Taking Pictures of Babies: Tips for Photographing Infants

Since getting a digital camera, I thought I was pretty good at taking pictures. Then, my nephew was born, and I learned how hard it is to take pictures of babies. These little guys and girls are adorable, but just try getting them to stay still or look at the camera when you want and you'll find it gets difficult. I've since learned to capture the most precious moments and have come up with these tips to help you do the same. You can use a lot of these same tips for taking pictures of other things that you can't control.

Don't try to pose it too much

The fact is, babies are impatient. They don't like to pose, they don't want to sit still for 10 minutes while you get the perfect picture. While it may be ok for you to tell an adult they have to stand still, babies won't listen, mostly because they don't understand! If you try to pose the picture for too long, not only will you get frustrated, but the baby will also start to get frustrated - and cranky! Instead, let the baby do what he wants, and it's your job to follow him around! You'll find some of the cutest pics of babies come when the baby is playing and having fun. So put your running shows on and stay one step ahead of him at all times! If you look at my pumpkin picture, you may think my nephew posed there, but he didn't. I ran up and down the pumpkin aisles and got that picture in the split second that he looked at the camera! One second after that, he was running off again.

Work in groups

Staying a step ahead of a baby can be difficult and dangerous if you are alone, so grab some pals to help you! Other adults can make sure the baby stays away from things that would hurt them, and even try to navigate the baby to go in your direction. You can then plan a little bit more for your pictures and get into position. As the other adults play with the baby or get him to follow them towards you, you can get your perfect shot! In my pumpkin picture, my family members were on either side of the isle of pumpkins to keep directing my nephew back into the pumpkins and keep him out of the street. That allowed me to stay in a different aisle them him so that I could get a great pic.

Be Prepared

The only way you are going to get consistently good pictures of your baby is if you are prepared. If you are ready for your photo session to begin, make sure your camera is on! Get ready to take the picture at any moment. Being prepared could even mean holding the button half-way down and just waiting for the baby to smile or do something cute. You can't be jumping around trying to make the baby smile and then think you have 2 minutes to take the picture. The truth is, you have about 2 seconds to capture that smile! Have your pals from above do all the work to make the baby smile, and you just sit there with the camera all ready to SNAP. In my pumpkin picture, I had my finger on the button ready to go, even as I was running up and down the aisles.

Have plenty of Lighting (but not too much)

Babies and pets get the worst red or white eye problems which have to be corrected in photo editing software. The best way to avoid this is to make sure you have plenty of lighting in the area you will be photographing. Turn on all the lights in the room, and even add a lamp or two as needed. This will keep the baby's eyes from getting too red too often, but won't prevent red eye completely. Outside at daylight is the best time for a baby photo, as long as it is not TOO sunny because then your baby will likely be squinting the whole time.

Take pictures in succession

Taking pictures quickly back-to-back does two great things for you. For one, it reduces red eye since the flash from the first picture will prepare the baby's eyes for the second picture. That's not the only benefit however. Taking pictures in succession will also give you an opportunity to have many chances at the same picture. In the age of digital camera, you no longer have to have just 1 picture per pose. Snap snap snap away so that in the end you have multiple shots to choose from. This way if the baby turned away in the first picture, you'll have another couple of chances to get it right. As you can see in the Yoda picture, my nephew turned his head after I snapped the first one, but since I was ready to take more, I got him the second time!

Don't review your pics until there is a clear break in the action

A bad practice that many people do is to try and review your photos AS you are in the middle of your photo session. While it is nice to know if the photos came out, it's best to snap away while you have the chance. If the baby is in a real smiley move, don't stop snapping! Take picture after picture and wait until the baby needs a break or is done smiling before reviewing. If you review your pictures after every snap, you are likely to miss something that happens in between. Wait until there is a clear rest period, or break in the action, before examining your pics.

If all else falls, try video!

Many digital cameras now come with a pretty decent video feature. If you are really having a hard time getting that perfect picture of your baby because he's moving around too much, then your next best bet is to videotape the action! Hold the camera steady and later you can freeze frame to find photos inside of the video. The video on my camera wasn't on a very high level, but I still got a cute picture of my nephew running around. However, if you put your video option on the highest setting, you'll have even more chance of getting a good picture.

How these tips apply to other things

Although I learned these tips mostly because of my nephew, they will also work for anything you can't control. For example, you can use these tips when trying to get the perfect picture of your pets! These tips also work great for theater performances. If you try to anticipate when something cool is about to happen on stage, you can be prepared to capture it on film. How about the sunset? Instead of trying to take pictures as the sun goes down, you could put on the video feature and hold the camera steady. Or choose to take pictures in quick succession and either way in the end you'll have dozens of photos of the sun setting. A final example is with sports. Even you can take a good picture of a sports game if you learn to be prepared and use the tips as above.

Finally, practice makes perfect!

One thing that is vital is to make sure you know your camera. I often see people get screwed up and miss their shot because it takes them too long to find the perfect setting they need for each situation. Learn your camera during your free time, practice in different settings and situations, and make sure you know which setting works depending on the lighting, the time of day, etc. You should also spend some time getting used to how long your camera takes to go off depending on the setting. For example, my camera sometimes is too slow in the nighttime settings, but it usually is very fast in the action setting. If I want to catch something like a baseball throw, I have to use action.

Once you take the time to learn your camera, and use the tips above to capture your pictures, you too can take great pictures of your babies, pets, sports, theater, nature and more! Enjoy!!