If you’ve never been pregnant before, you might be surprised by how tiring it is. It doesn’t matter now, though; your journey is finished, and your baby is here. You can already see this little body changing and growing. You are tired but happy, and to make sure that you remember those moments forever, you would love to take some photos. The thing is, when it comes to newborn photo shoots, taking good quality photos can be quite challenging. In a second, you’ll learn what you should remember about when doing your baby’s first photoshoot. Let’s go!
The importance of lighting
Before you start a photoshoot, you should ask yourself a few questions. Do you want your photos to inspire fear in the hearts of men? If the answer is “yes”, then go ahead and up-light your child. If, on the other hand, you want everyone looking at those photos to go “aww, how cute” then opt for natural light.
Before the lamps and torches were invented, the only source of light that we had came from the Sun. Because of that, we tend to feel uneasy when we see babies with the light coming from the opposite direction than we are used to. The babies are cute, it is an undeniable fact, but if we combine their sweetness with the type of lighting that we commonly see in horror movies, then the end result is quite troubling.
If you are worried that just because you don’t have professional equipment, the lighting can’t be great, then think again. If the weather is appropriate, you could take your child outside! This way, you won’t have to think about the background, as there is nothing better than a lovable child with trees and bushes nearby. Just make sure to dress your child appropriately, so that it won’t complain that it’s too cold! If the lighting in your home is subpar, and the time of the year makes it impossible for you to go outside with your newborn, because it is either constantly raining or snowing, there’s another way. You could use one of the lightroom newborn presets that would mitigate the effects of bad lighting.
Don’t rush yourself
It is understandable that you want to immortalize this magical period of time. Your family has just grown bigger! And now you are responsible for taking care of this little human. Little for now, because soon you’ll be surprised by how fast will his or her body develop.
It doesn’t mean, though, that if you don’t take every photo in a matter of days, your chance will be lost forever. Sure, time travel is still impossible, but with proper pose and lighting, no one will notice.
Remember that after pregnancy your body must recover; don’t try to do too much at once. Otherwise, you’ll quickly get irritated, and let’s be honest: a photoshoot of a newborn takes time. It means that sure, you have to take into consideration how well rested your child is, but don’t forget about your needs as well!
Be prepared
Even if you think that you’ve had enough sleep, the lighting is passable, and it seems that everything is bound to go according to the plan, there is one small detail left. You’ll be photographing a newborn, and newborns aren’t exactly known to be good at listening to commands and orders. It means that if you want to increase the chances of a successful photo-shoot, you should take care of all of his or her needs first.
Before you start taking photos, make sure that your child is well-fed and well-rested. Well, that’s nothing surprising, but there’s also one additional element. If you want to keep your child calm, proper temperature is an essential aspect. If you decide that you want to take photos in an unusual place, you should protect your newborn from the elements with a layer of warm clothes. If you don’t plan on going outside, but the temperature might be an issue, an infrared space heater might come in handy. If you are worried that some sounds might make it harder for your child to calm down, you might try playing some relaxing ambient.
The time of the day
Depending on the type of photo-shoot that you want to make, you should choose an appropriate time of the day. If you don’t want to take photos of your baby sleeping, then choose a time when he or she is well-rested, which is usually in the morning. In the evening, when the newborn is tired, he or she might be more prone to crying, which wouldn’t be great for the photoshoot.
Don’t stress yourself out!
It’s been 9 long months, but now you can finally look into those beautiful eyes. Photoshoots of newborns are a chance to immortalize those magical moments. If you want to make sure that the process is as least unpleasant as possible, then follow those steps. And remember, don’t try doing everything at once; take time. Your body needs rest before it gets back to normal.
