Jen here with another First Year post!

Last month, Logan was not a fan of tummy time.  If we got a few minutes in before the pouty bottom lip came out and the tears instantly began to flow, it was a miracle.  But here she is at four-and-a-half months and so much stronger and more confident at lifting her noggin’ – she is starting to enjoy this new trick, especially when her overly excited momma is cheering her on!

Along with any of Logan’s new milestones comes my desire to capture the action with my camera!  I consulted Me Ra’s book, Your Baby in Pictures, for a photo recipe that made documenting tummy time a cinch!  Here’s what I did…

Preparation

The best photos of tummy time are when the camera is positioned at eye level with baby.  Logan’s tummy time is usually on the floor, but if you can find a large flat area off the ground for these photos, you will have a much easier time maneuvering around.  I used the bed, but you could also use a smaller surface, such as a couch or chair, just as long as someone is able to be on standby next to baby in case he or she wants to practice rolling!

I placed Logan near the natural light source in the room – a window covered by a sheer curtain.

Camera Settings

I set my camera to Aperture Priority mode and selected a lower aperture of f/2.8 to blur the background.  My ISO was set to 200 because there was an abundance of light in the room.  I needed to be able to freeze the action, especially since Logan’s head is still wobbly during tummy time, so my shutter speed was 1/200 sec (200).  I always make sure my on-camera flash is turned off.  I turned the camera to Continuous Shooting mode so that I could quickly capture several frames at a time.

Compose

I like photographing this milestone horizontally, but vertically would work just as well.  I positioned myself to be at eye level with Logan.  I filled the frame with her head, hands and arms.

Capture

When Logan was looking straight at the camera, I simply focused on her eyes and clicked the shutter!  Cheering her on gave her increased confidence and she rewarded me with big, gummy smiles!

I also tried my hand at a few shots with Logan laying on the floor in her nursery, but it was a lot harder for me to move around and get at eye level with her.  My camera settings here were ISO 1000, 1.8/f and 1/80 sec (80).

I tried this photo recipe several times since these photos were taken, and the best shots were always at the very beginning of Logan’s tummy time session since she gets tired quickly.  If at first you don’t succeed, take a break and try again later.

Now it’s YOUR turn!  Use this super easy photo recipe to capture you baby during tummy time and share your favorite image on Me Ra’s Facebook page.  We can’t wait to see what you capture!

Meet me here next week when I share with you images from Logan’s first taste of veggies.  Meal time just got a whole lot messier!

First Year Cheers!

Jen