# 1 month old session?



## AggieBecky (Jun 4, 2013)

My cousin would like me to come to her house and take pictures of her 1 month old.  I have a 6 month old baby myself so I'm somewhat familiar with taking pictures of babies but not really because I've never done an official photo shoot with one.  What are some easy poses I can do with a 1 month old?  I need help!  Advice!  Anything!  

Can anyone post picture examples too?  That might really help.  Thanks!


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## ronlane (Jun 4, 2013)

creativeLIVE: Newborn Posing with Kelly Brown

I watched parts of this for free and she did some cool stuff with little babies. Search for her name and look at her site before spending the money to get this video series.


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## cgipson1 (Jun 4, 2013)

AggieBecky said:


> My cousin would like me to come to her house and take pictures of her 1 month old.  I have a 6 month old baby myself so I'm somewhat familiar with taking pictures of babies but not really because I've never done an official photo shoot with one.  What are some easy poses I can do with a 1 month old?  I need help!  Advice!  Anything!
> 
> Can anyone post picture examples too?  That might really help.  Thanks!



I find that if you hang them upside down by their ankles, you can get some really interesting facial expressions to shoot! (Earplugs are a good idea, btw!)






















YES... I am kidding... really!  lol!


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## ronlane (Jun 4, 2013)

cgipson1 said:


> AggieBecky said:
> 
> 
> > My cousin would like me to come to her house and take pictures of her 1 month old. I have a 6 month old baby myself so I'm somewhat familiar with taking pictures of babies but not really because I've never done an official photo shoot with one. What are some easy poses I can do with a 1 month old? I need help! Advice! Anything!
> ...



Public Service Announcement:  DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! Charlie is a trained professional on a closed course with said Baby's Momma locked behind a closed door while taking these pictures.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.


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## Gavjenks (Jun 4, 2013)

I've never shot one before, but if it were me, just off the top of my head I would start planning:

1) Lots of sleeping shots
2) A few funny expressions or scrumpled up faces if possible
3) Try to make it as peaceful and dreamy as possible within the constraints of your style.  Lensbaby would not be out of place, nor would (minor) soft focus (photoshop or lens).  Also go for wide apertures and ideally some point lights of some sort in the background for lots of bokeh, I'd say, for the same reason.
4) Very uncluttered scenes, but NOT studio backdrops.  In a basket or a crib in an empty room, for instance, or with one mobile to offset the composition, or shot with flash setups so the background is just solid creamy blackness, or similar.
5) Maybe a few shots of the mother holding the infant, but have her looking down at it to not draw attention too much away from the main subject, or just crop only the arms holding the baby (if cropping, try to make the light fall off on the sides into shadow so it doesn't look like just a hack job crop, but a very intentional lighting job)
6) Cute doilies and knitted things are always very infanty feeling.

Also looking at google images, naked babies (curled up for modesty) seem to be popular apparently.


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## vintagesnaps (Jun 4, 2013)

Joking aside for a moment - some of what's online about photographing babies does not always seem to demonstrate appropriate ways to handle newborns. I've worked as a specialist working with infants with delays (such as preemies) and I'd suggest you do what was appropriate with your child at one month old and/or use guidelines from reputable websites about infant development.

In the video posted some of the positions shown seem like they might be fine but some do not appear necessarily appropriate or safe. In about the middle of the video the baby is in a blanket wrapped like a cocoon and propped upright (somehow) - I realize often an adult's hand might have been photoshopped out but in the video it looks like there's an adult sitting in the shot but not apparently supporting the baby (it looks like someone's leg/knee in jeans). A newborn should have the head and neck supported. 

You might think about mom/dad holding the baby, or using the baby's infant seat covered with a soft pretty blanket, etc. I did floor time with babies I worked with and would think about getting on the floor on a nice blanket for some photos. Maybe think about what your own baby liked and what might make the baby feel safe and comfortable to hopefully get some nice expressions or some nice sleeping baby pictures. Since it's family maybe that will give you time and opportunities to get some photos when it's a good time of day for the child's schedule.


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## cgipson1 (Jun 4, 2013)

More seriously.. many infant images are composites. With the baby being held in position, and the hands, pillow, whatever, etc... removed in post. Anytime there is a chance of falling, or rolling, or anything that might be harmful... protective support is an ABSOLUTE must! Baby safety always comes first. Use standard infant support techniques age appropriate for the infant you are shooting... there is a lot of good info on the 'net about this. Shots like hanging baskets, hammocks, etc.. are almost always composites... and can be unsafe to shoot any other way, no matter how cute they are.

This may be helpful:

Baby / Newborn Safety for photographers ? revisited. | Jodie Otte, Baltimore Maryland Child and Baby Photographer


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## vintagesnaps (Jun 4, 2013)

I agree with that photographer on the site Charlie posted that I've seen a couple of behind the scenes videos that made me cringe; one in which a photographer was putting a baby in some sling type contraption hanging in midair (and I can only hope that once it hit youtube that either the photographer went into another type of portrait work or that someone involved called child protective services), and another where a toddler was placed up on some type of cube and tumbled off with mom catching the child just in the nick of time. 

