How To Save A Bundle Photographing Your Bundle
June 15, 2009 | By
It seems that a professional photo shoot at landmark ages—newborn, three months, six months, a year—are a standard right of passage. With all the props and portrait packages, it is hard to resist making an appointment at the photography studio for your sweet pea. Portraits make wonderful keepsakes and gifts for grandparents and relatives, too, and if you find a photographer you love, you’re likely to keep him or her for a long time. In the current economic state of things, however, a professional photo shoot may not be an option for some families. Here are a few easy techniques that you can use to make your backyard photo session a smashing success.
* Get Outside. Beyond a professional studio, nothing gives you better lighting for capturing your munchkin than natural light. You may be tempted to wait for a bright and sunny day—don’t get me wrong, those shots are terrific!—but you may have better results on a day that is slightly overcast. In addition to less squinting, you’ll have fewer shadows to worry about, and the colors in the picture will just shine without the glare of the sun. If it is too cold to go outside, open up a curtain and set up a little spot in the light with a special prop or blanket.
* Get On the Ground. The best pictures will not reveal the height of the photographer! Get as close to the level of your baby as you can. This way she will be looking straight ahead at you—and if she’s not (more on that in a moment), you will capture more than the top of her head. Don’t be afraid to get a couple grass stains! Even if you do, they’ll be worth it.
* Be Open and Candid. One of my favorite photos of our son is a blurry black and white action shot of him at 9 months crawling through the leaves in the back yard. The picture doesn’t even show all of him, or his face, just moving baby boy from ear to knee. Candid shots work well because they add a little mix-it-up to the typical head-shot portrait, and they capture the personality and curiosity of your little pumpkin. (Incidentally, another photo from the 9-month shoot in the yard is the big guy arm-deep in a pumpkin. Fabulous!)
* Variety is the Spice of Life. In addition to candid action shots, you can take beautiful and unexpected photographs of your child by capturing say, the back of their head and beautiful baby ears or their toes nestled in some green grass. It’s okay if you don’t capture baby’s face in every photo. These types of pictures can be quirky, interesting, sweet, and hilarious, and they’ll just add to the group when you’re done.
* Clickety Click, Snappety Snap! Digital cameras have enormous capacities for huge numbers of photos. Where a roll of 24 pictures may have held you back in the past, you can feel free to click away on your digital camera. Later, you can go back through and delete, duplicate, and enhance your photos in ways that will showcase the very best ones.
I admire and respect professional photographers, but if you just can’t afford a professional photo shoot for your baby, do not despair. You can achieve artistic, creative, beautiful pictures of your child by simply switching up where you stand or sit to take the photos, by thinking outside the head-shot box, and by clicking like crazy! And when your friends ask you where you had your baby’s photos taken, you can just smile and say, “My back yard.”
Jen is a mom, poet, and bag maker residing in Wooster, Ohio. See some of her bag creations at her Etsy shop, SeatOfMyPants
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