Tips on Baby Portraits at One Month

Timing

• Choose a time when your baby won't be restless. At only 1 month, you might not have a consistent schedule down, but try to estimate. Ideally, post-nap and feeding is best. Right after your baby is rested, fed, burped and changed, you can expect maximum happiness --- which, of course, makes for the best shots. You also have the longest period possible a 1 month old has without needs that will interfere with taking photos.

Positioning

• One-month-old babies have little to no ability to move or position themselves. This means someone needs to place them in a good photographable position. Simply holding a baby in your arms in the right light can make for a good portrait position. Many parents and photographers lay babies down on their backs or prop them up with pillows and cushions.

Patience

• Although 1-month-old babies don't move around on their own, from a photography standpoint, you still have to wait for them to come to you. They move, fuss, spit up and are generally camera-unfriendly. It takes time while having the camera ready and the baby in the right position before you'll find the moment to get a great shot. If a great portrait is your goal, it can become a project. You have to spend the time and stay focused on the baby

Preparation

• Babies are spontaneous, and their most photo-worthy moments can happen at any time. A parent or family member wanting good portraits needs to have a camera accessible at all times. If you aren't a master photographer and don't have all the fancy equipment, don't worry: A good point-and-shoot camera can do the job. Have something on hand you can turn on with the press of a button and operate right away. Set the camera to auto-focus, and quickly take a picture while the baby is smiling, posed right, sleeping angelically or doing whatever it is that makes it a portrait worth capturing.