Thank you Jennifer Loomis for providing this guest post! For those of you who don’t know, Jennifer is one of the top photographers in the Seattle area for newborn, pregnancy, and family photography. We are so lucky to have her! Here is some of Jennifer’s best advice for taking beautiful pictures of your beautiful baby.
Just had your baby and can’t motivate to get newborn photography? I get it. When I had my baby two years ago, I couldn’t get out of the house and into my own studio until he was four weeks old! Shameful! But I was just sooooo exhausted. Taking a shower seemed like a major feat. But I still wanted images, so here are some professional tips to making good images of these little guys without leaving your own home. Do it, because they grow up so fast!
Newborn Photography Pro Tip 1– Keep clothing simple- like a white onesie, or get him naked.
Newborn Photography Pro Tip 2– Use only indirect window light
There is nothing more beautiful than indirect window light. By this I mean, the sun isn’t shining directly in the window. You want your baby to be side lit (the window is to your side, and to the baby’s side) or front lit (the window is behind you) not back lit (the window is behind the baby, or in front of you).
Newborn Photography Pro Tip – 3 Find a good time of day when your baby is happy. For Mo, it was right after his nap, or after he ate.
Newborn Photography Pro Tip 4 – Create a mini Studio Buy a 2 or 3 yard piece of black velvet. Wash and dry it. Then set a chair or an ottoman perpendicular to a window (so if you were sitting on the chair or ottoman, the window would be next to your arms). Drape the velvet over the chair and onto the floor. Then put the baby down on the floor. You can then really have some fun. Have your partner hold the baby.
Newborn Photography Pro Tip 5 – Lift the baby’s front up on a breast feeding pillow. Take your breast feeding pillow and put it under the black velvet. Then place the baby on their stomach, but drape the chest and arms over the pillow. This will lift up their front half a little bit so you can get more of their face. I like breastfeeding pillows because they seem to have the right curve to support the baby. Feel free to position their arms so that you can see their face. In the image below the little guy was sleeping. We propped him up on a small sofa cushion, so we could move his hands around. He naturally smiled in his sleep which was magical.
Newborn Photography Pro Tip 6 – Have your partner hold the baby. Ask for help from siblings. Notice the window. I am very close to the window in the top photo (white background) and the window is right behind me in the bottom photo (black background).
If you have other siblings, this is something to consider trying too. Again, where is the light coming from? Look for the shadows and they will tell you. Notice the light in the photo below. The window is off to the left.
Jennifer and I hope these suggestions result in many awesome photographs for your family. Jennifer is available for photo sessions in Seattle, San Francisco and New York City. I encourage you to contact Jennifer Loomis for a family photography session. I promise you’ll have a great experience!