P#10 Q7: What Are One or Two Things I Can Do to Improve My Photography of Babies?

The Beanbag

Carrie Sandoval: The beanbag is a huge asset. The babies just feel so comfortable and snuggled up in it. Once they fall into the deep sleep in the beanbag, I'm able to move them into other props, like the bowls and baskets -- or into Daddy's arms. The beanbag is number one when it comes to photography of babies.

Keep It Warm

My second secret is a space heater. You need to keep it warm. Babies love it warm - especially when you're shooting them naked. Just a week before, they were in Mommy's belly where it was 98.6. I try to keep it as warm as possible. (So warm that I usually sweat during a session.)

Quiet Noise

Carrie Sandoval: Another key is white noise. Again, when the baby was in Mommy's tummy, he just heard all the static sounds around him.

I keep a white noise maker running during the entire session. It also drowns out my camera shutter when I'm shooting photography of babies. My shutter is pretty loud.

Audri Lanford: Great!

A Few Other Pointers

Carrie Sandoval: Another couple tips that may be a little bit more obvious... I try to avoid pacifiers. I definitely use them to soothe the baby, but then pop it out for the actual photo.

Same with diapers. I don't mind diaper covers but the regular diapers with the logos on them, I try to either cover them up or take them off.

Audri Lanford: I can understand why.

Carrie Sandoval: That's about it for the key suggestions.

Audri Lanford: Those are really good ones. I think our listeners got a lot out of this. We've talked about a lot of different things today, Carrie. Of everything that we talked about, what's the one thing that you'd most like people to remember from today's interview that will make the biggest difference in their photographing babies and newborns?

Carrie Sandoval: It probably goes back to the light. The natural light. Make sure the shadows are falling nicely across the face so you get nice tonal range. If you choose to do black and white, it will make a world of difference in your black and white pictures.

Audri Lanford: Before we close, can you tell our listeners where to go to learn more about what you have to offer?

Carrie Sandoval: Absolutely. I mentioned my blog before. I'm very friendly. I love helping people. Although I do get really busy, I try to answer everyone who contacts me. If you visit my website, I have my blog linked from the first page. I also have sneak peeks of all my sessions on there.

I'm also working on a project with my good friend, Brittany Woodall. She is also a newborn baby photographer. We are putting together a book that we hope to publish in the next year. It's just a gift book of all of our newborn artwork. I should have update news on my blog about that book as well.

Audri Lanford: Carrie's website is CapturedByCarrie.com. This new book site is BareBabyPhoto.com.

Again, we've talked about a lot of stuff. I just wanted to interject one story because I know Carrie spends most of her time photographing babies. In many cases, parents will hire her to photograph their newborns.

When I was about a year and a half or two years old, my mother hired a professional photographer to come in and take pictures of me. It was truly amazing. The photographs of me were put in a photo album and they are one of my most treasured keepsakes. I know my mother feels the same way. In fact, there is a picture of me playing a toy piano, which to this day, is my favorite picture of all the pictures that anybody has ever taken of me. ;-)

In Conclusion

If you're serious about taking amazing baby pictures, the right tools and the right light can make all the difference in the world. Follow Carrie's advice and make sure you have the recommended tools on hand when you begin your photography of babies. And even though you'll be taking fabulous photos of your child, seriously consider hiring a professional photographer who is experienced with photography of babies to have a session with your newborn or baby.