Remember when you brought your precious angel home from the hospital? Remember the feeling of permanence when you realized that this was your child forever? It is a great feeling indeed. That’s why you had your baby propped up for pictures for an hour at a time each day. You would set up your family room as if it was a photo studio, or you would journey to an actual professional studio. Your baby is special, you say.
Photos may fade, but memories do not. But what if you can ensure that both your memory and your photos remain sharp? The following are a few steps that one can take to preserve your newborn baby pictures.
- Handle with care- it is very important that you hold your newborn baby pictures along the edges. You should not touch the actual prints and leave fingerprint marks. Fingerprints and sweat from your hand can cause the photo’s ink to bleed.
- Freeze your photos and negatives- buy a separate freezer (yes, a freezer!) for your pictures and negatives. Freezing them prevents deterioration associated with heat. Experts say that freezing your pictures and negatives will preserve your tangible memories for hundreds of years. That way, the pictures can be passed down for several generations to cherish and admire.
- Make copies- making copies of newborn baby pictures is a great way to ensure their longevity. If something happens to one copy, there is always another.
- Put them in an album- putting your pictures in an album not only preserves the picture paper, it also preserves the print. In order to protect the print, you must select protective papers that contain polypropylene (or polyethylene).
Putting your photos in an album not only preserves your memories, it makes your photos look great as well. Purchase a scrapbook for your all things related to your bundle of joy. To create an effective album, you need to plan. The color scheme, photo arrangement, and what mementos to include should be thought out in advance. In order to organize your ideas, you should write them out in a journal. You should save that item as well. If your baby ever wonders about their early life, whip it out to show the thought that you put into your scrapbook. Who knows? Your child may need ideas when they have children some day!
If you want to really get creative, you can decorate original pictures with computer-enhanced special effects. Your originals will not be affected! You can even create an entire digital album on a CD. But this should be supplemental because CDs may not last forever.
Taking newborn baby pictures is very hard to do because the subject may not be cooperative. Babies don’t care about taking pictures at the time, but they will cherish them as adults. Here are some tips that will help you take great pictures at home, without a professional photographer.
- Feed the baby in advance of the shoot
- Create a background prior to the shoot
- Take a variety of pictures
- Change the baby’s clothes in order to convey different themes
- Do not take photos shortly after a nap; the baby will be cranky
Now smile and say, cheese!
By Michelle Presbury