So you are having a baby?! Congratulations! Having a baby and going trough the whole birth process is the most amazing thing you’ll ever experience. I’ve been blessed with 3 little ones, but it wasn’t until I had my baby boy last year that I actually got some PROPER pictures in the hospital. You will not need a fancy schmancy camera to take pictures. You can use a point and shoot or even your camera phone if you are in a crunch 🙂
1.) Lets start off by talking about what pictures you want while you are IN LABOR. Make sure you talk to your partner (or mom or doula or whoever is in charge of the camera) what you would like to have pictures of and what you DON’T wan’t pictures of. Maybe you don’t feel comfortable having the camera snapping away while you are in the middle of crazy contractions. Are you OK with pictures or video from ‘down below’ or do you ONLY want chest up?
If you shoot in manual mode and your designated birth photographer doesn’t know how to shoot in manual. Set the settings to where they need to be right when you get to the hospital and do some test shots. Most modern DSLR cameras handle high ISO really well and if you want you can always reduce some of the noise in PP.
Me and my WONDERFUL doula.. I love her. Im serious! She was so encouraging and supporting during the whole thing and I highly recommend every woman to find herself a doula. Wish I had one for my first 2 births 😀
First meeting.. Naaaaw just look at that little face!! I love how the focus is on his face and I’m just kind of blurred (but still in the picture!). My instructions to my husband: Just take TOOOOONS and TOOOONS of pictures!! haha 😀
2.) Get in close and pay attention to details. I love this one of my husband with B. He is only a few hours here. I love that you can only see part of his face. We always opt to have our babies next to us in the bed and not in the plastic crib while in the hospital. It helps so much with the bonding between baby and parents.. and who doesn’t love the smell of a newborn. aah.
Photograph details like the little tag they put on the crib.
And don’t forget the little plastic anklet and the little footsies 🙂 Just love those wrinkly toes ♥
3.) What is your view from your bed? What does your room look like? Snap some shots of whats around you in the room 🙂
This was the view from my bed 🙂 I also had a TV, but I didnt feel the need to get a picture of it haha.
4.) Move the bed close to the window and let in all the light you can. Don’t just open the blinds a little bit, open them ALL the way so you get as much natural light as possible.
All the natural light makes babies skin look bright and pink and no noise from a high ISO.
5.) Perspective. A baby in your hospital bed looks way smaller than a baby in a plastic tub. Newborns are SOOO tiny and they only stay that way for a short period of time before they start to chunk up 🙂 Make sure you give some perspective to your newborn so you can look back and remember how TINY he was when you first had him.
My little Colts fan 🙂 We didn’t find out the sex of our 3rd baby and we just happened to have this never used Indianapolis Colts outfit from when one of the girls was little just hanging in the guestroom closet. My mom found it and brought it to the hospital. The perfect going-home outfit.
B had a lot of baby acne when he was little. For these pictures I opt no NOT edit it out. This is what he looks like, he is beautiful no matter what.
5.) And last but not least. GET IN THE PICTURE! You NEED pictures of you and your little one. You might not feel comfortable being in front of the camera (I gained 50lbs with all my kids, so TRUST me I know what its like being uncomfortable having my picture taken). But no excuses, just do it 😀
I hope this prepared you for taking some gorgeous pictures of your little one in the hospital. Good luck and congratulations!
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Orange County maternity, newborn, children and family photographer, Madeleine JL Photography, provides professional family, children, maternity and newborn photography to the residence of Orange County, San Diego and Los Angeles areas. I specialize in lifestyle photo sessions in your home and outdoor newborn, baby, maternity and family portraits. Call or email to book your photo session today madeleineJLphoto@gmail.com // (619) 354-0551 //Facebook // Instagram
