Are you proud parents (or grandparents, godparents, or just someone who adores babies), or do you hanker after taking pictures of infants in the manner in which Anne Geddes captures their various moods to make them appear anything from cutesy to utterly angelic to adorably precious and innocently mischievous? You are definitely at the ideal location to get advice from experts—right here!

If you have a digital camera that lets you look at the subject and the setting before you print it, you can no longer think that amateur photographers can’t take those adorable baby pictures you’ve always admired but thought were too good for them to take.

The stephaniebennettphotography new generation of digital cameras allows for minimal errors because they instantly offer auto-focus, zoom, and red-eye correction features, allowing you to capture your child’s spontaneous reactions in the split-seconds that they can actually change their expression. No more wasting film or batteries, worrying that you’ll irritate the baby, or even feeling frustrated that you expended all of your energy trying to capture those elusive baby smiles on your box camera one afternoon! Thus, you can do everything from taking photos to storing them, sharing them with others, and even printing them whenever you like (you can visit online photo studios, send them your camera’s stored photos for prints, and have the prints delivered to your door in a matter of hours or days)!

The challenge here is to make the infant images appear expert and memorable.

1. To take better pictures, you should always have your camera ready and pointed toward significant situations, or at the very least, have it nearby where the infant spends the majority of his or her time. If you’re using an older type camera, make sure you always have extra film on hand to make up for missing or incorrect images, and if you’re using a digital camera, make sure you have enough memory and battery life to go through a string of priceless candid kiddo moments!

2. To ensure kids have more than just photos, some parents even keep cameras loaded and ready to shoot in kid-sized diaper bags or bring a second one with them when they go on adventures. It is ideal to use the camera to take unposed, candid photos of the baby napping and smiling, since these photos come out as more endearing and natural than ones where they have been done up or staged. Don’t forget to take pictures of the baby’s little hands and toes, which are so adorable to look at after they’ve outgrown that stage and are particularly sweet when placed next to other growing ones in an album.

3. Invest in a set of zoom lenses to capture precious moments of your child when they are interested in the world around them—taking things off the dining room or living room table, powdering themselves at the dresser, or putting on their father’s shoes!

4. When taking photos of your baby, mix in some black-and-white images to give your album a vintage feel. Most digital cameras have a black-and-white or sepia-tone setting that you can use to your advantage to give the baby photo a timeless, very elegant appearance.

5. If you have a digital camera, take several images of a certain scene so you may select the finest one afterwards; high-speed cameras are great for capturing a baby’s mood and movement changes.