Tips for Taking Baby Photos

check out these 10 tips for taking the perfect baby photo thanks to our friends from Kodak and the Heritage Makers blog.

1. Get down on their level. Hold your camera at the baby’s eye level to capture the power of those magnetic gazes and mesmerizing smiles.

2. Use a plain background. An uncluttered background forces attention on your baby. Place your baby against a plain background or move yourself (and the camera) a few feet.

3. Capture feelings. A smirk, a frown, a wail - capture all the emotions, not just the pretty smiles. Babies are uninhibited and uncensored, show it in your pictures.

4. Get close. Zoom in, filling the frame to emphasize what’s important, creating a more impactful photo. Capture the details, like blue eyes, a toothless smile, or tiny fingers.

5. Show scale. Take pictures of your baby with items that will show her relative size - a teddy bear or Daddy’s hands. Take a series of pictures with the same object as your baby grows.

6. Try different angles. Get down on their level, shoot from high above, shoot some sideways, some looking up at them.

7. Include other people. Capture others with the baby - Big Sister feeding the baby or Grandpa dancing with his little grandson. Make sure to include everyone who visits your baby.

8. Take some vertical pictures. Many subjects look better in a vertical picture - from the Eiffel Tower to portraits of your friends. Make a conscious effort to take some vertical pictures.

9. Use natural light. Shoot photos next to windows or outdoors, taking advantage of natural light. Cloudy, overcast days provide the best lighting for pictures of people.

10. Take lots of photos. Always keep your camera handy! Babies change so fast, capture every moment right from birth, including all firsts. Document a day in the life of your baby.

New Art Collections for July 2010

Here is just a few of the collections that were added to Premier in the month of July:

Perfect for those calendars you'll start working on.


Kids playing t-ball or baseball this summer? Maybe you've attended your share of MLB games? This pictures and stories will look great with this.



Still working on the kids' storybook from this past school year? You'll love this collection!

Some of my Favorite Calendar Templates

This is an 11x16 wall calendar:


Another 11x16 calendar (great for busy families):


This was the template I used for my family calendar. It's an 8.5x11 calendar:


Another 8.5x11 calendar. Ready for 2011.

Christmas in July Sale!!!

Why wait to get your Christmas greeting cards, holiday canvases, or new year calendars? At Heritage Makers, it’s time for Christmas in July! Buy now…create later! Here's what's on sale:

Free NKOTB Calendar while supplies last!

It’s no secret that I’m a huge NKOTB fan. Last month, I attended the first two shows of their “CasiNO tour” at the Palms in Las Vegas and had a blast! With those being my only events of the year and the great pictures I was able to take from the FRONT ROW, I got inspired to create a 18-month NKOTB calendar to give me something on my desk to look at and reminisce with through the rest of this year and all of 2011.



As a Heritage Makers Personal Publishing Consultant, from time to time I receive coupons for free product that I can share with NEW clients on my website. This time I have free coupons for your choice of either a swatch book or a flip book ($19.95 value). The preview shown above is a flip book (that I designed as a pocket calendar). These coupons expire 6/30/10 so you’ll want to act quickly if you want one.

Follow the instructions below for your free NKOTB calendar:

1) Go to my website http://www.StorybookHeritage.com and create your free Studio account.

2) Once you have created your account, you will see a confirmation message on the screen with your Studio Account Login ID#. Please take note of this number.

3) Send an email through my website or directly to Leah@StorybookHeritage.com and in the subject line write “I would like a FREE product coupon” and in the email include your name and Studio Account ID#

The coupon will be emailed to the email address you used when you created your account and it will contain instructions on how to redeem your coupon and receive your calendar in the mail. The other cool thing is that you can either order the calendar as is with the pictures I took or you can swap them out with any personal pictures you want to use before you publish your project. It’s really easy and will look super cute!

Unfortunately, if you already have a Heritage Makers Studio account with me or another consultant, the coupon is not valid...NEW ACCOUNTS ONLY. And, if you know of someone who would love something like this, please feel free to pass my info along to them. Referrals are always welcomed and appreciated.

If you see other items on my website that you like, make sure to contact me first because the prices listed are regular retail prices and I always give a special discount on everything to my clients and email newsletter subscribers.

Thanks for taking the time to check out my business and for supporting a fellow BH sister =).

Also, if you’re looking to earn part-time or full-time income or maybe you’d like to earn some fun money (for future NK adventures), you’ll want to consider becoming a personal publishing consultant with Heritage Makers. It has been such a blessing in my life to be able to combine my passion for photos, an outlet for my creativity and allow me to work from home so that I can truly enjoy time with my young children.

**15 coupons available and they will be given on a 1st come basis while supplies last. Limit one coupon per person per valid account created on my website. Coupon will take care of the cost of the product but you will be responsible for the cost of shipping. At this time, product may only be shipped in the U.S. and Canada.

Looking for Something to Keep the Kids Busy This Summer?

We've got the cure for the Summertime Blues! Check out our amazing sale on storybooks, posters, and flip books. These packages are perfect for the mom's that are already tired of hearing, "Mom, I'm so bored!"

June 2010 Pick of the Month

It's time for another exciting Pick of the Month Sale! All month long, when you buy 3 storybooks, you get 1 free! And even better, if you're on Club Premier, you buy 2 and get 1 free! The sale lasts all month, until June 30, 2010.