit us online at Capitol Photo Interactive.
