We all love babies here is how to do a baby portrait!

Prepare ahead of time to have the space ready for the short amount of time you will have to shoot while the baby is sleeping. Have a comfy bed, pillow or blanket prepared beside a window for the soft natural light.

Also have all the props and costumes ready at hand for some gentle but quick wardrobe changes. You can dress the baby up in props from your work or hobby, or seasonal pros like flowers or fall leaves with baby in a basket.

Keep the room warm and quiet as we want the baby to be as comfortable as possible. Turn off the AC and set the thermostat above 70. You could even have a space heater in the room to make sure the baby is nice and warm.

Lightbulb lighting can also be used if it is bounced off a large surface like a wall so that it looks like the light is coming from a window. Be careful to not have the lightbulb shine directly on the baby as that will case hard shadows and not the soft light look that works so well with babies. The best and easiest way is to use lighting on stands with soft boxes on them. These are portrait lights that allow you to vary the brightness and softness of the shadows without a window.

The baby needs to be swaddled so they will sleep as long as possible giving you as much precious time to shoot as possible. Don't unwrap them unless they need a change of diaper or feeding or they will wake up.

The lighting can be set up and ready before the baby arrives on set. As stated before natural light from a window is best as a flash may hurt their eyes. With your phone you can shoot without the flash or flashlight. To bring in a bit of shadow fill light you can use a white card from the dollar store. It can be a stiff foam board propped up against something or the presentation boards that have 3 sections to stand on their own. Be watch the baby at all times and the board so it doesn't fall into the shot.