Do you know your tushie up from your taco? Your huck finn from your sleeping tiger?
Newborn photography, just like many professions has it’s own set of jargon and terminology newborn photographers understand but we forget that many of our clients don’t! In fact, how many of you refer to your baby as newborn? Not many I would think, I certainly didn’t before specialising in this field of photography.
As photographers we all develop our own style, our way of doing things and attract clients that like that style. For me it’s a lovely vibrant, crisp images and deep, emotional black and whites. That is what my clients love, I know, because they have told me. However, my sessions are very much tailored to my clients, their colour and pose preferences and ideas. Many of the poses that are used by newborn photographers have been created in the US, Canada and Australia, so the names reflect the country of origin, e.g. the Tushie Up is clearly from the States! Other poses are ones that I have developed over time and created based on what my clients love.
When you are pregnant or have just had your baby the last thing you want to think about is weird sounding poses for your newborn session, so to make life easier I am going to show you the most popular baby poses that my clients ask for and love to put on their walls.
Side Pose
This is a simple and gentle pose that most babies are very content with. It is the least structured of the poses and works equally as well if baby is awake or is asleep.
This pose is beautifully simple and great for adding wraps to flow off into the distance and cute headbands or hats.
Prop Posing
There is a huge array of props, from baskets to crates to backdrops that be used to create beautiful variety and colour within your baby’s gallery.
‘Tushie Up’ Pose
An absolute client favourite, this pose is so versatile, allowing wraps, hats, and headbands to be added and a variety of angles and close up opportunities to capture every tiny detail from feet to eye lashes. This pose is especially good for babies who suffer from wind!
Head on Hands
This is another client ‘must have’ pose. It is the perfect pose for capturing those chubby cheeks and pouty baby lips! Absolutely perfect for adding little hats and head bands too. This pose is the trickiest one to perfect and the most structured pose I do, baby needs to be in a lovely deep sleep for this pose to be successful. The ‘Head on Hands’ pose is always created with another adult’s hands carefully supporting the baby’s head to ensure that the proper safety and well being precautions are followed. Supporting hands are then removed from the final image with the magic of post processing software!
In Safe Hands
There are many variations on this pose and I love them all! This is one of my most requested poses and I actually think it works beautifully with a wide awake baby as you can get some gorgeous eye contact. This pose provides some of the most striking and powerful images and really emphasises just how tiny your baby is… as the months go by you will be amazed that they used to fit in your hands. This pose is the most popular one for clients purchasing wall art, it works perfectly on my professional grade acrylics, where all those tiny details are captured in full clarity. Click here to see all the beautiful wall art options open to you!
Parent Poses
I always love to see parents photographed with their babies. These are the images that will mean the most as the years go by when you look at them on your walls. If your baby is wide awake parent poses are usually the ones I start with, as being in their parent’s arms is so soothing for a newborn baby and helps everyone relax into the session. It is easy to incorporate siblings and even Grandparents into the parent poses, so we can gather all the most important people around your baby, without disturbing them in your arms. Below are just a few ideas of my most popular poses.
Just Chilling Watching The World Go By!
These are poses with baby on their backs and I love to use them when baby is wide awake! You can have baby wrapped, partially wrapped or completely au natural! These are the moments where I capture your baby’s expressions, yawns, sneezes and if I am really lucky, a little smile. I love photographing them just being themselves and my clients love to have these precious memories. Seeing how their baby slept with their hands by their faces, how blue those eyes were, cuddling their favourite toy… All those details you never want to forget.
These are just a small selection of the more popular poses I do with my newborn clients. As I meet with each family and tailor the sessions to them, each one is completely individual and records that baby, those parents, that family exactly as they want.
Please remember that I have received specialist newborn photography training, which I renew annually to ensure I always meet your baby’s safety and wellbeing needs. Please do not attempt any of these poses yourself.
So, let’s talk about your photography session and how we can create it to be exactly what you want!