I would be a little careful with beanbags too especially with ones that are not very firm where the baby could possibly sink down in it, although as mentioned in the article every child is different as to their head and neck control and what they can tolerate. I don't think I'd try anything that even appears dangerous but I agree that if a photographer is handling a child in a way that makes the parents uncomfortable, they should say no - a photographer should be able when working with kids to be flexible and to find another way to get the portrait. 

I'd probably try using equipment or seats or age appropriate toys the family already has and that are designed for infants; I think a baby is lovely on its own without needing a lot of props.


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## Nahin (Jun 6, 2013)

Photo shoot is easy at the period of baby sleeping. Can shoot a lot of at any position, watched *ronlane* tutorial that's really make me happy with newborn baby style. Most wonderful........


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## jowensphoto (Jun 6, 2013)

This is based on my experience.

Any baby older than 8 or 9 days old usually just doesn't "work" with the newborn posing. That post-birth grogginess is wearing off and they just aren't as cooperative since they are more alert. 

A month is kind of an awkward time for photos. Babies are just beginning to reach milestones like head lifting during tummy time, but otherwise - they pretty much just lay there (although they make some melt your heart faces!), you know (of course you do, you're a mommy  )?

Your best bet is to time this right at the end of baby's longest nap of the day. Start off with some sleeping shots, take a break if baby needs to eat when she wakes up and then see if you can get some of her awake.

Portraits - a set on Flickr <- if you scroll to almost the bottom, the Christmas photos of my daughter were taken when she was 1.5 months (forgive the WB issues, please!). I used her bouncy chair with two blankets laid over it. Safety is of utmost importance, so make sure you have mom or dad's hands just out of frame when posing on ANY raised surface - whether it's a bouncy seat, beanbag, etc. 

Please, for pete's sake, don't do the baby hanging in muslin. Those actually make me angry lol


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## Gavjenks (Jun 6, 2013)

If you want the baby wrapped in something and cute and fahsionable mother/child shots in general, an extremely safe way to do this might be to show them in a basic, traditional style sling wrap baby carrier, like this one (safe and convenient to use from birth onward):

http://sakurabloombabyslings.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/tummy-to-tummy-tips.gif?w=490

Opens up a decent variety of creative options, since you can move them around and the mother can do relevant poses and things, with no danger and while the baby is sleeping.  Just a thought.


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## supercool2 (Jun 6, 2013)

You can do shots of dad holding naked baby on his chest . Or on mom/dad's arm supported by both arms. I worked at a portrait studio and took a lot of baby pictures,but they were limited in what we could do because it was one of those places where they rush you in&out and its all about sales, BUT I still did learn quite a few neat little tricks, (like turning off the light to get them to open their eyes , or lightly touching the nose to get them to naturally look up to see what touched them and the silly noises you can make to get their attention,etc..) . I'm glad this was posted because my sister is due and I am hoping to take some Newborn pictures after my niece is born.


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## hopdaddy (Jun 6, 2013)

A one month old ,is a hard age to shoot .One thing that will help is if you have the mother act as your posing stool .Have her lay on her back and baby on her stomach .By getting down low you can get some good head shots, and the mother will be sure the baby is safe and calm .She can support
 the baby's back with her hand and you won't have to do much pp.  BTW .Keep in mind a flash will wake the baby Bigtime !  feed the baby and change the baby before the shoot .Be prepared for a 4 hour shoot ,keep it warm in the room and wash your hands in front of the mom before the shoot. If you have time you could make an infant posing stool/bench .....Google is your friend on that  .


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## vintagesnaps (Jun 9, 2013)

Those sling type devices are not necessarily the safest things to use (because of risk of suffocation) and I don't know that they necessarily provide adequate support for all infants depending on the age or stage of development. I don't know that something like that would be necessary anyway as you could probably get a similar photo having the parent hold the child. 

I would be careful using any sort of equipment with a young child. In general a child should be able to bring the legs around to come down safely feet first - if they can't get down from something yet it may not be a good idea to put them up on it.

I agree it's probably a good idea to allow plenty of time for feeding and diaper changes etc., and hand washing is a great idea to keep in mind. If you're photographing infants I think it's necessary to make the child's well being be the priority.


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## AggieBecky (Jun 13, 2013)

Thank yall very much for all the advice and help!  I know it will all come in useful for the future.  As it was, my cousin could only have us over for less than 1 hour before she had to get her son to swim lessons.  I had my 2 little ones with me too so between them and my cousin spending most of the time nursing the baby, I probably got less than 10 minutes total shooting the baby.  The majority of the shots I got she was in a drowsy state where she was just giving me squinty eye looks that didn't turn out very nice.  She never did fall asleep but I got a couple of shots of her with her eyes closed (unfortunately one of those shots her little hand was also in front of her face).  Definitely wish I had more time with her and her brother but it is what it is....  Thanks so much for the help!  Here's what I got of her and her big brother:


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