Simple white sheets can be an easy, fun backdrop for baby photos! I used 2 speedlites and my DSLR camera to capture simple, fun photos on white sheets.
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My son, Sully, is becoming more interactive and alert as he moves out of the newborn phase and into the toddler phase! He isn't the sleepy posable newborn anymore, but he still cannot sit up or stand on his own. I have to take photos of him lying on his back or belly or being held. Inspired by some simplistic, white background baby photos on Pinterest, I moved my speedlites to a bedroom and to use the white bedsheets as my background.
GEAR: As key light I setup my 40" umbrella softbox with a Canon 600EX-RT speedlite on the right side of the bed facing downward. To minimize shadows and add fill, I setup a bare 600EX-RT at the left side of the bed shooting upward and bouncing off the white ceiling. You can use any DSLR, but I used my primary body, a Canon 6D full-frame camera. In order to get a wider shot, I used my Canon 28mm 1.8 prime lens.
SETTINGS: Since I am using a 28mm lens, I know that my shutter speed needs to be faster than 1/30 to get a sharp photo. I increased it to 1/100 just in case Sully moves around. I am not trying to blur the background, so I go with a higher aperture at 5.0. I could have probably gone lower with the ISO, but I don't notice any noise with the 6D at 400.
TIPS: Once you're setup, it's time to bring out the smiles! Sully's mom and I waved and made silly sounds to get fun expressions from him. This is the fun part but also involves a little patience and potentially a break or two to make sure the baby is in the right mood. The shots you get will depend on the baby and his mood. I didn't do anything special to pose him other than set him on the bed and move the sheets around. The background looks best with less wrinkles, so it helps to have someone hold the sheet down or use some spring clamps to hold it.
Sully loves to grab things and looks adorable holding the sheet in this photo.
SETTINGS: 1/100 sec at f/5.0, ISO 400
For these photos, I removed the top sheet and let Sully choose the poses. He was a great model!
For details on how I touch up baby photos using Lightroom, check out this post. I want to note that the diapers Sully is wearing have the yellow/blue line to tell if he is wet. I editing these to white using the heal brush.
SETTINGS: 1/100 sec at f/5.0, ISO 400
SETTINGS: 1/100 sec at f/5.0, ISO 400
I hope these photos inspire you to take pics of your own baby! Do you have any questions about the settings or gear mentioned above?
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