Tips for beautiful children's photos and a unique baby shoot
With your baby and toddler, you experience exciting moments constantly that you want to capture and preserve. You don't necessarily need a bulky professional camera for this; most smartphones' camera functions are quite impressive as well. Also practical: the smartphone is usually quickly at hand and therefore perfect for capturing spontaneous moments with your little explorer. Our LILLYDOO photographer Sven shares his best tips for photographing children in this article and reveals what to pay attention to when taking photos with your smartphone and how to succeed in baby photography.
1. Take photos in good light
The most important tip for successful photos: sufficient light. Therefore, photograph your little explorer during the day and in the direction of the light source, meaning with the light behind the camera. Too little light, on the other hand, can make images appear blurry quickly. Regarding the lighting conditions, our LILLYDOO photographer Sven recommends:
-
Natural light always appears softer and more pleasing in color. Therefore, do not hesitate to turn off your phone's built-in flash when lighting conditions are good.
-
Pay attention to diffuse light : When you're outside with your toddler, a lightly cloudy sky is the best condition for a great portrait. Harsh sunlight creates unpleasant shadows on the face. When there are no clouds in the sky, a shady spot is the perfect place for a beautiful picture.
2. Make small technical adjustments
The practical thing about photographing with a smartphone: The user interface is easy to use and no complicated settings are necessary for a beautiful photo result. Sven mainly uses three settings for good pictures:
-
HDR stands for High Dynamic Range and simply means that in difficult lighting conditions (for example, backlighting), three images with different exposures are taken and then combined. This reduces overexposure and prevents excessive contrasts. In backlighting situations, this setting is definitely helpful.
-
Neuere Telefone bieten die Live Image Mode Especially with active babies and toddlers who rarely stay still, this setting is invaluable: the Live View mode creates a short video that you can easily edit in your "Photos" gallery. There, you can extract individual images from the created video, edit them, and save them as separate pictures.
-
Pay attention to Focus and Exposure : Most smartphone cameras automatically focus on the center of the photo. If your little explorer is located elsewhere in the frame and you want to focus on them, simply tap on the corresponding spot on the screen. By doing so, you not only focus, but you can usually also change the exposure by pressing and holding on the screen.
3. Be flexible with the motif
You probably also know the professional baby photos where the newborn sits in a small willow basket or lies in a sea of flowers – many parents find these shots beautiful, but let's be honest: they have very little to do with reality. :) Feel free to say goodbye to the idea of perfection during a baby shoot and instead adopt flexibility and patience as your motto for the perfect photo.
-
Try out motifs that reflect real life: crawling and playing, visiting family, or the first chaotic feeding attempts with baby food. Especially intimate moments often result in beautiful and natural photos Vielleicht bekommst du eine Chance, wenn dein Partner verträumt ist, mit deinem kleinen Entdecker im Bett kuschelt und keine Fotos erwartet – Schnappschüsse sind oft die schönsten.
-
And what if tears suddenly flow? During a baby shoot, it's not uncommon, but it's not a problem. Your child doesn't have to smile in every picture; instead, it's an opportunity to capture all the Emotions Catching your little explorer. Gift the Mimic as a special focus. After a few days, you might already have a whole series of photos that wonderfully capture the variety of emotional expressions: from a smile to crying, yawning, and frowning. Of course, you shouldn't overdo it – if your baby or toddler is no longer interested and prefers to play, eat, or sleep, you should accept that and continue the shoot in a few hours or the next day.
-
Not only does the facial expression present a beautiful detail, but especially with babies, the tiny feet, hands, or head are also adorable motifs. Since for such a Close-up shot Your baby needs to stay still; it's perfect when it is just sleeping. Another idea for close-up shots is this Play with proportions. Hold your hand or foot against your baby's to show how tiny the body parts are. A little reminder: don't forget to set your smartphone to silent so you don't wake your baby with the shutter sound. It's also better to avoid the flash – while it's not dangerous for your baby's eyes, the bright flash can startle or unsettle them.
4. Choose the correct perspective
Perspectives offer you the opportunity to make your images exciting and dynamic. Perspective and framing ultimately determine the story of the picture. Therefore, it is best to consider in advance before taking the photo from which angle and in what environment you want to capture your little explorer.
-
Your child doesn't always have to look directly at the camera. During play, laughter, or discovery, especially opportunities arise. documentary footage , where you take an observing perspective. It’s best to photograph your baby or toddler at eye level from a slight distance or even from a slightly concealed position. This way, your little explorer won’t be distracted by the act of taking photos.
-
Zooming is unfortunately not a perfect solution on many smartphones to select the optimal image section, as the quality of the image usually suffers as a result. perfect framing Therefore, it is better to choose by changing your own position.
-
Depth of field gives your photos Voltage . The further your baby or toddler is from the photo background, the more depth of field blur the image has. The contrast between your little explorer in focus and the background blur makes the image appear more lively than a "flat" picture with little distance to the background.
5. Use beautiful and familiar objects for the composition
Empty images often appear emotionless and somewhat cold. Sven therefore recommends livening up the composition with some accessories:
The favorite toy in your child's hand, the lively children's room instead of the white wall as a photo backdrop, or the leaves of a plant blurred in the foreground: such and other items make your photos appear more lively. No great effort is needed for this. Bet you will discover many objects in your everyday life that have the potential to become photo accessories?
Of course, the right accessories shouldn't be missing for baby photos. With their favorite toy or stuffed animal, your little explorer is likely more relaxed, and you can simultaneously capture these meaningful items in a photo – who doesn't love to remember their favorite teddy from childhood? :) A nursing pillow is also a useful tool if you want to photograph your baby lying down. On the one hand, your little explorer is familiar with the feeling, and the situation doesn't seem unnatural to them; on the other hand, it adds a bit of dimension to the picture, as your baby isn't lying flat on the ground.
6. Find the right time
You know your child best and understand their habits. Depending on which motive you desire, you can plan the shoot accordingly. If, for example, your little explorer is always particularly tired after nursing/feeding in the afternoon, that is the perfect moment for a sleeping candid shot. Want to capture your baby's or toddler's incomparable smile? Perfect if they are just rested and exploring the world on the crawling blanket or playing outside.
7. Choose snapshots instead of the perfect portrait
Especially with an active toddler, it can be challenging to take the "perfect" photo exactly as you envision it. Your little explorer certainly has a mind of their own. :) Svens's most important tip at the end is therefore:
A calm portrait in a specific pose is difficult to achieve with young children, and staged photos do not necessarily reflect your child's character. Instead, try capturing the moment more often in relaxed and natural situations with your camera. On dad's shoulders, splashing in the garden, or digging in the sandbox: you will surely enjoy remembering these everyday moments for many years to come. Even better if you have a great photo of these "perfect" moments!
To showcase the beautiful photos perfectly, we have here a Milestone Card Set for you. With this, you can capture many unforgettable moments, such as the first smile, the first bath, and the first steps: simply download, print, take a photo, and enjoy! :)
We hope that the tips from our LILLYDOO photographer help you capture the most beautiful moments with your little explorer on camera. And if a photo doesn't turn out perfectly on the first try: just press the shutter button multiple times. The more pictures you take, the higher the chance of getting a great shot. :) Have fun experimenting!