Photographing the baby

P of the A to Z Blogging Challenge

Ever since the day she was born, all I wanted to do was to take photographs!  Record her every moment. Be it crying, sleeping, smiling when she was awake, smiling while sleeping, wailing for a toy, recording her first or second or third or zillionth flip to her tummy, and all her possible actions (or inaction). 

Those first three months saw me with a battery of cameras, tablets and phones clicking her all the time. As the days passed by, her movements increased and became stronger, and it became increasingly difficult to obtain a still image quickly!  And then, my mum used to wonder why I am taking so many photos incessantly…well, out of say 20 photos, only one would come out 80% right! Now the latest obsession is videos instead of photos.  If a picture is worth a 1000 words, a video is worth a 1000 photos! It makes everything come alive in pictures and has sound as well!

There are several professional services that have baby photography as a service offering.  Most of them charge exorbitant amounts for a handful of photographs (5-10).  The photographs usually include the use of props, the baby in usually a sleeping pose, a naked baby, black and white pictures, and pictures with the parents.  Much as I would have liked to have one done, the price was too much to pay and the fact that SSS hardly slept for the first three months made it impossible to have a photoshoot for a reasonable amount of time. The photographs of such shoots are beautiful of course, and way better than what we amateurs can take. However, there are plenty of resources online as well that provide tips and tricks on baby photography, and though I didn’t try too many of them, I must say, they are quite helpful if you end up using them.

I use a Nokia 925 phone for all her photos and videos.  It is great to be able to take photos and share them instantly over wifi or 3G on Whatsapp or social networks.  It is also easy to make any edits to the photo using this phone.  The very reason I bought the Nokia 925 was because it boasted of a fantastic 8.7 MP camera and I must say I am quite impressed with the picture quality.

 Now that one set of her grandparents don’t get to see her frequently, it has become a ritual to take a video a day and a photo a day at minimum for them to be able to see her progress. I guess by the end of her first year, I will have a fine collection of videos of her each day!

Some tips for photographing babies that I read here and there and used -

• Google for those adorable new born baby poses and use them in photoshoots
• Don’t use any unsafe pose that may harm the baby. Professional photographers usually photoshop those amazing poses of those levitating babies!
• Use all sorts of props – headbands, cute caps, baskets, colorful pillows, colorful backgrounds to get that perfect photo
• Use a bean bag with different covers on it to get awesome snaps
• Choose the time of the day when the baby is the least cranky. For new born photographers, the sleeping baby is a good time
• Try different camera angles
• Clear up the background – remove the diapers, hankies, too many toys, etc. before focusing on to the baby
• Take photographs of the baby in the same place/background, with a toy perhaps, to prepare a monthly progress photo calendar
• Get someone else to make your baby laugh if you want a smiling photo.  She may just stop smiling when you point the camera at her!
• Post some pics on your social media, but please don't do this every day! She may be your darling, but other people may get bored! Share them privately instead with the people who want to indeed see them

P.S: I did finally manage the professional photoshoot at a reasonable price and the pictures are totally worth it.  Here are a few pictures from the photoshoot and otherwise.