4 Tips for Taking
Great Baby Pictures - Even If You're Not a Professional
by: Alexis Dawes
When my daughter Layla was born I had a hard time putting
the camera down. And apparently I wasn't the only one. The
cashier at the photo developing shop told me that new parents
comprised a fairly sizable chunk of their business.
We can't help it! Babies are such beautiful creatures that
you want to capture every new movement and every fleeting
smile that comes along. (Even if that smile is attached to
a smelly gas bubble!)
However the problem many parents have is that their lack of
good photography skills can translate into pictures that are
too dark, too bright, blurry, out of focus, uncentered, and
so on. Perhaps this describes you.
If so, don't sweat it. These problems are easily fixable.
An album full of mishaps can quickly be transformed by following
these 4 tips...
1) When taking pictures of babies lying on their backs, stand
directly over them and shoot straight down.
I used to take a solid color baby blanket and place it on
the floor in a bright, sun filled room. When I was ready to
take a picture I would put Layla on the blanket, and adjust
it around her, making sure not to put her directly in the
sunlight. Then I'd get on my knees right over her, aim straight
down and snap away.
This technique will allow you to center the camera properly
and you'll get some great close-up shots. The natural sunlight
will often give you just enough light so your picture isn't
too dark or too bright.
2) Capture a range of emotions.
Smiling babies are cute. But so are crying babies and pouting
babies and messy babies and sleeping babies.
Be sure to take pictures of your little one in all phases
of his or her emotion filled life. You'll be amazed at how
truly beautiful they are in non-traditional picture taking
situations.
3) Make bath time picture time.
While there are some babies who don't like water, most love
it. They often become very expressive in the bath tub - laughing,
cooing and splashing. So bath time often becomes a great opportunity
to capture a few precious shots of your little one.
I've personally used the bathtub to document how Layla has
changed over her 2+ years. Every couple of months I take a
few close-up pictures of her in the bathtub. Then I take the
best one and place it in a special section in the photo album.
It's truly amazing to see how her face changes so dramatically
with each new picture.
4) If you use a disposable camera, choose a good one.
I purchased 3 dirt cheap disposable cameras before I had Layla.
When we brought her home these were the ones we used for the
first week of photo taking.
Boy was I disappointed! The pictures developed horribly. And
as a new mommy with hormones still raging, you know how sad
this made me. Those cuddly little moments can never be relived
again.
I learned a good lesson though. You get what you pay for.
Now my disposable camera of choice is the Kodak Max HQ. It's
one of the more pricey disposable cameras. However the quality
is fantastic in comparison to other disposables I've used.
You can usually buy them inexpensively on eBay. Popular retailers
like Target and Wal-Mart also run sales on them quite frequently.
About The Author
Alexis Dawes is a real mom (not a professional photographer)
who runs the Photograph-Your-Baby.com web site. Check out
her free 20+ page tutorial that teaches parents how to take
better pictures of their little one (http://www.Photograph-Your-Baby.com).
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