Learning how to think like a photographer will inspire many great baby photo ideas. Whether your goal is to create a baby scrapbook or simply to take a few baby portraits suitable for framing, it's helpful to understand the goals of photography before you pick up the camera.
Documentary Photography or Photojournalism
On a basic level, photography is about documentation. Documentary photography, commonly referred to as photojournalism, is what you see in newspapers. The best baby photos tell a story. The account is objective, however. In documentary photography, the photographer's personality does not influence the shot.
Baby photo ideas for documenting events such as baby's first Christmas or a first birthday party answer questions such as:
- Who?
- What?
- When?
- Where?
- Why?
- How?
If documentary photography is your goal, you need to work on developing your powers of observation. Learn to watch what is happening instead of trying to forcibly compose a picture. The best baby photo ideas will come when your child is unaware of your presence, such as when she's engrossed in playing with her new rattle.
Interpretative Photography or Artistic Photography
Interpretive photography is the artistic photography you see featured in museums or printed on calendars and post cards. This style of photography takes the basic principles of composition that are the hallmark of documentary photography and turns them up a notch.
When you're taking pictures with the goal of interpretation, you want to find baby photo ideas that communicate how you feel about a particular moment. How does it make you feel to watch your baby sleeping in her crib? How did you feel the moment your son rolled over for the first time? Think of interpretive photography as the visual equivalent of writing in a journal.
Interpretive photos might be taken with the goal of conveying themes such as:
- Motherhood as love, nurturing, and sacrifice
- The birth of a baby as a moment of infinite possibility
- A child learning to walk as the embodiment of freedom
Getting close to your subject is often the hallmark of interpretative photography. In the delivery room, baby photo ideas such as close-ups of a newborn's hands and feet evoke feelings about the miracle of childbirth. To take the best baby photos, either get as close as you can to your subject without disturbing the action or take advantage of your camera's zoom lens.
Interpretive photography often uses unique poses. For example, a family portrait might include the backs of everyone as they are walking down a trail in the forest. Even though you don't see faces in this type of shot, seeing how the subjects are holding hands makes a statement about how every member of the family is connected to each other.
Photography that is done with the goal of interpretation is often presented as black and white or sepia toned images. The use of spot color or Adobe Photoshop filters may also enhance the mood of the image. However, a photograph can still be interpretative without these alterations. Digital image editing simply provides additional options for the presentation of your best baby photos.