Newborn photography

Newborn photography is very fun, but it needs to be handled with lots of care. A newborn child is very vulerable and needs to be handled carefully at all times. While some photographers hang their baby models in nets and stand them up in baskets, I choose not to do that because I find it very dangerous and when I look at the phographs I can't help but imagine the millions of things that could go wrong. I prefer to keep my newborn photographs simple.

The types of poses that you see below are performed by proffesionals. Do not attemp this at home. Seriously.

(I would use my own photographs, but i lost them when my computer crashed)

When you take photos of newborns you need to focus on one thing and one thing only: the comfort of the baby. Babies are very fragile and if you don't feel 100 % comfortable with the pose you want to do, then don't do it. NEVER force a baby into a pose, it has to be natural and comfortable for the baby. In a newborn photograph, it is very popular for the baby to be asleep, and cuddled in small cute positions. Your baby should be under fourteen days old for you to be able to successfully achieve this position. They should also be over five days old though, because they are normally very red when theyre this young. Of course, babies sleep a lot, so it shouldn't be that hard to photograph a sleeping baby, but the best time is to do it early in the morning when babies are normally in their best mood and sleep the most soundly. You also should make sure that the room your photographing in is very warm. Babies have a hard time keeping their body temperture up, especially with no clothes. If your sweating then it is perfect temperture for the baby. Don't use heaters that could burn the babies skin though.

Another important thing when dealing with newborns photograph is props. Ever newborn photograph out there now adays contains some form of knitted hat or antique box. Let me give you a tip: never buy the proffesional props because they are always overpriced. I have an old coke crate that I got from a garage sale for five bucks and they sell the same one on a photography prop site for sixty dollars. Save yourself the money and go to a garage sale, having the proffesional label isn't worth it. Anything can be used as a prop. I can make a huge list of simple things that can make great props. One extremely simple set up is to use a bean bag with a blanket or faux fur.

bean bag with faux fur

Be creative, there are a ton of things you can use as props. Heres a list of a few:

-wooden crates

-dresser drawers

-barrels (be careful!)

-baby wraps

-knitted hats/diaper covers/blankets

-headbands

-suitcases

-washtubs

-hatboxs

-baskets

-pillows

-baskets

-chairs

-blocks

-carriages

-flower pots

-blankets, blankets, and more blankets

every single prop that you use should include some type of blanket or faux fur. It is very important that your babies skin never comes in contact with hard sufaces like the ones in wooden boxes or metal washtubs. Remember, a simple picture of a baby sleeping soundly on a beautiful baby blanket can be just as pretty as an intricate photograph.