Take wonderful First Birthday baby photos

How best to showcase Baby

The first rule of taking great baby photos: Keep your camera handy at all times. And be sure to ask other family members and friends to capture some great shots during Baby's first birthday party!

As Paul van Weert, author of the Digital Photography Tutorial guide puts it, "A special moment is lost before you know it. Have your camera ready. "

• Photos of the baby should focus on the baby: The background should be kept simple—not cluttered with chairs, baby toys, or other children running around.
• Limit other visual distractions: Patterned or heavily colored clothing can distract from the baby's face. For the best photos, choose simple, light and solid-colored clothing. Similarly, try to limit the range of colors in the photo.
• Zoom in: Don't just get close. Get as close as your lens will allow. Do an extreme close up.
• Babies' huge eyes are especially important: Try to get the eyes sharply in focus. Avoid red eye by not using flash if outdoors. Use lots of natural light when taking photos near windows. You also can try the red eye reduction function on your camera. And if necessary, you can use a red-eye reduction tool in almost any photo software program.
• Go for variety: Shoot some photos for dramatic effect. Don't show the whole baby, for example. Show only her legs, or only his hands.

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