Simple portrait
Sometimes people just don't have the budget to hire a photographer. Be it for personal use or for business use. There are some simple ways of getting a better photo that you can employ - point and shoot, iPhone or with a DSLR.
Though I don't normally photograph babies, I love it when I do. My friend and I do a contra of services. This photograph above was shot just inside a wall of windows. And that's it. We lay a white sheet or rug down as the background, put the aperture down to f2 or something similar, and shoot away.
How to do it yourself?
Get your set ready in front of an area that has a lot of light coming in from a door or window.
Put a heater on if it's cold. Baby will be happier.
Lay baby as far away from background as possible. This will minimise what is in focus in the background. A good way of disguising creases and dirty marks while drawing attention to baby.
Get in close to baby, as close as the camera can focus.
Focus on the eyes.
Get someone to help with getting babys attention. Baby likes noises, clicking, colour, talking, and a book swished in their face, the breeze making them smile. Go with whatever a newborn wants - not much you can do here.
Baby doesn't always have to smile. Some of my favourite images are those where baby is screaming or looking disgruntled.
Use an editing program - there are a host of free and paid ones around - to crop, edit colour or make the image black and white. Have fun with it.
This technique can be applied for business portraits, or simple product shots that don't have a reflective surface. Perhaps exchange the clicking and baby talk for recounting funny stories and jokes, or asking the person to think of their favourite things. Think holidays, yachts, winning the lotto, relaxing...
For more interest, turn the subject side on to the window. It creates beautiful three dimensional light.
And remember, light bounces in all directions. If the side facing the inside of the building is too dark, get a white/gold/silver board, sheet or similar object and put beside them, facing towards the window. This will bounce light back in on their face.