The hubby and I planned a secret photo shoot with our niece Lillian this past week. We wanted to surprise my sister Sarah with photographs since Lillian had recently turned 6 months old. She is absolutely adorable at this age, always happy, and making lots of new expressions. My brother-in-law Travis was in on the secret photo shoot and brought Lillian over to the house with lots of cute outfits to try on. We had so much fun picking out her outfits and getting her to laugh. Here are a few of my favorite below!

Lillian with Dollie

I love her cute little face!

Best expression ever

Tips for taking photos with babies:

Make sure you have your equipment and setting ready to go
There is limited time before your little one will become tired or fussy, you want to end the photo shoot with them happy, not upset. Be sure to test your camera and lighting and have everything you may need on hand. Make any changes during the shoot as quickly as possible and take a break if needed. Lillian had a bottle in the middle of the shoot and came back to take a few more photos with lots of energy.

Have a comfortable, safe setting for the baby
We prepared a soft surface for Lillian to sit on incase she fell over, which she did a few times. She has just about mastered the art of sitting up, but she would get really excited and lose her balance. We folded our large soft comforter and then laid her play blanket on top.

Use complementary colors for the setting and outfits
We had two colors for the background, which came from a collection of table cloths and fabrics we’ve accumulated over the years. Since we didn’t know which outfits Travis would bring, we set up the soft blue and then picked outfits that we both liked and wouldn’t clash with the background. The pink is very saturated, so I picked a light-colored romper that wouldn’t overwhelm Lillian.

Have their favorite toys on hand
Lillian’s favorite toys right now are her Dollie, featured in the first photo, and a very colorful peacock named Birdie. I used Birdie to grab her attention by “flying” him in at her nose and then quickly back behind Mark who was taking the photos. It made her smile and look towards the camera.

We just got back from our third and final trip to Houston to film with artist Gaia for his new installation Marshland at Rice University Art Gallery. We were able to get some great footage and are looking forward to working on that project. Read more about our film projects over on Walley Films Blog.

xo angie