By Rebecca Levey
Now that your baby is finally here you can share your joy with friends and family by creating a birth announcement that is as special as your new baby. Personalize the announcement by using photos of your newborn, which you can easily take yourself.
With a few tips from New York photographer, Josh Strauss of Josh Strauss Studios, you will tap into your inner Anne Geddes in no time!
Your newborn will sleep a lot in those first few weeks at home so take advantage of the peaceful dozing and have your camera or smartphone nearby. Create a neutral background with a solid color sheet or blanket to lay your baby on, and make
sure there is plenty of natural light, but not direct sunlight. According to Josh Strauss, “When photographing your baby, overexpose a little bit. Newborn skin looks best on the bright side. Every smartphone has an edit photo option, and it’s pretty
simple to adjust the brightness of your photo. If you are using a digital SLR check out your user manual to learn how to overexpose.”
Another pro tip is to zoom in. Capture those sweet tiny fingers, delicate feet and chubby cheeks while you can. You can arrange those close-ups in a grid on your baby announcement and even frame them and hang them in the nursery.
Change up outfits or accessories to express the personality in your baby’s name. Try swaddling your baby in a brightly colored receiving blanket or a soft monogrammed towel.
If you’re using a smartphone you can experiment with various photo filters to change the photos from color to black and white or create different effects. You can achieve the same result by using photo-editing software on your computer.
Most importantly, keep taking pictures. Most professionals will tell you that it takes 20 pictures to get one that you really love. Your baby will be sleeping so you should move around, getting pictures from different angles, in different light and
in different outfits throughout the day. Give yourself a lot of photos to choose from. Besides, you can never have too many pictures of your new baby!
Once you have your favorite images of your baby, you can design an announcement that highlights what makes your new baby extra special. Keep it simple with just your baby’s name, date of birth and birth weight as the main text. The photos should
be the focus of the announcement. Using one of the online photo sites will allow you to find a template that makes it easy to design exactly the card you desire.
Announcing your baby’s name and introducing her to the world is an exciting parenting moment. Take time to produce a card you will look back on fondly, and one that expresses the happiness and love in your family. It doesn’t have to be complicated
– after all, you’ve got the most beautiful model in the world!
