Newborn Photography Doesn’t Have to Be All Sunflowers and Watering Cans
Photographer Anne Geddes revolutionized newborn photography by dressing babies as beautiful sunflowers, fairy tale creatures and adorable zoo animals. While these images have been the staple of newborn photography for years, Photographer Central Pro Hari Simons has some new, inventive and heartwarming approaches to capturing special moments with your little bundle of joy.
Safety Comes First
Safety is obvious to all, but worth emphasizing. After all we are dealing with tiny and squishy little people, so regardless of what props or posing techniques are involved, safety must be the first priority.
Never put a newborn in an uncomfortable or potentially unsafe position, keep a parent or spotter close at all times, and keep in mind that not all babies can do all poses—don’t ever force a pose that the newborn seems to be resisting.
This is the main reason it’s important to find a professional. Someone who photographs newborns for a living will know all the tips and tricks to achieve wonderful photos without endangering your baby. Finding a local professional can be as easy as visiting Photographer Central.
Studio Shoot—the Basics
Lights, camera, action—well, not much action. More like warm temps, smooth textures, and soft lights. Newborns like to stay warm and cozy, so most studios will have the temperature set at 85-90 degrees for them. Some studios might also use localized heaters for extra warmth.
When babies are in the womb it’s pretty loud, so they often find comfort in loud white noise. It might be beneficial to find an app on your phone that can create white noise to soothe your newborn during the shoot.
Backdrop, blankets and baby basket should be at the ready. Your photographer will most likely have a few of each prepared so that transitioning between them is smooth and easy. I like to stack up all my blankets so the top one can simply be removed after a pose and the next one is ready to go. For diaper-free poses, one vital tip: keep a waterproof pad under the first blanket in case the baby does… exactly what babies are known for.
Many newborn pictures are actually a composite of two images, with a spotter’s hand propping the baby up in a different place in each shot, and the hand removed from the final image. This goes back to the first point, safety. In order to achieve those adorable poses without endangering your baby, oftentimes cloning or compositing of the image is required.
Scenes
Most photographers will want to use props in order to paint a picture. These newborn shots are supposed to hint at a specific location or setting. For example, twigs and greenery. Library books and a reading lamp. A basket and picnic blanket. A duvet and pillows. Pinterest is a great place to find inspiration for themes and the props that can convey them. These will also be handy for any at-home shoots you’ll consider doing yourself.
Time Sequence
Having a photographic record of your baby growing is something that parents treasure forever. So why not take a similar photo at a regular interval to have adorable documentation of your child’s development? Here are some simple ideas to make a consistent sequence:
- Have a common toy in each photo as a point of reference to compare size
- Bring in a chalkboard to write their age; you can get creative with different ways of writing their age to visually change it up each month
- As your child grows include a different item from each milestone. This could be something that shows off the fact that your baby started crawling, or said their first word. Or this could simply be the representation of their interest that month
There are different ways of doing this, from daily photos to recording each growing stage. This would make a lovely montage to share with your child and all their friends when they grow up.
Themes and Characters
Costumes aren’t just for Halloween. Bringing your favorite storybook characters to life with photos of your baby will make for fun and creative keepsakes. There are many detailed costumes and iconic accessories, or you can use a collection of references to the story. Just make sure there are enough hints in the photo for a viewer to get the character reference. For example, Harry Potter would have big, round, black glasses, a red and gold scarf, a wand, and possibly some leather bound books.
Emotion Collage
With an expressive child and a bit of patience (OK, maybe a mountain of patience), you can collect images of the child in the same spot but with different expressions representing different emotions.
Then, create a nine-image grid with photos that correspond with a particular emotion, i.e., happy, sad, angry, excited, tired, fussy, etc. Add the name of the emotion over the image in a font that relates to the emotion and you have a fun memento of your child’s many moods.
You and your photographer will need to be patient, creative and have fun during your newborn’s shoot! With some planning, you’ll definitely create images that will be cherished for the rest of your life.
How precious are these? OMG, I love them all.
Those are great shots. When I take photo’s of my kids I use what I have or nature never spending too much money, keep it simple.
These are such beautiful ways to take newborn photos, I like doing something that isn’t the norm. I love photos that look like this, natural, sleeping beautiful little babies. Thanks for sharing some newborn photo taking ideas!
Such beautiful pictures, this photographer is amazing!
Newborn photos can be so tricky! Get ready for some accidents too, those cute babies sure know how to pee when you least expect it!
How adorable! Babies are so angel-like when they’re sleeping. They look like little dolls.
These are such great ideas. Getting those pictures as a newborn is something you will forever cherish.
I have seen so many new poses for new borns. It is amazing how creative photographers are.
These are gorgeous photos. They would make great keepsakes.
When my first daughter was a newborn, this photography wasnt trending. I was able to capture some great pictures of my son though with props when he was one week old.
I really wish i had done these types of photos with my kids when they were born. These are beautiful photos.
I love these shots. I agree with you. Watering cans are played out.
I don’t have kids, but I wonder if I could find something like this for my dogs. They’re LIKE my kids.
I love the reminder about safety first, many people see those shots and forget that these are not always do it yourself types of things, sometimes some great editing is involved!
OMG, these photos are too adorable. They make me just want to jump in and squeeze those cheeks.
I absolutely love newborn photography, there are such amazing ideas and so so cute!
I wish I’d thought to do this when my son was a baby. I took a lot of pictures of him, but none of them are really high quality like these.
Oh my goodness, these are just precious. My favorite is the last photo.
I did some pictures for my sister’s new baby. . it is a lot harder than it looks, lol to get them to pose like anne geddes! Such talent!
I love newborn photography and follow several photographers on Facebook just to see the cute, new squish they share. These are all great tips!
What great advice. I tried taking my little one for photos just after she was born and it did not go so well. It was really loud and rushed. Wish I had these tips back then 🙂
I love the costumes and hats that are available for newborn photography. My friend used a vintage child chair in all her daughter’s photos to show her growth. It is a great idea.
I love these. I am a photographer and one of my favorite things to shoot is newborns. I LOVE being one of the first people to see them and hold them. It’s my favorite to capture the love between newborn and parent/family. These are very sweet pictures.
These are some great tips. The newborn photos of my daughter were not as nice as these.
I like the idea of having a common toy in the photos to show how baby grows. That’s a great suggestion!
Those are all great tips. My kids newborn pics left a lot to be desired LOL.
These are such cute pictures. I love these tips! It always seems like it will be so much easier then it really is. I like the tip about creating some White Noise! Thanks for the tips!
I think the Emotion Collage is a great idea, but, I think your right, you are going to need a mountain of patience. All of these are great tips.
Such beautiful pictures!
Looooooove Anne Geddes pictures!!!!! They are simply the most adorable pictures of babies I have ever seen. Great pointers!
I think the app idea on your phone that can create white noise to soothe your newborn during the shoot is a awesome idea.