Tips for taking newborn pictures of your own baby during Quarantine during the Virginia shut down 

I knew it was coming, but it doesn’t make it feel any better. Governor Northam has officially ordered non-essential businesses to close until June 10th. My studio has been closed for over two weeks already so June 10th feels like an eternity and 3 whole months without a session is just beyond comprehension. There is a chance that we come out of this thing sooner than later and he can pull it back and open things back up, but for now let’s just work on the assumption that we are all in this together (but separate) for the long haul.

I’ve been struggling to find the words over the last two weeks. I still don’t have them, but now I just have to get this done regardless of the eloquence of my words. It stinks. It’s surreal. I never thought anything like this would ever happen. I love this job. Bringing joy to you all by capturing these most special moments of your lives gives me immense joy. I have continued to start my business over again after 8 moves in 13 years and  it finally felt good to be in one place for more than 24 months. Seeing your families grow as your little ones are born and developing such genuine relationships with you over the years – it makes the struggles of being a small business owner worth it. THIS is one thing I never imagined as a business owner. I know there are so many of you dealing with the same things and feelings about this whole thing. IT IS BANANAS. I coped the first week by watching Contagion, Outbreak, and all of the virus movies I could – just so I could imagine it was not actual reality. That may or may not have been a good coping method, but …. here we are.  Now I’m coping with carbs and that is proving to be a problem as well…

 

Moving on from my feelings and getting to the point. I have been teaching other photographers how to photograph newborns for the last 7 years and of course it’s much easier to explain in person. But with social distancing, that’s not really possible! I will do my best to explain in this blog post.

What you need: 

– Baby  😉
– white onesie or a simple outfit
– swaddle blanket or a stretchy piece of fabric
– a camera without auto flash or a phone
– window light

It’s that simple. I have a few things saved in my amazon affiliate link if you don’t have those things on hand already
(onesies, fabric, etc) but you should have most of these things already in your baby basics.

Capturing these moments doesn’t have to be stressful and right now it’s about the memories, not trying to recreate what we could do in a full newborn session. My favorite images are about connection so use yourself as a prop and have you and your partner take pictures of each other. To get a family image together, figure out the self timer and prop it up anywhere you can manage and get you both in the frame.

The most important thing listed above (other than your baby) is LIGHT. Soft natural light is your best available light source. Get close to the window, open the blinds and turn off all inside lights. Indoor light is often soft yellow and will make everyone look orange. If you happen to have daylight bulbs, that’s great but be careful of creating your own shadow if you are taking a picture from above your little one and watch the shadows on faces as well. Over head light can cause more dark circles than your sleepless nights.

You can see in this image below, the window was behind mom to the right and there was also one over my right shoulder as well. There was no light coming in from the left which creates dimension and depth.

 

In my studio session, I also use natural light and keep things simple and focused on baby. If you are trying to capture some of these shots you can use your bed with a white sheet, a neutral colored swaddle blanket or simply put baby in a onesie on a softly draped blanket laying on the floor near a window. Swaddle baby on your bed, use a low profile basket (the one below is a changing table linked in my amazon site above), lay next to your baby on the bed and get in close for a snuggle.
The good thing is even in this time you don’t need to socially distance yourself from your own sweet little baby!

In all of the images below, the window was over my right shoulder and falls softly over baby’s face. You want to avoid posing baby with the light going up the nose (remember those fireside ghost stories with the flash light under your chin? It’s not a good look!).
Most newborns are sleepy once they have a full belly and they are swaddled. Don’t stress about getting baby to sleep – even if baby is awake you can get beautiful shots. I really love the eye contact and serious looks I get! 🙂

 

Important to note:

– Clean your lens! If you have finger prints on the camera lens your images will not be clear.

(This happens to me ALL THE TIME on my phone!)

– Keep baby safe. Never attempt any odd poses or props. I don’t even do them!

Keep it simple and focused on what matters – your baby and your connection together!

– Keep the room warm.

I think 75-80 is a good range to keep you from sweating but also keeps baby cozy if you don’t want baby swaddled the whole time.

– Look for the light in your home in the days before you plan to shoot.

Take note of the time of day and rooms that have the best light and plan accordingly.  You don’t have to do these all in one day but of course who wants to put on makeup more than necessary right?

– Don’t forget the details! If your camera allows, get in close for those toes, fingers, eyelashes, etc.

Relax and just capture what you would normally do – snuggle with baby on your chest or shoulder, talk to your baby, get close and enjoy that new baby smell. Don’t forget to get those beautiful nurseries you have planned for the last few months, the beautiful way your baby yawns or coos at the sound of your voice.

If you are taking images on your mobile device (ipad, phone, etc), you can download Lightroom Mobile and there are a lot of great mobile presets you can purchase to edit your images in a variety of styles. My favorites are Refined Presets – (use code DHREFINED for 20% off!!) – I use them for my “big camera” images so these will give you a similar feel even from your phone camera! If you are using a DSLR or other camera you can use them as well.

A few other resources if you are wanting to also capture better images during your birth experience:
Hello Baby Birth Photography Tips
Amy Ro Photography – Fresh48 Tips

 

If you have ANY questions, please reach out and feel free to ask! I cannot wait to see all of you when we are on the other side of this.