Photographing a Baby’s First Few Hours of Life

When I photograph baby, I ask myself, "If I were the mother, what would I want? What is the mother wishing she could remember forever? What is she missing?" In this article, you will find a little bit of everything: a few tips for getting results, ideas for poses, and absolute "must photograph" moments.

The How:

The flash:
In a perfect world, we would all have seamless windows to use for natural light at our disposal. But those who photograph know that natural light is not always available. I always photograph a few with and a few without a flash. Here are some examples; which do you like better?

In the example above, the photos were taken with and without a flash in a room with little light. I personally like the first one with the flash.

In this example, the photos were taken with and without a flash in a room with the window open and light coming in the room. In this case, I like the one without the flash!

Color vs. Black and White:
Some women prefer not to remember the sterile hospital-type atmosphere, or maybe a homebirth mother doesn't want to remember her lime green socks. Some women just prefer black-and-white pictures. With digital you can choose! If not, you might want to try both color and black-and-white film.

The What:

The Delivery:
Unless there is a foreseen problem or cesarean, doctors place the newborn baby on the mother's tummy. It's crazy. The mother will be exhausted, excited and probably crying. The nurses and doctor will be touching the baby and it might be difficult to get a perfect shot. It doesn't matter though; photograph it all for that is how it happened.

The details:
Even in a home birth, the baby must be weighed, measured, examined and bathed. While the mother is relaxing in bed, show her all that she missed on the other side of the room! While photographing a baby being weighed, wait for the weight to be stuck on the screen and converted to the appropriate scale of measurement.

These layouts showcase ways to display these details in a baby book.

The Baby:

• Be sure to photograph all those great little newborn parts.

• It's okay to take the baby's hat off for just a bit to photograph his or her hair, or lack thereof. Just don't let the nurse see the baby with the hat off too long.

• Wake up the baby and have your camera ready; you'll usually get a yawning shot!

• Gently rub the baby's cheek and pull your hand away. Bring your hand back to the baby's cheek and he/she will "root." Be sure to wash your hands before touching a newborn. Also, if you turns the lights off in the room, you might be able to get the baby to open his/her eyes.

Babies sleep! Don't be disappointed if you can't get the baby to wake up. They look just as precious with their eyes closed.

The Mother:
For this shot I stuck the mom up close to the window with the blinds opened. You might notice I photographed her while breastfeeding. Some mothers really enjoy this part of having a newborn and would like to have a picture to remind them. Be sure to ask before photographing breastfeeding.

In another window shot, we turned the lamp on to create a warm, soft, glow.

These layouts highlight the many bonding moments between my daughter(s) and me.

These photos show some cool poses to try. My husband took the one of me by standing over me, yet not blocking the light from the window. He also took some with me leaning down and kissing the baby.

Some mothers are not comfortable with smiling genuinely for the camera. I stole this shot of my friend while she was laughing and talking with a visitor.

The Father:
Usually, while the mother is getting cleaned up, the father has the opportunity to marvel at his newborn baby. Some fathers do not know how to act. First, photograph them naturally, including their facial expressions. Then, you can gently guide them to hold the baby's hand, or lean over the bassinet.

These photos express a little more about the facial expressions I talked about previously. Notice in the first shot, the dad is relishing his baby with joy, "My baby!!" The next picture could represent a few things, such as "How will I take care of her? What will he be like when he's older? How exactly do I pick her up??" For the last picture, the father seems to exemplify a sense of pride, "Yep, I did this."

The Parents:
When photographing the parents, I like to act as a wallflower. I sit with my camera ready, observing the behavior of new parents. Sometimes it's the little things, like a daddy's kiss on her forehead that really captures emotion.

My husband set up the tripod in our hospital room to capture this second shot. It is one of my favorites. No flash, just window light.

The siblings:
Unless the mother color-coordinated outfits, you might like to have the family/sibling shots in black-and-white. You don't want multi-colored clothing taking away from the baby in the photo.

The birth of a new baby is such a magical time that goes by quickly. Too often the details of the memories can be lost. By planning ahead to capture these precious moments on camera, you will be able to savor them forever.

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