20 newborn photo ideas you can take at home on iPhone

The first two weeks are when newborns are sleepiest and curl up the most, which makes them the easiest time to photograph. You need a bed or a blanket near a big window, a warm room, and a parent's hands within reach at all times. Use the window light, turn off the flash, and shoot from slightly above.

Safety first

• A parent's hand within reach, always. Never leave a newborn on a raised surface.
• Keep the room warm. Babies get cold quickly without clothes.
• No flash. It startles them; window light is softer anyway.
• Do not copy studio composites like the "froggy" pose. Those are made by combining several photos with the baby supported.
• Follow the baby. Short sessions between feeds, when they are full and sleepy.

Sleeping baby

1. Swaddled on a blanket. Shot from directly above. The One-Point Aerial guide places a single subject on the bottom line of a top-down frame.

2. Curled on the side. Hands near the face.

3. In the crib through the bars. The bars become a frame.

4. In a basket. A shallow basket with a soft blanket, on the floor.

5. On a parent's chest. Skin to skin, the parent's hand on the back.

Details

6. Tiny feet. Close-up at 2x, held in a parent's hands.

7. Tiny hand around a finger.

8. Eyelashes. Extreme close-up in soft light.

9. Hospital bracelet and first outfit. Flat lay.

10. The first hat.

With parents

11. Held in the arms by the window. Parent looking down at the baby.

12. Mum and baby in bed. Side-lying, faces close.

13. Dad holding the baby on his forearm. With his hand supporting the head.

14. Both parents looking down. The baby between you on the bed, shot from above.

15. Wedding rings next to the tiny feet. Rest the rings on the blanket beside the feet rather than on the baby, and remove them straight after.

With siblings and pets

16. Big sibling holding the baby. Seated, with a parent right there.

17. Sibling kissing the baby's head.

18. The dog sniffing the baby. Supervised, from a distance.

Milestones

19. The first day home. Car seat at the front door.

20. The same blanket, monthly. Start a monthly baby photo series.

Light and settings

• Big window, curtain sheer. Put the baby side-on to the window.
• Room lights off. Mixed light makes skin look yellow or green.
• Shoot from above or at baby level. Avoid looking up the nose.
• 2x for close-ups. It keeps you further away and the baby undisturbed.
• Quiet shutter. Switch the phone to silent so the shutter sound does not wake them.

For poses, read newborn photo poses at home.

Frame the first days

slay overlays composition guides on your live iPhone camera, including top-down frames for sleeping-baby shots.

Get slay on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6807513456?utm_source=slaycamera&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=newborn-photo-ideas-iphone