How to take amazing DIY baby photos at home with just your phone
Imagine the situation: you’ve spent 9 months avoiding wine and coffee while you grow a tiny human, your newborn session is booked, finally your little one arrives…and then the government forces your photographer to close down, leaving you feeling gutted. How can you DIY the perfect photos of your new baby at home when all you have is your phone?
Unfortunately, I don’t have to imagine this situation – it’s the state of affairs many of my late December/January mums find themselves in at this very moment, and it breaks my heart. Newborns grow so quickly, and change so rapidly – it’s totally understandable that you just want to get the photographs that will allow you to remember them this tiny forever.
A photograph is the pause button of life, and a photo album the rewind.
For all my babies already born or due shortly, I promise that I will still get some beautiful images once I am allowed to throw my doors wide open again in welcome.
I said recently I can and will still take newborn photographs for you even if your baby is more than a couple of weeks old, and I stand by that.
But in the meantime, I thought I’d offer a few tips on how to take amazing DIY baby photos at home with just your phone.
1. Location location location
Professional photography is a beautiful mix of art and science which it is impossible to truly master. But one thing that links all great photographers is their incredible lighting.
When you are deciding where to take your photographs (and assuming you don’t have access to a full gamut of studio lighting!) you want as much natural daylight as possible. This will give you the softest light possible which in turn will give you an amazing tone to your baby’s skin.
So find the biggest window possible in your house, and take your photos next to it.
One thing to be careful of – if it’s a sunny day (unlikely in the UK in January, I know!) you don’t want direct sunlight coming into the window, so in that instance you will need to use something to soften the light – a white sheet or curtain for example. Even a wedding veil might work, and it would add an extra personal touch for you too!
And then you want to place your baby side on to the light, and ideally with their head closer to the light than their tiny toes. If you’re including a sibling of two in the shot, make sure the baby is closest to the light so that their older siblings aren’t casting any shadows across them.
Notice in the image below how one side of the baby’s face is well lit, while the other side has more shadow. The light is also coming from towards the top right corner in this image.
2. What to wear
This is where the styling comes in! When I design setups in the studio, I generally lean towards classic and simple outfits, with a little texture for interest. While you are unlikely to have any newborn outfits designed for baby photography to hand,
I find it’s usually best to avoid logos, prints or writing on clothing for family shoots, and the same holds true here – you don’t want anything that is going to date the photographs. The goal is to achieve images that are truly timeless, that you will still love in 10, 25 and 50 years time. (Without cringing anyway, obviously you’re still going to love your baby!)
Simple white babygrows or vests are always a good choice, and if possible go for ones that have poppers on the front or back, rather than having the overlapping neckline that you can pull down over your baby’s shoulders – they just look smarter.
It seems an obvious thing to say, but you also want an outfit that fits your baby perfectly at this very moment – because babies grow so fast, many outfits come with plenty of room, but a baggy babygrow might not do your little one true justice.
Your other option is to go for naked images – they’re not as easy to nail, but if you are prepared to spend a little time and effort helping your little one settle into a cosy pose, they can look adorable.
If you’re taking family or sibling shots too, make sure you’re all in similar colours or tones – all dark or all light, or I’m also a fan of picking rich colours that complement eachother, such as an autumn palette, if your family is into bolder colours.
3. What to place under your baby
You’re going for two things here – softness and aesthetics. One option I love for DIY newborn photos is to sink your baby into a well, and you can create this with pillows and blankets. It’s also helpful to have a couple of smaller cushions or rolled up blankets/towels on hand to help support your baby in position and make them feel cosy.
Next, overlay some fabric for the look you’d like. Similar to the outfits, it’s generally best to go for neutral colours, but a little texture can add some punch to an image too.
If you have some clips lying around at home, it also looks better if you’re able to pull the top fabric moderately taut, but that might not always be possible.
4. Prepping your baby
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to newborns – it’s one of the first lessons we learn when we become parents! But there are a few things I usually suggest my parents do to help their baby settle easier for our sessions.
Firstly, if you’re looking for sleepy photos, try to do your session after your little one has been awake for around an hour already – most babies can’t stay awake much longer than this in those first few weeks, so it gives you a good chance of getting some gorgeous relaxed images.
Then, when you’re ready to go, give your little one a big feed and then a good solid burp. I know if I have a big Sunday lunch I then want to have a nap in the afternoon, and that’s the feeling we’re going for here! A full tummy is a must!
If you’re going for naked shots a bit like above, make sure that whatever room you’re using at home is toasty warm – I usually have my studio around 25 degrees (Celsius, we don’t want blue babies!) when I do newborn shoots – so get that heater on, and turn it up to max!
Above all, you want a comfortable happy baby. And then you’re almost ready to shoot…
5. The camera (phone!)
Head-to-head, I’m not going to pretend a phone can hold a candle to a professional grade DSLR camera. But, I always say that the best camera is the one you have to hand – most of my photos of my boys are snapshots taken on my phone, even those taken at home – and you can still get some phenomenal images these days with a smartphone. Just check out this collection of images taken on smartphones if you don’t believe me!
Smartphones tend to really struggle in low light conditions, but with good quality lighting you should be able to achieve some lovely results at home still.
So a few tips:
- Make sure your flash is off! You’ve done all that hard work setting up beautiful lighting, so you don’t want to ruin it with the harsh flash of a camera phone!
- Don’t use the zoom – move your body! If you zoom, most camera phones take the same image, but cut the edges off, resulting in a low quality image. Instead, move closer or further from your baby to get the picture you want, at a high resolution.
- Always use the back camera on your phone – these are usually a much higher resolution than the front “selfie” camera. So if you’re having photographs of you with your baby (and I highly recommend you do!) then get someone else to take the photograph, or at a push use a mini tripod and the self-timer function. You can also get remotes that connect to your phone as another option.
- If you have portrait mode, this is actually really handy for photos of your baby on your own, as it works best with very still subjects. It won’t work with fidgety older children, or family images where different people are slightly varying distances from the camera however.
6. Taking your DIY baby photos
So you’ve got everything ready and in place, baby is well fed and maybe sleepy…it’s time to bite the bullet and actually take your DIY baby photos!
First things first, take your time – babies grow fast, but not that fast! Move slowly and give your little one the chance to sink into a deep sleep. This is when you will get the best images – they will be at their most relaxed, and it will show!
For solo baby shots, one of my favourite shots is overhead of baby curled up. To achieve this, you’re looking to create a slight hollow in your nest of pillows and cushions, and then place your little one into the dip. Top tip: it’s easiest if you place their bottom in first. You can always add an extra rolled up towel or blanket under their head or feet to help give a little extra support.
Try to avoid taking photographs where the camera is pointing up your baby’s nose – you generally want the camera to be angled from their forehead downwards, rather than from their chin upwards. You may sometimes find it easier to take the image from “upside down” and then flip it on your phone.
Finally, take a mixture of images to give you the best memories – good ideas include capturing some full length shots, some chest up shots, some angles across your baby’s face, and then some macro shots of precious details like fingers, toes and tiny eyelashes.
I hope that helps – I know that DIY photos can never truly match something created in a studio setting with a professional photographer with experience and years of training, but hopefully it will help you capture some lovely images at home for now, and then we can still get some amazing newborn photos in the studio just as soon as restrictions allow.
Let me know how it goes – I’d love to hear from you and see your images!