There’s a saying from Vincent Van Gogh, “I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby when it wakes in the morning and coos or laughs because it sees the sun shining on its cradle.”
And yes, babies are indeed pure, lovable and adorable. As soon as a baby arrives, parents would start taking pictures of them at every imaginable occasion. Their pictures are simply touching, heart-warming, angelic and irresistible. That’s why they belong right HERE at 123RF!
Did you know that baby images are one of the most sought-after images here at 123RF.com? Searches for keywords like “baby” and “babies” score frequent top hits in our keyword search lists! Capturing the perfect shot needs tonnes of patience and a little know-how but no worries, here are a few know-hows on how to steal the perfect shot of your little angel!
Pre-shooting
Hey, don’t forget your Model Release! You can sign off as the parent and the photographer but get another grown up to be your witness!
Set your own version of “home-studio” and have all the props ready.
Do make sure your toy props look generic, stow away your Fisher-Price, Mattel, Disney and Sanrio products, they’ll be sure to be rejected for copyright issues.
Plan your shoots in the morning or late evening where there will have sufficient supply of natural light through the windows. (You don’t want to flash bang your precious little one!)
Make the place comfortable by placing a blanket or towel on the floor/carpet to make it nice and soft for the baby to sleep on (Use a plain colored blanket or towel as you do not want the pictures to end up with a distracting background).
Test to make sure all you see through your camera lens is just the baby and the blanket, not the unnecessary diapers, bottle, napkins, toys (unless of course it’s meant to be there), etc.
Get baby working!
Shooting
Be as natural as you can get with the shoots but never be afraid to add in some creativity. Try these for example:
Big babies – Make them look big in their little ways. Try shooting them from below up.
Small babies – Capture the proportion comparison, like a baby’s foot to a mother’s hand.
Babies in peculiar places – Babies in the garden, street, beach, etc.
Babies at significant hours – When baby is sleeping, feeding, bathing, waking up, etc.
Babies’ expression when they are angry, surprised, mischievous, etc.
Babies’ view – Capture what you see from their perspective.
Babies in different angles – From above or the side, etc.
Babies in blurred backgrounds – This makes the babies stand out even more.
Babies in a mess – Unruly hair, food-stained mouth, dirty clothings, etc.
If your baby moves a lot, try setting your camera on a continuous shooting mode and get a family member to entertain your baby while you concentrate on taking the right series of shots for your baby album. This technique is best used with a digital camera so you can delete without cost. At times you’ll feel like tearing your hair out, but please bear in mind that a baby is a baby, not a model! Their ability to pose very much depend on their strength and age. Don’t push it, wait, be patient, anticipate the moment and you will have amazing results!
Post-shooting
Once you are done shooting and editing, the best thing to do is to share your hard work! If you are uploading your cutie pie’s photos on 123RF, try keywording your baby pictures with words like cute, eating, smiling, birthday, messy and so on. Covering a broad range of keywords will make the pictures more search-friendly and more likely to be discovered and downloaded.
If you are searching for baby photos instead, you can exclude unwanted searches by typing unsuitable keywords in the “do not include these words” section. One more trick is to exclude baby “boomers” – a specific term used to describe elders who were in the post-war era. Always, always try to be more specific about your search item. It will help you out a lot quicker when looking for images online, trust us!
That’s all we have for now! Have fun with your baby shots and we hope you will find the young ‘uns on 123RF.com with no issues at all! Feel free to shout on our social media channels if ever you need a searching hand! Toodle tots!