Ideas for Laguna Beach Newborn Photographers

One of the fastest growing markets in Orange County photography is baby portraits. Babies change so quickly that many mothers are willing to pay for several sessions within the first year. This creates an opportunity for a OC photographer to sell yearly packages which can be quite profitable. For obvious reasons photographing babies requires a different approach then photographing a wedding or a Senior Portrait. Babies have some special needs. While this article is not exhaustive effort to describe the best way to photograph babies, it does provide several important ideas.

1. One effective way to get a baby's head, or head and naked chest shots, have the parent sit on the floor with her knees bent (the baby can still be wearing his diaper). Have the parent sit the baby on her knees and hold onto the baby at the waist. This allows the baby to be upright, without danger of falling, in the arms of a person he trusts. Hence he is safe (from falls), can be easily be prodded to laugh and respond and feels safe (sometimes scary for a baby to be on a set). In addition, since you are only shooting the head and upper body, the parent will not show up at all in the picture.

2. Have a variety of different hats to use as props (or have the client bring some of their favorite baby hats). Images of chubby nude babies in hats are big sellers.
3. When babies are struggling to sit up, have the parent sit the baby up and then sit slightly to the side of the baby so they can straighten the baby when she begins to wobble and fall.

4. In your instructions to the parent make sure you indicate they bring several outfits for their baby.

5. Purchase a feather brush with a long handle. These are great for tickling a baby's (or older child's) nose to coax out a smile and quickly removing the object before the picture is taken.

The Orange County newborn photography market is a fun and expanding. The following the above tips will help a new photographer deciding to give this genre a try.