There are few times as precious and sentimental as the days and weeks after birth. Whether you are a parent wanting to document these moments or a professional looking to increase your income with newborn photography skills, it helps to learn how to handle these smallest customers. Here are a few simple tools for getting the best newborn portraits possible.

Handle with care.

A newborn is as delicate and breakable as it looks. They must be gently moved and positioned, with the head supported and any potential for falls kept at bay. Handling an infant roughly will result in an unhappy baby and an even unhappier mother who reports your missteps in detail to all of her friends, many of whom could otherwise be potential customers.

Choose timing carefully.

Ask parents to bring baby at a time of day when they are fed, happy, and alert. There is little you can do about it if parents choose to ignore this request, but it will certainly affect the quality of the photos and the amount of time that the baby will tolerate being photographed. Luckily, most parents are happy to comply.

Take a variety of shots.

Although a newborn seems like a pretty straightforward animal—they eat, cry, and/or sleep for most of their day—there are a variety of different styles and moods that can be captured. Documentary shots, which focus on capturing the baby going through normal daily activities, show the moments that every parent wants to remember. Portraits are good for remembering facial characteristics and for gifts. Because both have many advantages, try to get several of each.

Use baby-friendly angles.

You will only get so far positioning the baby according to your needs—before long, they will become annoyed or frustrated and the session will be effectively over. Many photographers find that the best answer is to let the newborn rest in a comfortable position, such as lying on their stomach, and then take pictures from a variety of angles before attempting to reposition. This way, you can get a variety of different pictures without needlessly aggravating your little customer. In general, getting down on the baby’s level is a good plan because it creates a sense of stepping into the baby’s world.

Photograph more than just the face.

While their tiny faces are certainly adorable, newborns are a combination of many adorable body parts, most of which can be captured on film. While traditional photos are important, don’t forget tiny hands, feet, and ears. A macro lens is usually the best choice for these shots, but any telephoto lens should work. Nontraditional shots make excellent photo collections that are sure to please new parents.

Set a mood with color and light.

There are many options for newborn photos, each of which lends a different feeling to the photograph. The obvious choice is natural color, which can be good for documentary style shots and other more realistic pictures. Black and white is also popular because it gives a classic, heirloom feeling to portrait style pictures. Pictures with filters, desaturated pastel coloring, and softened light are all popular in newborn photography for their very different effects on the photo’s overall mood. Don’t be afraid to try a few new ideas; you never know which will catch the parents’ fancy.

Focus on the family.

That is, the whole family. Birth is an event not just for the baby, but for all of his relatives and loved ones. Taking intimate shots with parents, siblings, and other family members captures the emotions involved in this special time while also opening up new possibilities for poses and angling.

Don’t be afraid to airbrush.

No one wants to admit it, but even newborns are in need of a little Photoshop from time to time. The trial of birth leaves most newborns with misshapen heads and a fair amount of swelling in the face. Later, baby acne and scratches may mar otherwise perfect pictures. While these are natural parts of infancy, they are very distracting in portraits and are usually easy to remove completely. Washing baby’s face before taking photographs will remove much of the need for this, but it still comes up at times.

Light indirectly where possible.

Doctors have not made up their minds whether bright flash damages a baby’s sight, but it is easy to see that sudden bright lights startle them, at times ruining an otherwise perfect picture. If natural, indirect lighting is not possible (for instance, on a cloudy day), then aim the flash at the ceiling or at another surface from which it can reflect onto the baby. This not only prevents scaring the infant, it also gives the light a more diffused feeling that flatters the baby’s soft skin. If your flash cannot be bounced, try putting a thin tissue over it to soften the harshness a bit.

Use continuous shooting mode.

A newborn’s expression changes from second to second, and there is no disappointment greater than missing that perfect shot. Continuous shooting mode offers the answer to this problem. Taking sequences of shots allows you to capture all of the expressions that make up a moment in time. You can then choose the most perfect ones. As a bonus, this usually results in shot sequences that make attractive framed collections.

How important is newborn photography? Regardless of your perspective, it can be a lucrative skill to have in your repertoire. Parents are usually willing to spend more than they usually would for high quality newborn portraits because of the unique nature and short life span of this time. If you are a photography professional, learning to handle newborns can be a lucrative addition to your business. If you are a parent, following these guidelines can help you get professional quality photographs without professional prices. Either way, there is inherent joy in capturing these precious moments and turning them into memories that will last a lifetime.