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As we know, newborns are very delicate, they have poor muscle control and a strong moro reflex (an involuntary response to feeling unsupported) necessitating great care and patience during a photo session. They must be carefully supported at all times and certainly never left on their own. In this series of posts, I will show you how I ensure that babies are appropriately and safely positioned and supported to create some of my more popular images, and perhaps more to the point, I will show you how supporting hands are removed using Photoshop afterwards, i.e. the baby is never left balancing and remains supported throughout the shoot.
The most commonly used props are baskets, boxes and crates. I often use these in my photoshoots. If the basket is high-sided or has a narrower base than the top, or in any way feels unstable I will first add some weights to the bottom and use a spotter to place a hand gently on the back of the prop to prevent tipping. I always line the props with soft towels and blankets to ensure that the baby will never be in contact with any of the hard edges of the basket. When the baby is placed in the basket, I use additional towels and blankets to provide support around the body to prevent rolling.
If the baby is positioned on his/her backin the basket, I will often wrap the baby to keep the baby feeling secure and prevent startling. If the baby is positioned on his/her tummy, the same rules apply as for any 'tummy shots', I will tuck the baby's legs under and have a spotter to support the head and rest a hand on the lower back.
In this example, we have twins in a basket prop. The same rules apply for multiples as singles. I weighted the base of the basket and stuffed it with towels to support the babies' bodies. The babies’ heads are supported at all times, and a 'spotter' (in this case two - a parent and a grandparent) is sitting within inches of the babies to rest a hand on each baby's bottom and steady the prop if needed and to support the heads. As you can see from the images, the support hands are never removed from the babies, but are 'cloned out' using Photoshop during post-production.
For more examples of safe baby photography, see my other blog posts.
Click for more info about our newborn baby portrait sessions.
#2: Working with Props - Baskets, Boxes and Crates
Props introduce still more safety considerations for photographing newborns, including:- Solidity of the prop - I would never consider using anything that might be breakable as a prop, e.g. glass, mirrors
- Stability of the prop - is the prop likely to tip, is the base of the prop wider than the top
- Size of the prop - will the baby fit comfortably within/on the prop, when using the prop, would the baby be too high above the ground
- Security of the baby - positioning spotter(s), holding prop steady, babies position within/on the prop.
The most commonly used props are baskets, boxes and crates. I often use these in my photoshoots. If the basket is high-sided or has a narrower base than the top, or in any way feels unstable I will first add some weights to the bottom and use a spotter to place a hand gently on the back of the prop to prevent tipping. I always line the props with soft towels and blankets to ensure that the baby will never be in contact with any of the hard edges of the basket. When the baby is placed in the basket, I use additional towels and blankets to provide support around the body to prevent rolling.
If the baby is positioned on his/her backin the basket, I will often wrap the baby to keep the baby feeling secure and prevent startling. If the baby is positioned on his/her tummy, the same rules apply as for any 'tummy shots', I will tuck the baby's legs under and have a spotter to support the head and rest a hand on the lower back.
In this example, we have twins in a basket prop. The same rules apply for multiples as singles. I weighted the base of the basket and stuffed it with towels to support the babies' bodies. The babies’ heads are supported at all times, and a 'spotter' (in this case two - a parent and a grandparent) is sitting within inches of the babies to rest a hand on each baby's bottom and steady the prop if needed and to support the heads. As you can see from the images, the support hands are never removed from the babies, but are 'cloned out' using Photoshop during post-production.
For more examples of safe baby photography, see my other blog posts.
Click for more info about our newborn baby portrait sessions.
