Say Cheese Baby!!

Thanks to the wonderful world of technology, anyone can be a photographer these days, including myself! It has become somewhat of a passion/hobby of mine to take photos in the last few years, not just of babies, but weddings, flowers, snow storms, and especially my pooch (although she is not a very cooperative subject most times).

People are always asking me to take photos of their babies, so I figured I would share some (not all :) of my baby photography secrets:

1. Turn off that flash and use natural light:

This couldn't be more important! Babies hate flashes, and so do I (unless I use my fancy flash filter). Wait for a sunny/bright day and find a spot in your house where a strong light comes in from a larger window. Set your camera to "no flash" (usually a lightning bolt with a line through it) and start shooting. Or if it is a nice day, take your baby outside to soak up some of that sunlight!

2. Manual setting: If you have a camera that is capable of shooting on manual, don't be afraid to try out the settings. Set your ISO to a high number, open up your aperture and play with your shutter speed. Don't be afraid to experiment!

3. Use a simple background: My favorite photos I have taken are either when placing a baby on a white sheet, or a bold geometric fabric with baby in white.

4. Dress down: the simpler the outfit your baby has on the better. I love when babies are either naked, or have on a white onesie. For older kids keep the outfit simple too.

5. Get in close: I find that my favorite photos I have taken are of baby parts...feet, eyelashes, hands, etc. Don't be afraid to get up in your babies grill!

6. Rapid Fire: Because babies have squirmy pants, set your camera to the rapid fire setting. It is the button that has the multiple square boxes. In this mode, your camera will take up to three photos successively so you don't miss any of the action.

7. Post Production: I do a lot of post production (photoshop) work on all of my photos that I take. You aren't likely to get a perfect shot on the first try, so don't be afraid to experiment

once you upload them to your computer. Just simply playing with the contrast or brightness can make a world of difference. No matter what kind of editing software you have on your computer, take some time to play with the photos before you share them. Just simply making them black and white can make the photos look that much more professional.