Some of the most gratifying pictures to take are definitely those of babies. On the other hand, they are definitely one of the most difficult . Here are some guidelines to assist you capture those valuable moments.
Babies tend to snooze, eat, shriek a lot and won’t pose in front of the camera but don’t let that put you off photographing them. Capturing that perfect moment, first step or remarkable expression, when done right, will be memories for your to hold on to many years from now when they are grown up.
Photographing a newborn baby can be hard. At this age the baby will not be active, so it’s better to focus on close-up head shots. Try using natural light from a room window to add mood to the picture. Taking interesting angles will make the photo more attention-grabbing.
Persistence is the most crucial tip in photographing babies. Lots of patience, together with an understanding of children will help you to take those pictures. 6 month old little ones have a propensity to be quite shy at the start and may need to warm up a little. This is where you have to put yourself in the shoes of your kids and utilize a little bit of psychology. Try having fun with them. Play with them as opposed to being focused on the end outcome of taking the shot.
When they are 7 months, they start to get a little more tricky to take a picture of. They will want to move around a lot and remaining in the same place to pose for you is out of the question. Take candid photographs and try to have as many distractions around them as possible so that they don’t get bored. Focusing on their doll for instance is even more interesting than staring at your big digital camera lens.
When they start to crawl and walk it will be substantially tricky to take a picture of them as their sudden movements will cause a lot of shots to be blurred. You have to be prepared for this. I suggest increasing your ISO to around ISO800 and setting your camera to burst capturing mode. This will guarantee that you will have various pictures and you can then decide on your favorite photograph following that special moment.
Having a good bounce flash also helps to freeze any quick movements. Don’t worry about the flash hurting their eyes, this is not the case. If you are worried, point your flash upwards to diffuse the harsh light.
Watch out for the fingers – fingers in the mouth can be attractive but on most occasions they will obscure your baby’s face.
These tips have helped me to take some fantastic photos of my little one and I hope that it can benefit you too in capturing those joyful moments for you to return to many years from now.
Jon Chan is an photography nut. Want to read more Digital Photography Tips, then visit Jon Chan’s site and find more articles on Photography for Beginners.
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