This article is all about how to take beautiful newborn photos at home.
Congratulations on your new baby! You’ve waited so long to finally hold this bundle of joy in your arms.
The newborn phase is amazing and you want to remember all of the precious little details of your baby. And the best way to do that is obviously to take pictures.
It’s very common nowadays for people to hire a professional photographer to take a newborn photoshoot of their baby.
But these photoshoots can be so so expensive. Ranging on the low end from $250 all the way up to $800 and beyond.
That is a lot of money to spend, which not everyone has, especially after all of the other things that cost a ton of money when having a baby.
Or maybe you want professional pictures taken but you (understandably) have concerns with COVID and the safety of your baby.
Well, I’m here to tell you that you do NOT need to book a newborn photoshoot with a professional photographer in order to have amazing pictures of your baby.
You can 100% take amazing, high-quality photos in the comfort of your home. Here are some tips on how to take photos that you will love and cherish forever.
1. Use Portrait Mode On Your Phone
You do NOT need a professional camera in order to take high-quality images of your baby.
If you have a camera, great, you can totally use it. But it is not necessary.
Most phones have incredible cameras these days and when you shoot pictures on portrait mode the background is automatically blurred and your subject is in focus which makes the pictures look super professional!
I know most people swear by apple phones, but I actually highly recommend getting a Google Pixel. They typically have more advanced cameras than the newest iPhones.
I specifically switched to a Google Pixel so that I could always be taking amazing pictures of our kids for our family photo albums.
2. Do some research
You can skip this step if you want to, but I think it’s worthwhile to watch some youtube videos like this one that shows professional photographers doing a newborn photoshoot so you know what to expect before you do your own!
3. Get Inspired
Go on Instagram or Pinterest and find pictures of newborns that you really like and try to determine if you could recreate that shot in your own home.
What you need to know is that the majority of newborn photos are heavily photoshopped. Like really photoshopped. So be realistic on the images that you want to try to accomplish.
Also, some positioning of newborns can actually be dangerous (see more about this here). And the shots that you see are photoshopped and a baby isn’t actually in a swaddle that is hanging from a tree. You always want to make sure their heads and neck are supported and that their backs aren’t dipped down too low.
4. Find Materials Around The House
Now that you’ve determined which photos you want to try to achieve, go around your home looking for props that might help you with your photos.
You can get really creative!
You 100% do NOT need to buy anything to achieve beautiful photos, but here are some cute ideas of things you can pick up on Amazon if you want to get something new for your photos…
Props for positioning
Professional photographers use special prop pillows but you totally don’t need to purchase anything like that. You can use anything to help position the baby.
If you have an airplane neck pillow you can use that or you could even just roll up a small blanket into a crescent shape. We had this little baby support pillow from a baby play mat.
You place the prop under your background material and then smooth it out to create the setting for your shot.
Background and Setting
Next, you have to pick what you want to use as the background. The best thing to use for this is typically a blanket, but you could also use anything like sheets, a rug, or a table cloth.
Do you want the baby to be laying on the floor or do you want them to be sitting in a basket?
You can use really anything that a newborn baby can comfortably fit into while supporting their neck and head with a pillow or blanket.
In these shots, I smushed a small pillow into the basket as filler and then placed the blanket for the background material.
Outfitting
Now decide what you want your baby to be wearing in the shot.
Some options are having the baby be completely bare, having the baby bare but with a blanket on top, picking a cute outfit, or picking a nice swaddle.
We didn’t have any solid color swaddles so I ended up using a scarf that I had. Seriously you can use anything!
The best thing to wrap the baby in is anything super stretchy so you can get them comfortable swaddled into a little ball.
Don’t worry if their shape in the picture is perfectly round. I promise you that photographers are photoshopping babies to make them look so perfectly round.
Have all of the different outfits set out with you when you start your photoshoot so you can do a quick change.
These can be different bows, different swaddles, or even a little cute knit item for the baby to hold like this little owl or I’ve seen people use felt hearts, which are easy to have them hold when they are really asleep.
Sound Machine
Using a sound machine or a “susher” will help the baby stay asleep and calm as you are manipulating them to get the perfect shot. We really like this sound machine that we also take with us in the car when the baby is sleeping.
If you don’t have a sound machine, there is a great website that I love that loops very soothing, natural-sounding rain for 30 minutes, which you can do from any phone or device.
Room Temperature
You want to make sure that the room is nice and warm because the baby might be bare or only wearing a swaddle. They’ll be more comfortable if it’s warmer, which means they’ll stay asleep longer and cooperate more as you are trying to get all of your shots.
5. Find The Right Lighting
The best lighting for a newborn photo shoot is soft natural light.
For example near a window that has a sheer window covering such as this one.
Observe your home at different times of the day to determine when the best natural light comes into the room you are planning to use. Make sure the light isn’t too harsh.
For us, we found our best natural light during mid-morning.
You can play with the shades in the room moving them up and down/ opening and closing to let more or less light into the room.
6. Test the shot
When you’re working with a newborn, you have to move quickly because they’re really unpredictable, one moment they could be fast asleep and the next they could be totally losing it.
So you really want to have everything set up ahead of time and you want to make sure that the setup for the photo is good before you even involve your baby.
As you can see used our little doggy model to test our shots.
Once you’ve tested and you know that the set is good, then you can get your baby and snap away.
7. Timing Is Everything
The best time to work with a newborn for a photoshoot is when they are fast asleep. You know your baby best so if you can predict when they will be asleep, aim for that time.
Once they are fed and burped and have a clean diaper, that is typically the best bet on when they will be comfortably asleep.
Wait until they have been asleep for 5-10 minutes before trying to position them so you know they won’t wake up.
8. Keep Snapping
Again newborns are very unpredictable. They could sleep the entire time and be super cooperative or they could decide to not cooperate at all, it just really depends.
So don’t feel like you have to get all of your shots in one day or in one shoot. You could try mid-morning three days in a row until you get the shots that you want.
And don’t give up if you don’t get the shot you want immediately! You can try adjusting a few things and who knows? Maybe the very next shot will be your favorite!
Enjoy these tips and continue to use them as your child grows so that you can cherish all of your memories forever.
