Tiffany's 6 tips for better DIY newborn photos | Tiffany Edwards, birth & newborn photographer | MT

Tiffany Edwards, Photographer
Aug 6, 2020
3 min read

While many newborn photography studios are not operational during the coronavirus pandemic, I feel that it is especially important to share these amazing tips with you for better photos at home. Even after these tough, uncertain times are behind us, this is great information for anyone performing their own DIY photo session. Whether you plan to take some images of baby on your cell phone or you own your own camera, I'm about to help you take your own newborn photography to the next level.

#1: Good light: find it!

What kind of light am I talking about and what makes it "good"? Have you ever stepped into a room and seen the sunlight pouring in through the windows and thought to yourself how beautiful it looked? Well, that's the good stuff and that's what we want to find in your own home. So, where in your house are you taking the photos and what time of day is the light the best in the room you plan to use? For example, I loved taking newborn photos of my kids on my bed. My two bedroom windows are east facing and north facing, my light is the best mid-morning.

#2: Plan ahead

Good light? check. Where/what time of day? check.

Now, are you putting baby in a cute outfit, will they be nakey or swaddled?

PRO TIP: Crank the heat! Baby has been used to the warmth of mom's body temperature. If you want a sleepy baby for photos, I recommend warming the room you plan to use with a portable space heater about 1 hour before your plan to take the photos and let it run during as well. Feeding baby well right before their "session" is also a great idea.

#3: Keep it safe and simple

I recommend "lifestyle" newborn photos at home, for safety. Many of the cute poses seen on Pinterest, etc. are composites (meaning, the photographer combined multiple images in photoshop to create one final image, usually editing out the hands of an assistant. This gives the illusion that baby is in a position or prop by themselves that would, in reality, be impossible and/or unsafe to achieve any other way. Newborn photographers receive special training in the posing and handling of newborn babies and how to achieve these images safely.) Parent(s)' bed works so great for this! I use two standard pillows under a blanket or quilt to safely prop baby while I take photos, always keeping baby secure and away from the edge, with the light coming down on baby from one side.

#4: Photo taking time!

It's all about the angles. To get the best angle of your baby- not too much forehead, nor too much nostril, you'll need to lean way over the top of baby and shoot from directly above their face. Feel free to play with different angles and distances to see what you like. Don't forget the detail shots of those cute little hands and feet!

#5: Add variety by wrapping baby and/or including parent(s) in the images.

Even if you'll be attempting photos without an an extra set of hands to help, you can still include your own hands in cute images holding baby's hands and feet.

For a cute basic wrap, start with your fabric laid out flat on your bed or couch. Place baby in the center, the top of the fabric about 1 inch above their shoulders. Bring down and across one side, the the other, continuing until you have a small tail of fabric remaining, which you can either let hang out decoratively or choose to tuck beneath baby. Take the time to really make the wrap look nice and you'll definitely see the results in your images.

#6: Basic editing

I recommend keeping editing to a minimum, in most cases less is more. Feel free to experiment with basic editing apps on your cell phone or even the photoshop express app. Whether you choose to manually adjust photo settings or simply apply a filter, the images you've taken are yours to beautify as you see fit.