Taking good pictures indoors!

Ok so as we're all stuck indoors for the foreseeable future! I thought it would be a good idea to post how to take good pictures of your kids! Now I don't know how good you are with your camera and I'm not going to start trying to teach you manual mode on your camera. However, when I first started I was also stuck on auto and using my iphone to take a lot of images. I wish someone had taken the time to share some tips just to tweak the light to give me the best images.

I have also been using this time to take pictures of my own kids, they normally hate it but as I'm taking pictures of them playing and in their natural setting, sounds like a wildlife program, they've been happy with it.

Photographing indoors, at least when you’re first starting out, can be frustrating.  Light is generally less abundant. Many moms struggle to take pictures indoors, which is frustrating because cute moments still happen inside, obviously! If you have a window in your home, you can use it for great pictures of your kids. It requires a bit more set up. I know my kitchen, master bathroom and the boy's room has the best light. When the boys were little and I was planning a creative activity, I would set it up in the kitchen for the best light.

A window can provide indirect light, which is perfect for portraits (and a lot prettier than any overhead/fluorescent lighting in your home). In fact, a large window can mimic even the most expensive lighting setup, except it’s FREE! As a natural light photographer, I've learnt to use this. Now it's taken me A LOT of trial and error. Soft light (overcast outside) will add a soft glow, and harsh light (sunny outside) will give a dramatic or moody look.

I wanted to also share some tips for who have just had newborns. As I've said before, we couldn't afford to have professional images taken of the boys when they were young so I did them myself at home. I have gotten a lot better at it over the years but when I look at the images of the boys as babies I see all the mistake but I still love these images.

So to start, take pictures of the baby on the master bed, capture those little details, of their hands and feet. Open all the blinds and let as much light in. Use your hands for size comparison. The biggest tip...don't shoot up the nose! Something that took me a while to learn when my kids were little. It's all about the angles, shoot down the nose. If placing a small towel under their head to lift it for the better angle, then do so. Make sure you have the light source at the top of their head and not at their feet. Having the light at their feet gives the baby ghoul lighting (Google to see what I mean). I still love the images of my kids, but as a photographer, I can see the difference between the images of my middle child and the youngest. Sample in the images below.

Have mom/dad hold the baby in front of a window. Whoever takes the picture, get them to stand on a chair to get the angle of shooting downwards. If you have good light in your front room, sit on the sofa and set up your camera with a timer. Have siblings sit on the bed with the baby. If they're really young have them sit on dad or mom's lap and hold the baby in front of them. I think for most families, lifestyle images are the best option. They're more relaxed, you can do them over a few days especially if you're a first- time parent and trying to learn to be a parent on very little sleep. You may want to try for a studio look, and that's fine but be prepared for them to not look like when professionals do them. That said, here are some samples of photos most parents can do at home and still capture your little one in those early days.