Photography & Portraiture – Infants, Newborns

Posing, Photographing Infants and Newborn Children Can Be Difficult

May 27, 2009

With regards to pose, expression, and cropping it can be difficult to get an aesthetically pleasing exposure from a difficult subject such as an infant or newborn.

In a portrait studio, especially family photography studios such as those commonly found in Sears, Wal-Mart, or any other department store or outlet location – one of the most common demographics that photographers are expected to serve would be mothers looking to get professional photographs of their newborn children.

Even outside of a professional studio, it can be difficult to achieve the level of quality one might expect when dealing with infants, and so a few basic tips may be in order.

Comfort Level and Disposition, Posing and Pose Ideas

The most important thing to consider, bar none, during a potential booking for infants or newborns is the comfort of the child. Parents would be well advised to ensure that their child is well fed before the shoot, and also that they have gone to the bathroom and have a clean change. This should be done as close to the actual time of the shoot in order to ensure that the child is not cranky or agitated.

The best poses to explore when shooting newborns and infants stem from two traditional pose catalogues – one being traditional and focused entirely on the subject and the other, more modern option including the parents in some way as tertiary subjects.

For example, a nice traditional shot of an infant can be obtained by placing the subject on their stomach – typically a comfortable position, and older infants are prone to "pushing up" – which can lead to a great exposure with the child supporting themselves, propped up with their arms, with a neutral expression. While most parents look for a smile or a laughter shot, these can be very difficult to draw from an infant and are gems indeed - a neutral or fascinated expression can be just as beautiful, if not more so in most situations.

A more modern pose might be the child being supported by the arms of their mother or father, either laying prone and asleep, or cradled in the crook of an arm. In many cases, this shot will be done on a flat, matte black backdrop to isolate the subjects and enhance the emotion of the entire exposure.

Nude is also an option for this shot, provided both the photographer, the studio, and the parents are all in agreement with regards to the poses and exposures being in good taste. A newborn held gently along the length of the arm, and resting beautifully in the hand and palm can be a very artistic pose if the cropping is done correctly – a timeless print that will impress for years.

Props, Toys, and Post Production

While generally inappropriate for newborns, older infants or toddlers can benefit from the addition of themed backdrops and props or toys for a few fun exposures within the portrait session. A few common examples of this in practice might be a subject, sat in a steel wash bucket insulated from the skin via facecloths and other towels – topped off with a bright yellow rubber ducky and a few plastic bubbles strewn about the bottom of the frame on the ground.

Digital photography has progressed a great deal in recent years and so has the post production process on your exposures – available to you both in commercial studios as well as at home via software suites and portrait programs. Adding a vignette to your shot to add a bit of colour or to accentuate the colour of your child's eyes is very simple – or you could choose to isolate the colours of your childs cheeks, eyes, and lips in order to produce a beautiful black and white print with soft flesh tones that produce a truly modern portrait.

In many commercial studios the option is now available for you to bring your shots into a stand-in scene, perhaps placing your subject's smiling face in the center of a sunflower in a beautiful garden. Finally, as if these options were not satisfactory, most photography studios also offer your shots printed onto a variety of paraphernalia, ranging from coffee mugs to t-shirts to knits and other fabric throws.

Photographing infants and newborns can be a rewarding experience for the photographer as well as for the family, and later in life, the child themselves. It can be a touching retrospective that shows a great deal of love, care, and the fragility of both that makes new life so wondrous and is a wonderful addition to any family album.

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The copyright of the article Photography & Portraiture – Infants, Newborns in Portrait Photography is owned by Nicholas Morine. Permission to republish Photography & Portraiture – Infants, Newborns in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.