Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Photographing Baby

One of the things we joke about in our house is just how many photos I take of Isaac. When he was very little, each new outfit or expression was worthy of taking a picture. Eventually I realised that it didn't matter what he was wearing or how he looked I'd think he was the cutest tot out and want to capture every moment. So I have held back a little - perhaps 2 or 3 photos a day rather than 10! I am no fantastic photographer, but I have found that the following tips make for great pictures:
  1. Natural light makes for the best photos - I find that the photos I take in the park are always the nicest
  2. Fill the frame with baby's face - close ups are always gorgeous
  3. If baby is not in a great mood, you can always take very cute photos of feet and hands. I have a series of these hanging in our hallway
  4. To get baby's attention, rattle or toy or some keys near her eye line and then gradually move the key/toys away
  5. Get other people into the pictures (Dad, Mum, Grandparents etc.) I have found that people have naturally lovely expressions when they play with babies.
  6. Convert some photos to black and white or sepia - they instantly look professional!
  7. Get down low when taking photos so that they are not all from above
It's also way too easy to leave 100s of lovely photos on the digital camera and never print them out. The fact is you are more likely to look over an album than photos on your PC, so make sure that you do get them printed out.

I also found this article - http://digital-photography-school.com/mono-with-a-dash-of-colour-photoshop-cs2-tutorial - not so long ago on how to bring colour into photos converted to black and white. I think it's a cute effect.

Normally the person behind the camera is mum - a friend of mine commented "my son is going to look at his baby photos and think his Dad looked after him all the time!" So make sure that you enlist the help of someone else to take some family shots every now and then and occasionally hand the camera over to Dad.

Happy Snapping!