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Fresh 48 | Photographing Baby at Home

Congratulations on your beautiful new baby! Enjoy my hints & tips to get some great images of baby at home. Photographing baby at home is extra special when you want to introduce them to friends & relatives far & wide.

photographing baby at home, little newborn girl in a flower crown sleeping peacefully

Baby Whisperer – Newborn Photographer Magic

As an expert newborn photographer of over ten years of experience I often have astounded parents asking – ‘how do you do that?!’ Well its a lot of experience, and a little bit of magic 😉 Please don’t try at home the Newborn images you see on the website, I know a lot about (& teach other photographers about) baby safety, biology & circulation & how to move baby carefully whilst sleeping.

I have put together for you some perfectly safe & beautiful images for you to practice when you are photographing baby at home, they’ll make the perfect ‘Fresh 48’ session for you. (fresh 48 refers to baby being just home from hospital around 48 hours old. These tips are great for most babies before they start to roll though). Don’t forget to gather some trinkets like a hospital bracelet or precious gift to take close up images of, they make great album fillers.

Photographing Baby at Home – When & Where

The key to great photos at home is ‘finding the light‘ you are looking for areas of your home that have lovely even light. Nice and bright but not in direct sun. The master bedroom & a room with patio doors make great options. In my house by the patio doors in the morning is great because the sun is on the garden but not far enough round to shine directly through the glass. Direct sun is harsh and unflattering. the best light is often a couple of steps back into a bright room. Don’t be tempted to put the flash on, its direct harsh light & not flattering.

I have taken all of the example images on an iPhone, using portrait mode. You can then use your favourite editing app to enhance your well lit images.

Your files will not be huge but they should be good enough quality for small prints and gifts for family – think keyring for nana. Im a mug fiend & love a good photo mug! Don’t forget to back them up in the cloud, these are forever memories.

Fresh bottom & milky drunk is best for sleepy newborn images.

Don’t forget to make use of the brightness slider. Touch the area of the screen where you want the phone to focus. A sun and a line will appear next to the focus box. Slide the sun up or down the line to adjust the brightness of the image.

Meet ‘Boris’ my Stand in Baby training mannequin – he’s keeping me company in lockdown!

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More tips for photographing your baby

It’s all in the angles, remember when you turn on the front facing camera and scare the life out of yourself? Its the same with baby – think over the nose not up the nose!

LIGHT TRAVELS HEAD TO TOE. BABY SHOULD BE SIDE ON OR HEAD CLOSER TO THE LIGHT SOURCE

Now you have yummy light make sure you choose a neutral outfit & backdrop so baby is the star of the show. A blanket on the thick side will stay crease free, I am using a beanbag which is nice and firm. A sofa cushion or other firm but comfortable surface will do great.

Try and fill your frame with blanket to reduce distractions, some pegs or a handy helper to pull it out tight would be great if your surface is smaller than your camera will let you focus.

Get variations from your pose without disturbing baby. Headshot, full body, tiny details, add a teddy or christening blanket to “Tuck In’ & make images extra special.

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A classic tiny baby image is a swaddle shot, here is my step by step to a simple safe swaddle to photograph your baby at home.

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Does Baby have siblings? Lets tidy up the bedside table, thrown on some fresh sheets & get some ‘lifestyle’ images of them together. Pop siblings behind baby on their tummies or sat back out of focus for super cute mementoes. Look how tiny they are now! Boris’s ‘siblings’ refused to cooperate so you’ll have to try with your own models!

Crop out messy surfaces & pull the covers nice & tight. Add throws and pillows for colour accents, keep baby the star of your show. Jeans and plain tee or bare top for siblings keeps it classic. 

photographing baby at home baby photography tips

I hope you love taking snaps of your new baby! I’d love to capture this precious time for you. With Bespoke Newborn Portraits or my Mini Newborn which is perfect for older babies.

Much Love at this special time

Cass xoxo