Easy & Fun At-Home Baby Photo Shoots for All Seasons

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I love celebrating holidays, special occasions and the change of seasons.  Living in Pennsylvania means four seasons every year and each season brings its own holidays and special events.  One way I love to document holidays, special events and the change of seasons is by taking pictures of my home decorations, family gatherings and food that I prepare.   These pictures are included in our yearly photo books, which I enjoy looking back through year after year.  

Since October 2016, when my precious daughter was born, my picture count each season is much higher.  I can’t handle the cuteness and wanted to make sure I had pictures of EVERYTHING!  For my daughter’s first year, each holiday and season was a first for my daughter.  I decided to document these important events and holidays throughout the year by designing my own at-home baby photo shoots.  I enjoyed the process and was passionate about sharing the photos with my friends and family.  Also, my husband and I are living on one income so spending money on a photo session at a portrait studio or hiring a photographer to come into my home was not in our budget.  Seeing the cute professional baby pictures posted by my friends on social media inspired me to take my own seasonal baby pictures at home.  At-home baby photo shoots are inexpensive, a fun bonding activity with baby, are flexible and easy to set up.

At-Home Baby Photo Shoots Save You Money

Taking holiday and seasonal pictures of your baby at a portrait studio can be expensive.  There is usually a sitting fee on top of the cost of the photo package. Some photographers do offer “mini-sessions” for a low cost so this can be an option for those moms who prefer professional photos.

You don’t need to purchase a high-end digital camera or a lot of props to take great photos of your baby.  I took all of my pictures on my iPhone and purchased my photo props at the dollar store. Other things, like a backdrop, were created from white poster paper, or a plain colored blanket or sheet I already had in my house.  You can even use a plastic tablecloth or shower curtain, both of which can be found at the dollar store. I would recommend buying a white one because it can be reused for each photo shoot. The shower curtain would probably hold up better than the tablecloth, but either would serve the purpose of a simple and inexpensive photo backdrop.  The backdrop for your photos can even be a fence or other location in your backyard. The best part about at-home baby photo shoots is they can be customized to what is available to you and how you want the photos to look.

Once you take the pictures, you don’t need to spend a lot of money to print them. We have a printer that works well for printing our pictures at home. All you need is photo paper.  However, printing them at a local drug store like CVS, Walgreens, Target or Walmart will not break the bank. You can even order the prints online and receive an email when the prints are ready to be picked up. This makes it easy and convenient for busy moms!

At-Home Baby Photo Shoots are Fun

I love brainstorming ideas for the photo shoots I do with my daughter.  I like to be creative so this gives me an outlet for my creativity. I also find the photo shoots to be a fun bonding experience between my daughter and I.  Babies love attention and taking pictures of them is a great way to give them your undivided attention and make the experience all about them.

A high level of interaction occurs between your baby and you during the photo shoot. You may sing songs, make silly sounds, make silly faces, or use a favorite toy/stuffed animal to bring that sweet smile to your baby’s face.  My daughter used to smile instantly when we would make her Sophie The Giraffe or her favorite Squeeze and Teethe Elephant squeak.  Any toy that rattles, squeaks or makes noise is key for grabbing a baby’s attention! 

As my daughter got older and became more aware of her surroundings, I started talking about the items I was using as props, building language skills and teaching my daughter about the world around her. When I took fall photos of her (my favorite ones), I named the items (pumpkins, leaves, pine cones) and described them (orange pumpkin, silky leaves, bumpy pine cones). Her curiosity about the fall props was captured in the photos I took.  Exploring new things is always a fun experience for babies!

At-Home Baby Photo Shoots are Flexible

Let’s face it, becoming a mom teaches you a lot about flexibility! When my daughter was only a few months old, she was still sleeping inconsistently during the day and I was nursing her on demand. Each day needed some room to be flexible. By doing my own at-home photo shoots, I was able to do it at the best time for my daughter. If she was extra fussy on a particular day, I could postpone the photo shoot. I didn’t need to schedule a photographer for a future session when I thought would be a good time for my daughter, only to have it not work out. Also, if you want to do a photo shoot outside, you need to pay attention to the weather. All of my photo shoots were indoors, but I was dependent on the natural light. The lighting was much better on sunny days than it was on cloudy or rainy days!

At-Home Baby Photo Shoots are Easy to Set Up

I keep my at-home photo shoots simple. I don’t use fancy backdrops or props. However, I recently discovered that you can find a variety of backdrops on Amazon for under $20. This is a good investment if you want to continue to take photos year after year. There are many to choose from, as well. You can check out all of the options here.

My props are either purchased at the dollar store or are things already in my home. We have a small tin sled I found at a goodwill store and it makes a good photo prop! I’ve created an At-Home Shopping List & Planning Sheet that you can download here to make it easy to gather the props you need and plan your baby photo shoots for the entire year! 

What takes me the longest is when I design a background on white poster board. I use Google Images for inspiration and a guide as I’m drawing/designing the background. This was helpful when I drew a baseball diamond for a baseball season photo shoot. I love the start of baseball season. My husband and I enjoy going to baseball games together.  So, I just had to document my daughter’s first baseball season with a fun and easy at-home photo shoot. Let’s go Phillies!

 

Here’s the simple process I use for setting up my at-home photo shoot:

1. 1. Choose the ideal location, either inside or outside.
   2. Set up your backdrop.
   3. Gather your props. I usually keep them together in a basket so they are ready to go when I am!
   4. Position your baby on a soft surface. I put pillows under a blanket to help with propping up my daughter. The boppy pillow worked well for this because it supported her body and head well.
   5. Lay out the props.
   6. Take photos! I take tons of photos to guarantee I get some good ones. Baby’s expressions change constantly, and as they start moving more, there may be blur in some photos.  I will also experiment with different positions.

At-home photo shoots are a wonderful way to capture how your baby or toddler changes and grows throughout the year.  I loved seeing my daughter’s personality shine as she got older. My favorite part of doing at-home photo shoots, and probably the hardest, was looking through all the pictures and choosing the ones I wanted to print for picture frames or import into photo books or calendars. The grandparents were happy with whatever I choose and love receiving photo gifts for Christmas.  At-home baby photo shoots are easy, fun to plan and do, flexible and inexpensive.

Have you tried taking at-home photo shoots of your babies and/or toddlers? What are some of your favorite ways to take pictures of your children? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments below 🙂

 

 

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