How to take professional-looking baby photos

You can't get enough of your newborn baby, he's just so cute.

To get professional-looking pics for your birth announcements, here are some tips:

• Wait until he is asleep, newborns are easier to pose and can sleep through almost anything

Use natural light, lots of it

• Consider the background and what is in the frame

• Get close up, there is nothing more beautiful then a sleeping newborn.

• Take as many as possible, out of 50 photos maybe one will be the perfect picture

As he gets older you'll notice he won't sit still and will be reluctant to flash a smile, but when you finally snap that perfect shot for your family pictures, it's worth the wait. Some ideas for great, natural-looking baby photos:

Capture your baby in his element

Forget about getting him to pose: the longer you try, the less likely you'll be to get a smile. Simply snap away while your child is on his tummy time mat or while he's playing. It s also helpful to kneel, sit or lie on the ground to get that eye-level shot.

Don't force a smile

The more natural the smile, the better the photo will be. Try making a funny face to get your baby to grin. For older tots, do something silly or remind your toddler of something that made him laugh

Keep snapping

A baby photographer must: take as many photos as possible. Instead of trying to get one perfect picture, take a lot from all different angles. Chances are he'll wiggle, squirm or sneeze just as the picture's being taken, so the more pics you take, the greater your chance of getting a keeper

Set your shutter speed

A faster shutter speed helps to capture a crisp image of your baby playing, even when your child is running, jumping, spinning or playing. The higher the shutter speed, the less blurry your image.

If nothing else, remember this baby photography tip: print out your photos! Flipping through images in an album is far more rewarding than viewing them on your camera screen. You won't regret it!