I'm expecting a baby in July and would like to take my own newborn pictures?

I currently have a Nikon D70 with 2 lenses (18-70mm and 70-300mm). I'm looking for some tips and tricks to get the best pictures possible. Thanks!

Added (1). Ok apparently people don't know the difference between newborn pictures and birth pictures. I'm not taking photos of my own birth, I'm talking about the pictures you take when the baby is 1-2 weeks old, if you don't know about photography don't comment on this question!

Well, you are going to be at an awkward angle during birth, so you might want someone else to hold the camera.

Just pay a pro to take them. They will look far better and you can be included in the pics!

Congratulations!

Natural light is probably the best way to go. A bright window is a great light source. Remove any distractions in the background. After all the subject is not going to be the laundry basket or Mom's jacket draped across the chair. You can use a white poster board to reflect some light back into the shadow areas. You can use a soft blanket for the surface, solid colors work better. Try dark and light ones. You can also use a blanket or sheet for a backdrop if you want. Use a wide aperture and the long end of your zoom to throw it out of focus. Leave enough room in your framing to make an 8x10, but get close enough to fill the frame. Get some closeups of those little hands, feet, ears etc. If the lighting is low, use a higher ISO. The D70 should be able to handle ISO400 with no problem, but use higher if necessary. Noise can be handled in post processing, but blur is forever. If you only have the pop-up flash, you can tape a tissue over it to soften and diffuse the light.

Here are a few links for you:

http://www.best-family-photography-tips.com/baby-pictures.html

http://www.photopoly.net/baby-photography-tips-for-photographing-newborn-babies/

http://www.ehow.com/...iques.html

There are lots of books on child photography and you can also find a lot of stuff on-line. Do a search for baby photographers and you will find quite a bit to study. (Note, not all of it will be good, for sure there are a lot of un-skilled fauxtographers out there, but you should get plenty of ideas.) Shoot a lot and often, babies change so quickly! Have fun and happy shooting.

Newborns are pretty much like jello for the first few weeks. Lay the child on it's back by a window. You can put a white card directly on the opposite side of the window to reflect some light. Stand above the child and snap away. Try to use soft, natural light. You can also lay the baby on it's side and lay down so the camera is at the level of the child's face and shoot that way. This link has some pictures to give you some ideas of what you can do. Http://www.corbisimages.com/Search#q=newborn&pg=rick+gomez

At six months things get better when most kids can hold their head up.

1- Use natural light.
2- Shoot at the same level as your baby.
3- Be aware of wide andgledistortion.
4- Watch your DoF.
5- If you have a show mount flash, bouce it off a wall or ceiling.

Hope that helped.

Well, babies that young don't move much, so just make sure your exposure is correct. If they have cradle cap, then put a hat on them.