When you’re pregnant, well-meaning people tell you a million random pieces of advice. Right?

Sleep when baby sleeps (totally useless advice for me).

Shower and get dressed to feel better (meh, decent).

Stick to a schedule at all costs. Don’t worry about a schedule. Have a flexible schedule. Go with the flow. Be rigid and unforgiving. Have a social life. Forget about your social life. (Whaaaaaa???)

Blah. My advice? Don’t listen to advice.

But, here’s the one piece of advice I wish someone HAD told me.

Practice walking past Baby’s bedroom a hundred thousand times so that you know exactly where the squeaky floorboard is and how to skip over it like a night ninja.

Because, really, I would have been much more prepared for parenthood if I’d known that the third step from the top makes a noise capable of waking a slumbering baby and that I’d have to warm up my quads in order to hold the bannister to leap over that step while being ridiculously sleep deprived.

Ok, so, now that you know the secret path of quietness…

I’m actually going to suggest you tiptoe up the stairs, skip step #3, 7 and 10 and quiet-as-a-mouse sneak into your kid’s room to take a photo of that peaceful, perfect face.

Because, really, is there anything better than a photo of a sleeping kid?

Not in my books.

Ready to do it? Here are a couple of quick tips to make the most of your sleeping kid photos.

In an ideal world, you’ll want the light hitting your child’s face. (This is when using artificial light sources can be a big help.)

The easiest way to do this is to get up overhead and shoot down, using the nightlight, bedside lamp, or window light (if it’s the summer and the days are long). If you really want to go for it, bring in a little step stool so that you can get nice and high.

No light? You can use another phone or a tablet to cast a bit of light on the bed.

Make sure to turn the flash off on your phone or you risk waking up a sleeping babe (and come on, that is the LAST thing any of us need!). ⁠

Want a few more tips for using your phone for photos? I have a whole story highlight on Instagram where I go through all kinds of tips!

Bonus tip: there’s often more story than just a sleeping kid – make sure to tell it. Discarded stuffies, tossed aside soothers, blankies, pyjamas, trinkets on the nightstand….they all add the narrative so use them to help you out.

I like to make an effort to do this a few times a year and keep a collection of sleeping photos to see how my girls change over the years and how different they sleep (one is always bundled, one has all the covers tossed off!). ⁠

Do you have a sleeping babe photo? Post it to Instagram and tag me (@fiddleleafphoto) so I can see!