I never thought that I would be quarantined inside my home unable to work thanks to COVID-19. This time is making me realize how fortunate we are and I’m trying to be more creative and catch up on things I’ve been meaning to do for a while.
One of the biggest drawbacks is not be able to capture these precious moments for clients right now – especially for newborn sessions. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t capture some of these moments for yourself either with your phone or DSLR camera.
Most of the photos we capture of our kids are ones taken with our phones – myself included as it’s always in my pocket. So here are my top 10 tips for taking great photos of your little ones at home with your phone and I thought it could be a lovely thing for you to do while we’re all staying indoors. Here’s my 7 month old baby Maya showing you that you can achieve beautiful results in your home with your phone. She’s no longer a newborn but the tips apply to all ages.
TIP 1: Keep things SIMPLE
You don’t need a studio or a perfectly styled room to create amazing photos. The best place to start is on a bed, ideally with simple bedding so that the focus of the image is on baby. The above photo is taken on a bed I have lying on a floor in a cluttered room. If your bed is in a room with rubbish light then why not create a fake bed setting by simply using the bedding against a wall in whichever room you have that has the prettiest light.
TIP 2: Be SILLY to get those real smiles
Babies will generally look quite confused or stare intently at a phone or camera because they’re intrigued by the device in front of you. So to capture those gorgeous giggles and smiles, you have to be goofy and silly to get little ones to give you their natural expressions.
TIP 3: POSITION baby towards the light
Position your child parallel to the window like in the image below shooting from the shadows.
TIP 4: Get down to your child’s level
When taking photos with your phone, always try to get down to the same level as your child. This is particularly important with small children. If you take the photo from your normal standing position, you’ll be looking down at the child and get a distorted view of them from above.
TIP 5: LIGHTING is key
Lighting is key to photography and with my DSLR camera I find the lovely contrast of light in my studio works perfectly. However, a phone camera really struggles with this. Your phones camera can only capture extremes, so it finds it hard to handle contrast and tends to error on the side of darkening the image.
The best light for a phone camera is actually outside with brighter light, the contrast of light indoors can be a challenge for a phone camera.
TIP 6: Take photos from different angles
You should always look at alternative angles when taking shots. In some situations a traditional point of view just won’t capture the moment properly.
TIP 7: Document their childhood and DETAILS
Ultimately the main reason we as moms take photos of our children is to document their lives and capture those little moments that you want to remember. What motivated me to bring out my phone was to capture her chubby roles and holding her toes. Who doesn’t love baby toes!
TIP 8: EDITING with Apps
Even though the photos I took on my phone were dark, when I applied my usual editing workflow in Lightroom I was actually pleased with the final image. The challenge of course is that unless you’re a photographer, then you’re unlikely to know your way around Photoshop or Lightroom.
But there are loads of apps out there that are pretty easy to get used to. My favourite 2 are Snapseed and VSCO. With simple techniques, you can go from the before and after.
Tip 9: Include older SIBLINGS
Some of the sweetest and most endearing photos you can take of your new baby will be the ones you get with his or her older siblings. I set out a task for myself to get an image of Maya with each sibling. I still have two to go, but I am getting there!
Older children may be able to hold their new brother or sister, while simple laying down poses are perfect for younger children. This will make your older children feel special and involved as well, which is always a bonus when there is a new baby in the house getting a lot of attention!
TIP 10: Have FUN!
Finally, remember to have fun! Kids are kids and can be unpredictable. Remember not to stress and just have fun. Capture the fun that your children are having, but don’t forget to have fun yourself.
Even though the photos on my iPhone didn’t come close to my usual DSLR photos, they were still really lovely and I discovered some images that actually a phone would be perfect for.
If you want to learn to take amazing iPhone photos of your kids or want to take your iPhone photography to a whole new level, follow this link to get notified when our online course will be launching soon.
Here are more blog posts in different locations in Toronto both outdoors and in-studio showing why you should hire a photographer to capture your beautiful family.
Family photo shoot at Scarborough Bluffs
Family and maternity photos at Scottsdale Farm
Family and cake smash photo shoot at Mint Room Studios
Family and cake smash photo shoot in The Solarium Studio
Family photos at The Evergreen Brickworks
HOW TO BOOK
There are a few ways you can book. You can book right online using this tab which leads you to my online booking calendar. However, not all available dates are on that calendar so if you need a different date, send me an email! You can reach me at hello@anchorstudio.ca
Anchor Studio Photography specializes providing a full service experience that starts with booking your session and ends with getting beautiful tangible heirloom products being displayed in your home. My style of soft, candid and timeless photos can be seen in all my maternity, newborn, child and family portraits in Greater Toronto Area, including Oakville, Mississauga, North York and Richmond Hill. If you are interested in booking a portrait session for your family, you can click here to book your session. I am now booking sessions for summer 2020, so don’t hesitate to get in touch soon!
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