Aim for one photograph of you holding your baby, taken by someone else. Everything else on this list is a bonus.
In hospital, you’re the one in the bed, not behind the camera. It’s one of the few times it’s easy to be in the photograph. So hand your partner the phone.
I’m Sue, and I’ve been a portrait photographer for over 20 years. I was already a photographer when my daughter was born, and those first days were still a blur. Here are the ideas I’d brief your partner on, from first cuddles to the car seat.
- How do you photograph first cuddles with your newborn?
- How can you record your baby’s weight in a photograph?
- How do you show how tiny your newborn is?
- What’s the best way to photograph your baby in the hospital cot?
- Should you photograph your baby feeding?
- Can you photograph your baby’s first bath in hospital?
- How do you photograph an older sibling meeting the new baby?
- Why photograph grandparents meeting your baby?
- How do you photograph leaving hospital with your baby?
- What can you photograph if you’re in hospital a while before your baby arrives?
- What if you didn’t take any photos in hospital?
Listen to this episode
This is episode 22 of my podcast, Photographs in a Shoebox.
How do you photograph first cuddles with your newborn?
Get in close. Head and shoulders, nose to nose with your baby, Mum or Dad, or both of you if someone else can take it.
This isn’t the time for a full-length photograph. What you want to see is the connection between you and this new, tiny person.
How can you record your baby’s weight in a photograph?
Photograph them on the scales with the reading in shot. Our midwife took one of our daughter on the scales with her dad sat behind.
It was the midwife’s idea. I was still in recovery, and I don’t think her dad would have thought of that set-up on his own. I’m so glad she went to the effort.
How do you show how tiny your newborn is?
Give them something to compare against. Cup their feet in your hands, let them grip your little finger, or put your fist next to theirs, like a tiny fist bump.
Leave the hospital ID bracelet in the shot. It shows how new they are.
What’s the best way to photograph your baby in the hospital cot?
Take it from directly above, so the sides of the cot frame your baby.
It’s their first bed, and seeing the whole cot shows just how small they are in it.
Should you photograph your baby feeding?
Breast or bottle, a feed is one of the quietest moments you’ll have together in those first days, and it puts you in the frame. Ask your partner to take it from beside you, close in.
Can you photograph your baby’s first bath in hospital?
It depends how long you’re in, and the nursing staff often do it. They did my daughter’s, and I wasn’t in great shape, so I certainly didn’t leap up with a camera.
If you’re in long enough and you feel up to it, it’s a lovely one to have.
With all of these ideas, take it with a pinch of salt. You’ve got to look after yourself first as well.
How do you photograph an older sibling meeting the new baby?
Catch the look, not the hold. An older brother or sister peering over the cot at their new brother or sister is the photograph.
They probably won’t be holding them yet. It depends on the age gap. It’s that first look of awe you’re after.
Why photograph grandparents meeting your baby?
Because you’ll miss half of it in the moment. When my dad held my daughter for the first time, the rest of the world disappeared.
He came up to the hospital, and a bomb could’ve gone off, but nothing was going to distract him. He was so absorbed in looking at her and chatting away to her. He was immediately in love with his new granddaughter, and it’s a lovely photograph to have.
How do you photograph leaving hospital with your baby?
From behind, as you walk out: your legs, the car seat, and the light ahead of you. The light almost turns it into a silhouette.
I’ve also seen some really cute setups on Pinterest with things like chalkboards displaying baby’s name or their measurements, which is very forward-thinking, and of the baby holding their scan photos as if to say ‘I’m here now’. But seriously, that was way more organised than I was, and I was a photographer at the time.
What can you photograph if you’re in hospital a while before your baby arrives?
A ‘waiting for baby’ photograph. You in your gown, holding your bump, ready for them to be here.
It’s an impromptu bump photograph, and it’s part of the story, isn’t it?
What if you didn’t take any photos in hospital?
Then take them at home in the first few days. Everyone is in hospital for different lengths of time, and most of these ideas work just as well on your sofa as on the ward.
Try for at least one in those first 48 hours. Your baby changes quickly in those first weeks, and this version of them won’t come back.
When you’d like portraits with you in them too, here’s what a baby portrait experience with me looks like.
Thank you for joining me today. Bye for now.
About Your Podcast Host – Sue Kennedy of Sue Kennedy Photography
Who is Sue Kennedy?
Sue Kennedy Photography is a family portrait studio in Harlow, Essex, helping parents of babies and young children put their love into words and make that love visible through photographs and artwork displayed in their home, so their children grow up knowing who they are, where they belong and how deeply they have always been loved. Sue has been a professional portrait photographer for over 20 years.
For more information please call 01279 433392, or visit the Sue Kennedy Photography website.
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