We all agree that babies are the cutest beings on the planet. Why then is there such a huge discrepancy between a really cute BABY and a truly mediocre baby PICTURE?

Here's a few secrets for capturing baby portraits that capture the REAL ESSENCE of your bundle of joy:

Your Baby's Most Flexible Time

Think of your baby's first 90 days as the MOLDING STAGE. Like Gumby, you can place a baby in just about any position you want.

Now is the time to capture those precious little baby bits. Additional tips and examples of baby portraits can be found here.

During your infant's Gumby stage, photographing "baby bits" (feet, hands, eyes, noses, etc.) ALONE can make a wonderful photograph. One way to accomplish this is with your camera's macro setting. Another is to carefully crop a non-macro portrait.

For something more dramatic, Black and White images can produce quite an impression. Check whether your camera has a black and white setting. If not, don't panic because most of the photo-editing software can easily transform color to black and white pictures.

When you add the hand or face of a parent to the photograph, an entirely different effect is created.

Try Different Perspectives

An easy approach is to get at eye-level with a sleeping baby, but position yourself at their feet. Believe it or not, you could easily take 110 portraits of a dozing baby, and never take 2 that are identical.

Try this photographic exercise - snap off 50 images, each from a different angle and perspective. Also incorporate different focus points and aperture settings (for depth of field) into the mix. I guarantee you won't run out of ideas!

After you begin to think about how you could take baby portraits differently, all sorts of new posing ideas will emerge. One idea involves an extreme close up.

Using a tripod, focus solely on the baby's eye, thus pushing the nose and everything else OUT OF FOCUS. Although it can be challenging, if you want something extremely dramatic, capture the reflection of an object in the baby's eye.

Want to see more ideas for taking better baby portraits? We’ll show you how to create stunning baby portraits for every stage of your baby's first 18 months.