Tips for Newborn Photography – Part Two

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Individual PortraitsToday’s article is Part Two in a series on newborn photography. If you missed Part One, you can catch up here. In this article, I will be going into more depth on posing newborns, plus the three types of images I’m always looking to end up with from a newborn session: individual portraits, environmental portraits, and family portraits.

The individual portraits are my first priority and usually include the classic sleeping baby shots. The secret weapon here is a boppy pillow. Just about every mom has one, so I always ask for it. I’ll lay the boppy down and cover it with a blanket or two. The baby nestles perfectly in the middle and I’m able to securely prop his head up. In this way, I can get multiple poses done quickly: the baby on his back, side, and tummy. In each position, I explore every angle and composition I can before moving to the next. You’d be surprised how many angles you can find by just moving yourself. I shoot from the side and from above, I get close ups of his face, a full body shot, then details like feet, ears, and hands. If you do all of these angles in each position, you’ll end up with lots of poses to choose from in the end.

Another trick I use: each time I rotate the baby from one position to the next, or whenever I want to adjust anything in the pose, I do it from in between the blanket and the boppy. I can adjust from underneath the blanket to move the baby’s bottom half without startling him nearly as much as if I’m reaching in and moving him from above.

One note: obviously, it’s so important to always be safe and mindful of how you’re positioning the baby. I won’t ever do anything either the mom or I am uncomfortable with. I’d rather have the mom feel like her baby is safe than get an amazing shot that might make her anxious. I also think it’s really important to use a camera strap and to never be in a position where the camera might slip out of your hands from above or swing from the strap and hurt the baby.

Environmental Portraits

The environmental portraits show the bigger picture of where the family lives. These tend to be some of my favorites. I like to back up and photograph the room we are in to give some context in a more documentary style. So if we’re in the living room where the mom is changing the baby or rocking him to sleep on the couch, I’ll use a wide lens to include the whole scene. Some parents put a lot of work into a nursery, so that’s another great area to photograph, with the baby in the crib, with mom and baby in the rocking chair, or even the room and it’s details alone (often this happens during feedings when I have nothing else to do). I also love using the master bedroom, with the baby curled up on the bed alone or with the parents.

Family Portraits

Family portraits are an important type of image that sometimes parents forget about. I love to capture the new mom and dad, snuggled in close to their little one. I also make sure to photograph each parent separately with the newborn and if there are other siblings, I’ll get a shot with them as well. These family photos are usually the easiest to take, because there is so little direction needed to get a sweet relationship image when the parents are already so enamored with their brand new baby. If someone does seem a bit anxious or unsure of what to do, suggest something simple, like “nuzzle your face in close,” “kiss his nose,” or “close your eyes and snuggle her close to you.” It doesn’t take much to get a natural, beautiful shot of someone loving on their baby!

I hope this article has given you some ideas for your next newborn session and getting some images that your clients will love. Feel free to leave any questions in the comments and I’d be more than happy to share any answers I may have.