I remember the first time I tried taking pictures inside. It was SO dark (literally nighttime), so I turned on all the lights. My newborn baby looked orange, and I pathetically tried to use a grey blanket as the backdrop.

I haven’t talked about this much, but one of my biggest regrets in my adult life is not booking that newborn photographer. I was deep in the throes of some bad PPA. My house was a mess, I was still bleeding, engorged, and sleep deprived. I canceled on my photographer last minute (still so sorry, Brittany!) – I still feel horrible for that – and was determined to just do it myself cuz how hard can it be??

For the love of everything good in this world, don’t be me!!

I’ve learned a ton since 2019.

I’ve taken several classes.
Practiced a ton.
Had a few more babies.
Photographed many, many babies since then….
And I can confidently say I have drastically improved.

Here’s a few tips I’ve picked up along the way…

1. Find a window. Natural light is your very best friend when photographing indoors. Observe the lighting in your house and find the window that has “the best” light. You’ll want to be near the window on a bright day, but not directly in the sunlight. I usually align babies so that they’re parallel to the window.
   
   If you’re photographing an older child/children, have them face the window standing a few feet back (not in direct sunlight)! This will evenly light their faces.
   
   
2. Turn off all the lights. Leaving the lights on will cast weird, orange colors on everyone. Or make everyone look like an oompa loompa (see the pictures I took of my oldest!).
   
   
3. Wear neutral colors. This makes a HUGE different in photo quality. Neutral colors naturally make your eyes focus on the subject, whereas bright colors can cast colors onto skin tones and distract the eyes from what you want other to look at: the faces!! Even dark colors can make skin tones look grey. If you must wear a color, keep it light and muted.
   

And my bonus tip… hire a professional if you can. 🙂 Contact me to learn more!