Safe and Easy Newborn Photography Tips and Ideas for Beginners
If you love photography, photographing babies and newborns may be your dream come true. This type of photography is relatable and well-known. It is also a great way to make a living and showcase your talents.
However, newborn and infant photography presents unique challenges which require practice and skill. An image of a joyful or peaceful baby may not happen every time unless you know what you’re doing.
Newborn Photography Tips
The excellent news about infant photography is that clients are being born and created daily! New parents want as many adorable photographs of their infant as possible, and if you have talent, you can often be booked.
Communication
While your portfolio of work should give prospective clients a good idea of your expertise, always ask what type of photographs clients are looking for. Discuss whether they want posing or natural shots or prefer themed images and what props you will or will not use. Suggest that parents bring their baby adequately fed and at a time of day when they will either sleep through the shoot (if that’s the goal) or are usually content.
Patience
Working with children or infants won’t always go according to plan. If you are quick to anger and easily frustrated, working with babies is not be for you. To maximize your success, plan for foreseeable events. Have extra diapers and wipes on hand, in case of parents forgot them.
Bring a surplus of batteries and supplies, and work with natural light, for the baby’s comfort. You will sometimes have crying infants that need to be fed or soothed, and being a naturally calm, soothing presence will help!
Team Up
When you’re tending to babies, it can help to have an assistant. While new parents may be a great help, they could also be frazzled and overtired. An assistant can give the baby a pacifier or help you with your needs. This will let you focus on taking photographs and creating a great, peaceful, positive, shoot.
Time of Day
If you’re used to shooting at the golden hour (the hour before sunset or the hour after sunrise), be prepared to mix it up and be on baby time! You don’t want fussy, hungry babies during a shoot.
Instead, try and schedule your sessions after the baby is fed and use natural indoor lighting in a controlled environment. New parents will want you to avoid bright lights and, for awake babies, even the use of a flash.
Don’t let images from your next shoot be used by a blog, magazine, or another photographer, without crediting you. Right now, online image thieves might be using your newborn photography as their own. You can even search out images by your favorite creators and see how many have had their work shared against the copyright.
At Berify, we put the control back in your hands and protect your images. You can search for one or multiple photos and take action against copyright theft.
We use high powered reverse image searches, which allow you to ask copyright violators to take down your work, buy the use of the work from you, or credit you for the image. In the age of rampant online digital theft, Berify has your back!