DIY Newborn Photography during Covid-19, San Antonio Newborn Photographer, Sarah Lake Photography

I am so thankful to be able to start booking Newborn Sessions once again! (A year with a deployed husband and “remote learning” led to a forced hiatus in 2020 for the SLP studio. So happy that year has passed and that I can once again start serving San Antonio families doing what I love!!

My previous experience as an early childhood care and education consultant has served me well in regards to properly maintaining a hygenic space for my clients during this pandemic! As always, SLP Newborn Sessions are by appointment only, and in addition to sanitizing all fabrics and props used during shooting, we do additional deep-cleaning and sanitizing throughout every space in the studio as well. We wear masks throughout the entire session, frequently wash hands or use hand sanitizer, and make both available for clients as well.

However, there are many families with newborns that are choosing to stay home during this time and postpone the newborn photos that are typically done during baby’s first few weeks of life. For those of you that are missing that early window that’s perfect for newborn photography, I’ve compiled a few tips that can help YOU capture their newness in the comfort of your own home!

Of course, a DIY newborn photography session doesn’t compare to a professional portrait session. (After all, we newborn photographers spend thousands of dollars and years to hone our skills and perfect our craft!) But there ARE some basic fundamentals of lighting and photography that can be used immediately, by anyone, with any kind of camera!

I’m hoping that these tips can help you take beautiful photos of your brand new addition!

Tips for a DIY newborn photography session:

Use window light.

The light that comes through the windows of our homes is soft, diffuse, and (usually) indirect- the perfect light for a portrait. (In fact, when I first began photographing newborns, I used window light! Here are some examples:)

Some of my older sessions shot using only window light

Make sure to use a window that has indirect (not direct) sunlight. If possible, hang a sheer white curtain in front of the glass. Even a sheer shower curtain would do! Have your subject (e.g. Daddy with baby, bid brother or sister with baby) sit as close to the window as possible, with their shoulders perpendicular to the wall/window, and with most of the window in front of their face, not in back of them.

Like this:

My super artistic sketch of a dad sitting for proper window lighting!

Don’t “uplight” baby.

“Uplighting” refers to having any subject being lit from underneath their chin upwards. One classic example of uplighting: holding a flashlight under your face when telling ghost stories by the campfire! This is also called “ghoul” lighting for that reason- lighting a person from underneath simply isn’t flattering! In fact, it often looks just plain weird.

Same goes for a newborn! If you baby laying next to your window (say, on your bed, or on a newborn pillow) and the light from the window is going UP their nostrils, it will not be pretty. Turn them around so that they’re lying with the window light falling DOWN from the top of their head toward their toes, It will be a much more beautiful portrait of their sweet face.

Here’s an example with Crazy-Hair Baby (my daughter’s very old and well-loved doll) 🙂

Declutter the room.

I know… The last thing I should suggest to exhausted parents of a newborn is to clean the house. But really, if you’d like to take some great photos of your new baby at home, simply moving visual clutter out of the way can make an unbelievable difference in how your photos look! What’s visual clutter? Just hold up your camera or phone and look through your frame… Do you see anything that’s movable? Meaning: toys, hand sanitizer, magazines, cups, mail, dirty socks, baby blankets… Find anything that stands out or looks messy and simply shove it all behind you. 😆

Move around!

When you look through your frame to capture your baby, don’t be afraid to move yourself around- to the left, to the right, more overhead, lower, higher… until you see baby’s face is portrayed in the frame in a pleasing way. You’d be surprised how often we’ll look through our camera viewfinder (or phone screen) and simply click the shutter- without ever considering if what we’re capturing is pretty/interesting/true to life. Move all around until you like what you see! One simple way to start is to try to capture baby’s face by shooting more from slightly above their eyeline, instead of below it. You might feel like you’re oddly hovering over your baby’s head, but just try it and see how baby’s face looks completely different than if you’re, say, standing by their feet and shooting upwards toward their chin. The difference is unbelievable!

I hope these tips will be helpful for those of you having to postpone a portrait session until baby is a bit older. For those of you who ARE planning to have professional newborn photos done for your little one, take a look at the sessions we offer here at SLP!