The fact that babies are the cutest and most precious things in the universe can generally be accepted by everyone on the planet. I have yet to meet a new parent or grandparent who doesn’t want to immediately start taking pictures of their bundle of joy. So why is there usually such ENORMOUS discrepancy between a very pretty baby et a truly mediocre picture really cute baby?
Some parents go their entire lives without capturing impressive images of babies. And by “stunning” I don’t mean one taken in a professional photography studio. A stunning baby photo is one that captures the true essence of the baby. For a parent or grandparent to never capture that On the mantelpiece photography, it’s really a shame because it really ISN’T that difficult, once you know how!
Like everything else in life, knowing a few key ideas and seeing a few examples makes a big difference. Let’s start with some tips for taking awesome photos of a newborn, up to 3 months old.
Baby poses: 0-3 months
Think of this period in your baby’s photographic life as the molding stage. Like Gumby, you can position the baby in any position you want. There’s no guarantee how long they’ll stay there, but if you’ve got all the camera details figured out beforehand, you can position and shoot pretty quickly. (If someone else poses the baby while you are already in the perfect position for the camera, all the better.)
This is the time to capture those adorable little ones Baby bits. They will never look cuter than at this age! To see the images described in this article, click here. These images demonstrate some key points:
- Especially at this age, babies’ feet (or hands, eyes, noses, etc.) only it can make a wonderful photograph. Use your camera’s macro and / or crop settings with care.
- Just because you start with a color image doesn’t mean you have to end with one. Black and white images can make a big impact. Check your camera and photo imaging software for ways to make the transition from color to black and white pretty easy.
- When you add a parent’s hand (s) or face to the image, a completely different effect is created.
Play with perspective
As for babies, forget about what you’ve always done and try something different. For example, stand at eye level with a sleeping baby, but stand at his feet. Next, focus on the feet while the head is still in the frame, but looking small and further away. As stated above, the pictures will make it clear.
Believe it or not, you could easily take 100 pictures of a sleeping baby and never take 2 that are identical. An outstanding photographic exercise would be to take 50 images, each from a different angle and perspective; using different focus points and aperture settings. Do not worry; You will not run out of ideas! The big advantage of digital photography is the ability to take tons of photos and delete the ones you don’t like. This allows great creative freedoms.
Once you start thinking about photographing babies in a unique way, all kinds of new ideas for posing will emerge. I guess most people never use the macro settings on their camera. And if they do, it’s only for small objects, insects, or flowers. However, for something different, use the macro setting and focus on a small distinctive area of your baby, such as the face.
With the use of a tripod, focus solely on the eye, thus pushing the nose and everything else out. out of focus. Experiment with how tight a crop is necessary to produce the desired effect. This can produce an almost fascinating effect. Although it is more challenging with babies, it is possible (and very dramatic) to catch the reflection of an object in the baby’s eye. For that type of image, extreme cropping would be optimal.
This article is a partial excerpt from Oh Baby! Turning memories into masterpieces “.
