How Not to Photograph Your Infants

Obie Editorial Team

Check out some of these tips on how not to photograph your infant so that your pictures will turn out better and maybe your children will actually want to show their friends their baby pictures when they get older. When my friend had her first baby, she went overboard on the photos. In her defense, her daughter is amazingly photogenic and all the pictures turn out great, but not everyone has her photography skills and not every baby is as patient when having their picture taken. Check out some of these tips on how not to photograph your infant so that your pictures will turn out better and maybe your children will actually want to show their friends their baby pictures when they get older.

Don’t Use Flash
Ever wonder why photographers use a lot of lights when they take pictures of kids? This is because they don’t want to use flash, which will guarantee that all the rest of the picture will feature a cranky infant. Instead, take your pictures in a well-lit area so you don’t have to use flash. The flashing light can disorient babies and make them cry and fuss, which pretty much means that photo shoot is over.

Don’t Put Them in Dangerous Places
If you’re a Pinterest enthusiast, you may have seen that the latest trend in baby photography is placing your child in baskets or on top of stacked items. While this might produce a great picture for your scrap book, it’s also dangerous and if you’re manning the camera, you may not be there to prevent a fall. To be safe, don’t put your baby in precarious places where they may fall, pull something down on themselves, or put something dangerous in their mouths.

Don’t Expect Your Baby to Pose
All those pictures you see around the Internet of beautifully posed babies waiting patiently for their picture to be taken are a lie. Usually they’re one in a million shots, or they’re being taken by professionals who have spent a long time carefully distracting the baby until the right moment. Babies don’t like to sit still for long periods of time, and they especially don’t like being in poses they find uncomfortable or boring.

Don’t Sit Your Baby Upright
If your child isn’t old enough to hold their head up, then they’re not old enough to sit upright for a photo. Not only will it be uncomfortable for your baby, but the picture won’t turn out that great either because your baby doesn’t have the muscle control. You’ll end up with a weird picture that looks more like a pile of baby rather a cheery infant sitting up straight for a picture.


Source: Masoner, Liz. "What not to do when photographing babies." About.com Photography. About.com, n.d. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.