When you have a new baby if feels like you can’t take enough pictures. The first smiles, yawns, naps and, well, pretty much every waking moment need to be captured. With a camera in your pocket, you can snap away at your heart’s desire. Here are a few tips for creating an easy at-home photo shoot for your family.

Lights! Camera! Shhhhh….

A staple of new baby photos is the sleeper. Children have such an angelic look when they’re asleep, it’s an easy moment to capture (mostly because you have your hands free!). Here are a few ideas for how to set up the perfect sleeping baby photo shoot.

• Use natural lighting – Whenever possible try to use the sun to light your photos, lamps can cast shadows and disturb babies sleep. So open the blinds and the sunshine!
• Use an Empty Space – This is an easy one. Try to remove any clutter from the photo so you can focus only on baby. Use a white sheet as a backdrop, this will help neutralize the photo and reflect the sunlight.
• Try a Few Angles – The two best angles for this shoot are tilted from 90 degrees above and straight on. If using your iPhone rotate the screen so you can hold the phone above your head and still line up your shot.
• Sound Sleepers – You will never be sorry for having photos of your baby and partner napping together, it’s a classic that belongs in every family photo album.

 

Use Props From Around the House

You don’t need an elaborate setup to create a fun photo, there’s plenty of items around your house that can create a great memory! Try a few of these ideas below.

• Pick a theme – The best way to create a memorable photo is to start with a simple idea. Look around your house or at your babies clothes. Do you have a train set? Or maybe a wicker basket? Heck, even a pile of laundry will work if you can get your baby to sit on top of it and smile.
• Furry Friends – I am a total sucker for photos of kids with pets, especially the big dog/tiny baby combo. Once you know how your pet and baby interact (give this some time) you can take photos of them sleeping together, simply sitting side by side or wearing matching outfits!
• Speaking of Outfits – A simple way to create a fun photo is getting parents and kids in similar outfits, nothing fancy – jeans and white t-shirts will do fine – and taking a non-posed photo that suggests “wait, we’re wearing the same thing?”. Look in your closet and see what old Halloween costumes you have, parents can get in on the action and use baby as a prop.
• You can also include your baby’s favorite Lovey to the scene to create an even more whimsical vibe.

 

Technology Is Your Friend

You no longer need to be a design wiz to create funny photos of your kids, so many apps and programs make it easy! This also takes away the pressure to stage a perfect photo and instead create a scene around photos you already have. Some apps you can use:

• Pixlr – This is a great app for overlays filters. Imagine Instagram with about 1000 more filters.
• Lensicle – This is a great app for creating silly faces and utilizes a gesture-based control functionality making it easier to take photos.
• Photoshop Mix – This app combines all of the different aspects of the Adobe Creative Cloud so that you can edit your photo in even greater detail. Add a background, combine photos and add filters. Plus the app is designed to be easier to use than the typical desktop version.

Whatever you do, don’t stress! If you’re a photography novice consider this a fun way to pick up a new hobby and spend quality time with your family. Get snapping!