Newborn Poses Guaranteed To Delight New Parents (Pt. 2)

Chaya Braun has photographed 500+ babies with her super-simple newborn poses. Learn her approach and give your clients a lifetime of memories! (Written and photographed by CHAYA BRAUN | Part 2 of 3)

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Newborn Poses Guaranteed To Delight New Parents (Pt. 2)

Newborn poses are vastly different from all other poses – if only because, for the first few weeks of life, newborns cannot hold their heads upright. This necessitates a specialized approach to making portraits of new babies.

Perhaps unexpectedly, the true magic of these beautiful newborn portraits happens behind the scenes.

By combining the top two photos into the single composite image beneath, Chaya creates the appearance of a baby resting their chin in their hands. | Photos by Chaya Braun

Small Tools for Small People

Hidden from the camera by baby blankets and tiny torsos, you will find an array of posing beans and washcloths. These small tools effectively create a curved surface where the baby can comfortably relax.

Elevate the baby’s head to keep attention on their face. | Photos by Chaya Braun

Every Baby Has A Personality

Newborns are individual little people with preferences – just like the rest of us! Occasionally, a baby refuses to lay on their stomach, or won’t curl up in a basket no matter how patiently I try. I have never, however, met a baby who “hates being swaddled.”

Some of my new moms insist that their bundles of joy detest being swaddled. I’ve found, however, that all babies enjoy a professional swaddle.

Start Your Session with These Newborn Poses

I usually start my sessions with the “chin on hands” pose. The baby is wearing their diaper covered with a flowing piece of fabric.

Safe, Sound, & Photoshopped

When a sleeping newborn is posed in a bucket, I always make sure to have a parent or assistant within arm’s reach, just in case the baby decides to wake up and move out of their safe, comfortable pose.

The popular “froggy” newborn poses are always completed through Photoshop composites. This ensures that infants never have to support the weight of their head in their tiny arms.

Beneath every baby is a mound of comfy cushions to support tiny heads, necks, and limbs. | Photos by Chaya Braun

Snuggly Poses

The “womb pose” is also known as the “taco pose,” since the baby is folded in half like a taco! Generally, I only use this pose with infants who are calmly sleeping. For newborn poses like this one, the baby’s hands and feet must be in exactly the right place. If a baby wakes up easily, I don’t attempt this setup.

Once a newborn’s ten tiny toes are tucked under their chest in true “taco” fashion, this portrait is a real heart warmer. There’s nothing quite like seeing a brand new baby all curled up, just like they were in their womb environment!

Clever camera angles make the baby’s face prominent as their little torso curls into the background. | Photos by Chaya Braun

Newborn Poses for Sleepyheads & Wide-Eyes

The “Huck Finn” pose is another one of my favorite poses. It works well for both awake and sleeping newborns, so you’ll find a “Huck Finn” portrait in most of my galleries.

For this simple, elegant portrait, I swaddle newborns in a strip of fabric that matches the blanket beneath them. When the blanket and swaddle match, the eye goes directly to the baby. This classic portrait showcases the newborn without any competing props.

I leave sleeping babies’ hands uncovered so you can admire their tiny fingers. When babies are awake, however, they tend to suck on their hands. In that case, I swaddle their hands and leave their tiny toes out instead. For more variety, I will often add a teddy bear or little knitted animal for the baby to hold.

Newborn Poses with the Parents

While an infant is gently resting in a nearby carrier, I demonstrate how the parents should position their hands to hold their baby.

In photos of parents with their baby, there should always be three points of contact.

For optimal safety, the baby is supported by two adult hands and cuddled against a parent’s chest. Sometimes, I use a newborn-sized teddy bear to demonstrate exactly where I will place the baby in the parents’ arms.

Three point of contact keep the baby secure. | Photos by Chaya Braun

Even Babies Are Sassy & Strong-Willed

Most of my infant clients happily settle into my poses. Occasionally, however, I photograph a very active newborn baby, or an “older newborn” who refuses to cooperate. No worries! Though I can never guarantee specific newborn poses, I do guarantee my clients a gorgeous gallery.

Recently, I photographed a three-month-old who had been hospitalized for the first 10 weeks of her life. I kept her swaddled for the entire session, with only her cute little fingers or toes occasionally peeking out of her wrap. This resulted in a magnificent gallery for her grateful mom!

This “Huck Finn” pose is maintained with professional swaddling and thoughtful padding. | Photos and newborn poses by Chaya Braun

Whenever I’m working on a pose and the newborn baby is clearly refusing to cooperate, I tell my clients, “Your baby’s comfort is more important than any specific pose or photo” – and they always heartily agree.

How to get the most out of your ShootProof gallery

Did you know that ShootProof offers many ways to empower your customers, and make them feel comfortable every step of the way?

Here’s how!

#1: Custom privacy settings

Ensure your client galleries are protected from the public eye by requiring your clients to input a password before being able to view and download their images.

This allows your client to only share what they are comfortable sharing, like those sweet little baby tooshies.

With the “Hide” feature, your seniors can decide how much they want to reveal when they share their gallery with friends and family.

#2: Hide specific photos

The “Hide” feature allows parents to control which photos won’t be shared publically. This means when anyone else sees the images, they will NOT see the images that the client has hidden from view.

#3: Contracts

ShootProof’s Contracts tool empowers photographers to run their most efficient photography business yet! We have senior contracts ready for you to send your clients today!

Did you know that clients can also print with ShootProof?

Printing with ShootProof is easier than ever with our professional partner labs!

You have options to self-fulfill, where your clients order through you and then you place the order with your favorite lab, OR, your clients can order directly with one of our integrated labs!

Check out our professional partners here:

• BayPhoto
• Miller’s Professional Imaging
• WHCC
• Black River Imaging
• MPIX
• Richard Photo Lab
• Loxley Color (UK, Europe and Mexico)
• Atkins Pro Lab (Australia and New Zealand)
• HC Pro (Australia and New Zealand)
• GTA Imaging (Canada)
• Print Refinery (Canada)
• Technicare (Canada)

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Written and photographed by: CHAYA BRAUN and the ShootProof Team

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Missed Part 1 of this newborn series? Read it HERE!