LOCKDOWN TIPS FOR NEW PARENTS: 7 SIMPLE POSES FOR DIY NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHY
Following on from a previous blog with 6 tips to help capture better photos of your newborn baby at home; here are 7 simple photo poses you can capture yourself at home with your new born baby:
Put baby on it’s back for example in a cot (with bars), on a bed or on a sofa. Always keep the top of the head closest to the light source. Shoot from overhead, (avoid looking up baby’s nostrils).
Then come low and shoot the side profile.
Stand near a window and hold baby on the same side as the window is (this means your body won’t shade baby). If you can,stand with your own body turned away from the light (this tends to be more flattering), but your face turned towards the camera.
Experiment with creating silhouetted shots, by standing directly in front of a window. Depending on how dark the room is, you may capture a dark silhouette where your features are barely visible. Or in a bright room or with extra light you may still see your features. Phone cameras tend balance out exposures and keep features visible.
Capture the details of baby’s hands and feet, hair, lashes, lips etc. If you have portrait mode on a phone camera; use it now.
Show baby’s scale. Capture photos that show how tiny your baby is next to you. This will not last long!
Capturing siblings together. The easiest pose is to ask siblings to kiss the baby. Capture from the side so you can see both children’s faces.
Please remember: do not attempt to pose your baby in the positions you may have seen in my or other photographers' professional portraits online. Newborn photographers undergo extensive training to learn how to safely position your baby into these poses. Many of the photographs you see will be heavily photoshopped to remove supporting hands / fingers and may be composites or two or more frames into one photo. The poses mentioned above are simple and easy positions you can put your baby in, safely. Please stick to the simple poses.
Want to learn more?
If you would like to learn more about how to achieve the poses listed above, to learn other more detailed poses including parent shots and sibling shots, or to ask other questions about how to create your own newborn photos at home in these lockdown days, join my small, free group sessions on how to capture your own newborn photos at home. As it stands, there will be two classes a week for as long as the lockdown is confirmed in effect, which currently means the last class will happen on Zoom on Thursday 7th May. Click the link to register attendance. Please note that only a limited number of participants can join each call due to the personalised nature of guidance given. Please book early to avoid disappointment.
Stay safe!
Sara
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