How To Take Photos Of Your Kids At Home

Professional photography is pretty much not happening right now. Some are doing backyard or front porch sessions, where they can keep their distance, but many beloved sessions cannot happen like they should. I'm mostly thinking newborn and children sessions. Babies are still being born and kids are still having birthdays and growing. I wish I could capture these memories for you but since I can't, I'm going to help you do the best you can at home!!!

Indoor Photos
Whether you have a phone, point and shoot camera, or "nice" camera, you need beautiful light for your photos. The more natural light you can get, the better. Find the biggest window in your house and set up your photos there. Older kids might have a hard time staying in place, but this is perfect for newborns.

Once you know where you are doing the photos, you can set up a little studio. A couple chairs and a light sheet work very well for a backdrop and a boppy pillow is an excellent base. If you have a large, round, mostly flat pillow or a bean bag, that would work well too. Drape your backdrop sheet over your pillow or grab another sheet or light blanket to cover the prop. Ta-da! You're all set to take photos of your baby! If you don't have the ability to do anything like this, grab a fabric covered chair and lay your baby on the cushion.

What I want you to remember is that the most important thing is to have some photos of your newborn. You will love having them no matter how they look. Trust me :)

Outdoor Photos
You want to do updated family photos or pictures of your kids. The outdoors are flowering and beautiful. I'm going to try to keep this simple but there are a couple of variables to outdoor photos: bright sun, cloudy days, and access to the sky.

If it is bright outside, you want the sun behind your kids and off to the side a bit. You DO NOT want to have a direct line from the sun to your kids to you. If it is cloudy, you want to actually try to find where the sun is hiding behind the clouds and face that direction. You can do this by having your kids slowly turn in a circle and see when their faces look the brightest. No matter what the sun situation, you want whatever way your subjects are facing to be looking up into open sky. This helps brighten their faces as well.

Again, you will love having these photos no matter how they turn out. If you have a camera and a tripod, assemble your family first and then run and jump in there with them. If you are wanting to learn how to use manual mode, I have some blog posts that might help with that!

Taking Your Camera Off Auto Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, & Conclusion

Quarantine Limited-Time Offer
Last but not least, I am offering to edit two to three photos for anyone during the quarantine. So get out there and take those pictures!!! Capture the moments because memories and milestones are still happening and don't stop for quarantine. If you have questions, I am happy to help ([email protected])!!