How to Do a Newborn Photoshoot?

A photoshoot for newborn babies can be an incredibly rewarding and personal experience. Capturing those quiet and unseen moments of a newborn baby is something that not only parents adore at the time, but so do those same babies when they grow up. Of course, there are countless more reasons why this type of photography is really important to many people and professionals alike. A newborn photoshoot takes skill and some more patience but it is definitely worth it all. With this guide, we will talk about newborn baby photoshoot, including things like outdoor newborn photoshoot, newborn photoshoot props, upscale image techniques, and more. These tips and knowledge can be utilized by beginners and professionals.

Why is Newborn Photoshoot Important for Parents?

A newborn photoshoot, especially a newborn baby photoshoot at home, can be really rewarding for the baby several years down the line as well. Parents and children can grow to appreciate those memories together all the while having completely different perspectives on them. Also, it is an increasingly popular trend to click photos of your child from birth till 18 years of age. Parents make a collection of these photos secretly and give them to their children suddenly on their birthday or any special occasion.

How to Do a Newborn Photoshoot?

Since a newborn baby photoshoot will involve the baby as well as the environment, you obviously first need to make sure that the baby is either sleepy or at least calm. Needless to say, there won’t be much to photograph when the baby is anxious and crying, looking everywhere in distress. That’s why, it is usually recommended to use your home, preferably the bedroom, as your primary photoshoot location. Now coming to the environment as well, it is better to start taking photos at the ideal time of the day. What that means is taking photos with the softest and best lighting. That could be somewhere around the early mornings or mid-days. Additionally, you need to ensure that your windows aren’t directly open to light since that can create strong shadows and as a result, drastic contrasts between light and dark. Or you may only use some post-editing skills to fix it or try VanceAI which is a full-suite photo editor.

Another good practice is to keep your room temperature as natural as possible. For instance, if it’s cold outside, you should simply get your baby some warm and comfortable clothes instead of trying to overdo it by turning on heaters or other devices. A newborn baby photoshoot can take time, so it is best to avoid anything that would distract a baby from its sleep.

Additionally, any photoshoots involving newborns or babies, in general, must follow safety protocols as closely as possible. It’s common knowledge that newborn babies are fragile and having hard devices such as a DSLR, tripod, or props can be harmful if not handled with care. Make sure that your devices and tools are at a safe distance from the baby. The safety rules also extend to the babies themselves. Sure, a little experimentation is good but always make sure to place the babies at the center of the bed and keep them in positions that are not harmful to their bodies.

With all these factors considered, you can still manage to capture one of the most beautiful moments of life. You can play around with different lighting through different times of the day, go around the space and try different angles, and keep changing camera settings to see if you get something unexpected. 

Also read: Best 5 Wedding Photo Editing Tips

5 Tips for Newborn Photoshoot at Home

1. Make the Newborn Comfortable

Perhaps the biggest advantage of taking newborn photographs at home is that it provides the ultimate comfort to the baby and maybe even to the parents. You can leverage that by keeping the baby in the bed and wrapping it with good cloth. You can even try a big T-shirt. After that, you can easily take quite a few pictures without worry.

2. Newborn Baby Photoshoots Use Props

When at home, you can make use of many props that simply go well with a newborn as compared to stuff you’d find outdoors or in studios. Of course, when we talk about props, we mainly refer to soft toys and cradles. These two alone give you tons of newborn photoshoot ideas and the best thing is that they always work well. After shooting, process the images through an AI image upscaler to maximize quality. See the video below to learn how to use it.

3. Newborn Baby Photoshoots Include Parents

The most crucial aspects of good childhood memories include children, parents, and the home. So, it makes complete sense to conduct a newborn baby photoshoot wherein parents are also a part of the photos. The photos can be as simple as the parents sitting with the child in their lap or parents kissing their newborn on each of its cheeks.

4. Mix Babies and Pets

Pets are understandably an unforgettable part of the household. They are active, kind, and feel like part of the family. Now, it depends on how the pets at your house are. If they are too unpredictable, it is best to avoid involving them at all. If they are well behaved, however, you can create new ideas and have photoshoots with them.

5. Newborn Baby Photoshoots Take Photos Continuously

For example, each house tends to have a completely different ambiance to it during each different season. It can be a really amazing memory capture to have photos that highlight your baby’s growth through the seasons. You might even get an idea of how your child reciprocates each season. Maybe you feel things getting exciting for your child during the summers.

5 Tips for Outdoor Newborn Photoshoot

1. Carry a Cradle

Cradles serve multiple purposes when it comes to outdoor newborn photography. First, they help keep your child warm, comfortable, and most importantly, safe. Second, cradles are much safer and easier to carry as well, rather than holding a baby and walking outside. Photography becomes less complicated as well when you can simply focus on the baby sleeping easily inside a small space.

2. Newborn Baby Photoshoots Get an Umbrella or Shade

Extending from the safety point made earlier, it is still the most important priority, especially when outside. The sun rays and heat can sometimes be too much for newborns to bear. Hence, following some basic steps such as carrying baby lotion, an umbrella, etc can go a long way. Not to mention that you can take photographs under some shade as well.

3. Hold them

Holding babies for photographs outside can add a different feel to your visuals. A baby in its mother’s or father’s arms is definitely something that provokes emotions and conveys something really meaningful. On the more practical side, you never know how your newborn might react to you resting it on grass. Since the baby has probably been held before, there are fewer chances of it erupting in displeasure.

4. Newborn Baby Photoshoots Try Various Settings

The outdoors always has something to offer. For a wide variety of ideas, it is best to roam around a bit more. For newborns, a somewhat empty park or a garden can be amazing places for photoshoots. Having a newborn sit near nature adds a really impactful effect to the overall visuals.

5. Try a Picnic

One of the popular techniques that parents or professional photographers use for newborn babies is to set up a picnic. Keeping the baby on a blanket in a park serves as an excellent backdrop for newborn baby photoshoots.

Best 5 Tips for Newborn Photoshoot Props

1. Soft Material

Most of what is made for newborn babies is incredibly soft and rightly so since newborn babies have equally soft and sensitive skin. Always have extra blankets, pillows, and any other stuff that you need for newborn babies. And of course, you can never have too many soft toys when babies are involved.

2. Keep it Grounded

Surely beds and sofas are great places for a newborn baby photoshoot, but even with them, you have to be careful enough to place the baby at the very center of the space. The risk of keeping them at the edge of these places is too high. Therefore, having a cradle on the ground and shooting from above, for example, can be safe and creative at the same time.

3. Reliable Props

Quality material is something that should always be on parents’ minds when dealing with newborn babies. If you have a cradle for the baby, make sure it is not prone to breaking and that it is sturdy enough to keep the baby balanced. Anything you keep the baby on must support the weight.

4. Newborn Baby Photoshoots Follow Hygiene

Keeping your props physically sturdy and reliable is only one part of the equation. Another important aspect of safety is to keep them clean in order to avoid any health issues for the baby. The best practice is to clean all the materials once after using them for photo shoots. This ensures health and safety for the baby.

5. Use Baby Proof Props

As parents or photographs, you can use basically any prop you want for yourself. However, when it comes to the props for newborn babies, use only the material deemed as baby-proof. These props are designed specifically for newborns and completely avoid things that are pointy, heavy, etc.

Conclusion

Now a photoshoot for newborn babies won’t be as daunting of a process as it initially seemed. When it comes to core photography, you simply need to ensure that you take pictures from good angles and process them with applications such as Image upscaler so that your memories are stored in the best possible quality. The other aspect of newborn photography is of course the newborn itself. For that, follow the tips given above to get a better idea of how to handle a newborn in different situations.