I love taking photographs of babies. Ok, let me rephrase–I love taking pictures of happy babies! 🙂 Unfortunately for me, I don’t get to photograph them often enough. My own children have grown up so unless business calls, I don’t get much of a chance.

But when I do, I try to follow the follow the following simple guidelines. I post them here in the hopes that if you follow them, you may get some great photographs of your babies.

1.  Take pictures often – babies grow far too quickly so it is important to capture enough photos as they grow out of infancy.

2.  Get down on their level – move to their level, even if it means getting on the floor.

3.  Move in close … – fill the viewfinder or LCD with your subject and eliminate distracting objects.

4. … but try different angles – create some visual interest, especially in a series of photographs, by varying your angle.

5. … and don’t forget to get on their level – See tip #2.

6.  Capture feelings – feeling are emotions and it is ok to take photographs of emotion to capture a visually interesting moment in time.

7.  Include other people – babies don’t grow up in a vacuum, so it is ok to include grandparents, sibling, a new friend at the playground, etc.

8.  Show scale – use common object to show how your baby is growing.

9.  Use a plain background – a plain background will focus attention on your baby and will not be a distraction.

10. Use natural light whenever possible. Turn off the flash, and use natural light to create interesting shadows and highlights.

By following these simple tips, I know that you can snap some better photographs of your baby. Of course, these rules apply to other situations too.

God’s blessings.