Traditional, Classic and Timeless. That’s how I describe my style, pictures you can share with your grandparents and grandchildren. The infant at the top of this post is a good example of this principle. Her father had similar poses done of him at this age and the posing will look good when she shows these to her grandchildren. These have been standard poses for an infant her age for generations. The child is alert, engaged, and looks like a real person. She is. Even at six weeks she is displaying some of the personality she will develop in the coming months and years.
The full length pose is pretty basic. I usually prop up the child with the mother’s arm underneath the blankets. It works better than any commercially available baby poser. It is infinitely adjustable, responds to voice commands and has built in safety features. It just requires a calm mother or other assistant that has confidence in the commands. This child may have been propped up with a couple pillows behind the blankets. It works about the same but without the fore mentioned benefits.
I only use infant seats when the parent insists. If the mother does not have the ability to prop up the baby I have another system that works well.
The tummy pose is a little trickier but it is sometimes easier on the nerves of a new mother. The mother may feel like she has more control. Our standard posing blocks are under the blankets for a little padding but the top surface should not be too soft. The mother’s right arm is under the baby’s bottom, completely adjustable, responds to voice commands and has built in safety features. It is important that the top surface not be too soft. The baby will usually try to raise up on their arms and you do not want them to sink into the surface. That is what makes the pose work. If you try to support the baby with a hand underneath their chest it is not as comfortable and it usually doesn’t work well. Try it both ways. An infant even a few days old will often raise up their head just enough to make it work, if they have something firm enough to push up on. A two month old will almost always do it well.
Of course this is a bare bones description of these poses. But it will give you an idea of how to proceed. It took me many infants to make it work smoothly even though I had hands on instruction by a number of experienced photographers. Be patient and don’t get in a hurry.
One last thing. The mother is beside the baby to her left. The baby is looking at the photographer. It would make this post much too long to explain that now.
In a future post I will explain how I work with babies and even wake them up. Yes, I wake up babies for a living, a skill most of us don’t try to develop as parents.