1. Getting your baby ready
    
   • Baby is happiest and most comfortable after bath time and feeding. So plan your photography session right after then. Keep the photo shoot short and dress baby in comfortable, light coloured clothing, or diaper only. Baby looks best when hands are drawn close towards the chest or neck.
      
   • There are many positions you can place baby in, as long as he/she is comfortable. If baby is on a bed, try laying baby on his/her tummy or side, facing the camera. Pillows under a blanket or towel are great to prop baby up. If you prefer to photograph baby in a sitting position, we suggest using a baby carrier or car seat (reclined), that is covered with a blanket or towel. When ready, get baby’s attention by playing with his/her favourite toy or making funny expressions to make baby laugh.
      
   • Sleeping babies also make beautiful photos. They are easy to focus and easy to move around. Try to get baby's little hands tucked in near the face and neck.
     
     
      
2. Setting the scene
    
   • The most important thing to remember when setting the scene is to make sure you have good lighting, so that your picture will look bright and clear. The best lighting is natural sunlight. You can take beautiful, naturally lit photographs indoor by placing your baby near a window or doorway. Choose a time when the sun is not shining directly into the window. You want a soft glow, with light shadowing, rather than harsh, direct sunlight.
      
   • When outdoors, be sure to avoid direct sunlight. If possible, wait for some cloud cover.
      
   • If you don’t have enough natural lighting, lamps and your camera’s flash can also work well. Just make sure you have enough lighting around the head to minimise dark shadowing on the face or head. This can be achieved by placing a table lamp near the head of your baby. When using a flash, be sure to keep some distance between you and your baby. A good rule of thumb is about 3 feet or 1 meter apart.
      
   • For the background, try choosing a white or light coloured area for the photograph. Too much colour, pattern, or clutter behind the baby will keep the focus off your baby. A simple, dark background can also work, depending on the style announcement you choose.

    

3. Finding the right angles and taking the photograph
    
   • Learn to know your camera, and experiment with it prior to taking your baby’s photos.
      
   • Besides getting to know your camera, one the biggest challenges is finding the perfect angle. The key to taking great natural baby photos is getting down low to their eye level. Baby’s eye contact is very important for beautiful photos. These angles are generally more flattering for the baby than those photos taken looking down from above. Move in closely for more intimate shots, and try to centre the baby in the photo.
      
   • Take lots of photos. The more photos you take, the better your chances of getting exactly the photo you want.
      
   • If you are photographing your baby with siblings or other people, try to get their faces close together.
      
   • If you are using a digital camera, always set your camera to the highest resolution and largest file your camera can support (e.g., if you have a 5 megapixel camera, you should select to shoot your photo as a 5 megapixel file). We recommend digital images to be at least 1600x1200 pixels or 300 dpi. This will allow a small bit of room for cropping and zooming, without compromising too much quality.
      
   • If you are using a 35 mm camera, 200-400 speed film tends to produce the clearest photographs, especially with today's auto focus cameras.

    

4. Getting your baby ready
    
   • When choosing the best picture for announcement, try choosing a picture where the baby is not too close to edges of the photo in order to leave room for zooming and cropping.
      
   • Also, analyse the quality of each of the photos for graininess, brightness, shadow, clarity and colour. If the photo is blurry or grainy, then the announcement will be the same. So, please choose carefully.

The above guidelines are meant to be used by a hobby photographer, which when combined with Mylittletail’s design and photo enhancement expertise, will produce the best, professional-like quality photo possible. The above are only general guidelines and may not work in all cases. If the photo in question does not produce a print of the desired quality, we will contact you to discuss further options.