NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS: THE LITTLE DETAILS

They’re often overlooked, but it’s the little details that offer a different and memorable aspect of newborn photography – but this trick can also work for older children’s photography. So when you have enough newborn photos you can try out these tips to photography the little details.

Tip One: Get Up Close

You can’t get the details if you don’t get up close, which is one of the major aspects of newborn photography in general. Whether hands, feet, toes, eyes, etc., you’ll need to get up close with a good portrait or macro lens. When your little one is sleeping, get up close to a hand, foot, etc. and snap away. Try to make your camera as quiet as possible, though, or put on some white noise so the shutter doesn’t wake them up.

Tip Two: Larger Aperture

In order to get that crisp focus on your focal point (hands, feet, etc.), with the fuzzy background, you’ll need a large aperture, likely just a stop or two from the maximum your lens allows. This is why a good portrait lens is the key – since it will let you choose a large aperture and keep the foreground crisp. If you don’t have a large enough aperture on your lens, take a step or two back to increase the depth of field.

Tip Three: Perfect Focus

This is probably the most important trick to photographing details – your focal point needs to be crystal clear. This means setting a manual focus point on your camera – so you choose exactly where your camera is focusing. If you’re used to automatic focus points this can take some getting used to, and now is a perfect time to start.

Tip Four: Use Composition Rules

Although the first photo in this post put the twin’s feet in the center of the frame, for the most part you’re going to want to put your “detail” somewhere in the frame using the rule of thirds, like the photo above. This makes for a more interesting composition. You can also use other photography composition rules, such as contrast or leading lines, to add interest. For a nice change up try black and white photography as well.

Tip Five: Keep at it!

Photographing details is a method that will continue to work as your newborn grows, from babies to teens and beyond. You can play with props too in order to add color and more fun to photoshoots of your children. Enjoy!