The pandemic might still be preventing you from having the gorgeous professional newborn sessions you had planned, but that doesn’t mean you can’t beautifully document your baby in the early days while you wait. The lovely team at NCT Aberdeen asked me to write my top tips to help you capture your baby in those first few weeks as part of their special baby month and I am delighted to be able to help. These tips are super simple, and all you will need is your phone and a little patience.
FIND YOUR LIGHT
A photograph can be saved or ruined by the light. Up here in the North East of Scotland, it can sometimes be a struggle to find the right light indoors - granite houses don’t always lend themselves to being ‘light and airy’, and even then, if the sky is black with rain clouds, it can be a losing battle! That said, there are always ways to work around it. Windows are your friend - move your Moses basket/blanket/baby over to a window to maximise the amount of light available, rather than in the middle of the room. If you’re lucky enough to get some sunshine, a net curtain can help stop it from being too bright. Don’t be afraid of shadows - you’ll see from the image above that the window light was coming on to one side of baby L’s face, while the rest sits in shadow, and It perfectly highlights his mouth and wee chin dimple!
KEEP IT SIMPLE
Your baby is beautiful just as they are, and I find keeping their clothing super simple is best. I love photographing babies just in their vests, or a simple neutral coloured baby gro. Oversized muslins or a fluffy rug are really useful to lay baby on, or even just on your bed if you have the energy to make it and the bedclothes are clean! Whites, creams, greys and browns all work really well - avoid anything really bright red/blue or green as it can cast sometimes colour on to your babies skin. Keeping it simple also applies to posing -while you will have undoubtedly seen stunning images of babies posed all curled up on their tummies, or holding their heads in their hands, this sort of posing and images require skill and training, or are a result of multiple images being composited together. It is safest, and equally as stunning, to photograph babies as you would hold them naturally - in your arms, on a shoulder, or kicking those tiny feet about in their baskets.
THE TINY DETAILS
Every part of your baby is perfect, and oh so cute. Make sure you photograph each and every little details - pouty lips, button noses, fluffy ears, eyelashes, their little hands and feet, wrist wrinkles, tummy wrinkles, thigh wrinkles…..wrinkles are a good thing when you are a baby! Pop their foot in your palm to show just how tiny your baby is, and zoom in close to get those lashes to die for.
get in the picture
It is SO important that you get in the photos too. I know that immediately post baby, you aren’t feeling 100% yourself and the idea of being photographed doesn’t appeal (and probably even more at the moment when none of us have been able to see a hairdresser for months!) But I promise you, looking back, you will be so glad you did. Pop a chair side on next to your best window, pop baby up on your shoulder, snuggle in and breathe. Have your partner stand and photograph from slightly higher up - it’s a super flattering angle, and you don’t even need to look at the camera. Just breathe in that amazing newborn smell and soak up the moment of being with your little one.
hundreds and thousands
You can never take too many photos of your baby! That said, a little bit of organisation can really help you keep track and keep your images safe. Every week (or fortnight, being realistic!), delete any ‘non-keeper's' off your phone, and then back up your favourites to 2 places - perhaps one online photo storage facility and the other, a hard drive. There is nothing more heartbreaking than losing precious photos, so make it a naptime/night feed job to avoid any disasters. It also stops you running out of phone memory at a crucial moment - you don’t want to miss documenting that first proper smile because your iPhone is shouting at you to delete some images!
the everyday is extraordinary
The temptation might be to only photograph your baby/you when you feel everything is perfect, but there is so much magic in the mundane. A walk in the park with the sun twinkling through the trees, your partner stood doing the dishes/having a zoom call with your baby tucked in cosily in their sling, a little hand gripping tightly on to your finger during a feed - those are the fleeting moments that would be all too easy to forget, but will make you smile the biggest in the future.
any time is the right time
The most common question I get asked is ‘what is the best age for my baby to have a session?’ and I can honestly say, any age is the best age. I can happily do newborn style images right up to 4/5 months, and even beyond that, I will aim to capture the sweet, cuddly connection between you and your baby. From mid April onwards, I am able to undertake outdoor sessions for newborns, babies and families, and would love to chat to you if you are considering a session - it’s the perfect treat at the best of times, but after the year we’ve had, you all really deserve beautiful images with the ones you love the most. I’d love to offer any NCT Aberdeen Bump Club member £50 off any of my full sessions and I also have a special mini session package available, just for you! All you need to do is drop me an email on hello@vivienneelizabethphotography.co.uk for more details. If you have any questions, or just want to show me the results of your own personal sessions following these tips, I’d absolutely love to hear from you.
