Newborn photography posing

What newborn photography poses can be achieved in your newborn session?

Whether you are new to newborn photography and researching newborn photography posing ideas or have booked in a newborn session and are looking into the different styles of newborn photography you prefer, this article will help you see what can be achieved in a newborn session. Before my sessions I always ask my clients to email me about 3 photos of mine that they love from my instagram, facebook or website, this gives an idea of the style and colours they prefer. You have to keep in mind as well that all babies are different and not all babies will feel comfortable in every pose. It’s important that newborn sessions are baby led and your work flow will depend on the individual newborn baby you are photographing.

Here is a list of all the things I am going to cover in this blog, I hope they will give you lots of newborn photography posing ideas!

• Different poses for baby on bean bag
• Posing baby in props
• Using accessories within your newborn photography poses
• Photographing babies features
• posing newborn twins

It’s also important to try and be creative and photograph different angles when you are photographing each pose. You can photograph from above and the sides and zoomed in and zoomed out to get the most out of each pose.

How to pose newborns on Beanbags

There are lots of newborn poses that can be achieved on newborn posing beanbags. You can create some beautiful images which concentrate on the newborns features such as their eyes, toes, feet, mouth and ears. It’s good to create a newborn photography workflow which will transition the baby from one pose to another without disturbing the baby as much. Newborn transitional posing is key to getting the most out of your session! Here is a short video of Ana Brandt using transitional posing on a bean bag and in a prop for one of her sessions – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuiCLCbQmhs. Below is a list of the baby posing positions that I would try and work through in a newborn photoshoot. You can use this as a newborn flow posing guide or if you are a parent see what poses you would like for you baby photos.

• The side lay pose
• bottom up pose on belly
• Taco pose
• Laying on Back pose
• Hand under chin pose
• wrapped poses
• potato sack pose
• froggy poses

Side pose

This pose may be one of the most popular baby posing positions. If you are new to newborn photography I would start with this pose, you can get some beautiful images concentrating on the newborns features without any props. The best way to do this pose it to have the hand under the face/cheek as this is how it’s comfy for them, usually they will tell you if they are not comfy and wiggle around a a little un till they are. I love this pose as you can get some really close up cute photos as well. With this pose you can also add some cute hair bands, hats and props such as teddies and hearts as you can see below.

On the belly bum up

This pose is also quite similar to the newborn pose baby laying on the side. You turn them onto their front so they are lying on their belly with their bottoms facing up. You can transition into this pose quite well from the first one and its a very popular pose with parents. Not all parents will want the bottom showing so you can easily keep the nappy on and use a nappy cover or drape over some material. As you can see from the photos you can also add hairbands and hats like before and get creative with props as I have with the petals and angel wings.

Hands under chin pose

Posing baby with the hands under the chin is a very popular pose and I love doing this pose for newborn photos. Their little squishy cheeks looks so cute! You have to make sure you have the front of the bean bag raised with a posing cushion, then you can get them into position. Every baby is different and some babies may not rest their head in the middle and prefer to go to the side which is just as cute. Alway make sure you have a spotter close by, I usually have one of the parents next to the baby to hold the head while we are getting the baby posed and into position. You can see below I have edited the mums hand out as she was supporting the babies head.

Froggy pose

Posing a newborn in the froggy pose is quite a difficult pose and shouldn’t be attempted unless the photographer has been trained in Newborn safety. The baby must be very sleepy to achieve this pose and not every baby will feel comfortable with it, so it should not be forced. When you get this pose right I love it and the photos are adorable. It’s best to try and get the fingers not scrunched up on the face for best results, although this can be very hard sometimes as these babies have their own little personalities. I always have the parents help me with the froggy pose as the baby can not simply sit in the froggy pose on their own, they need support.

The froggy pose is actually 2 photos merged together in photoshop, I take one photo holding the babies hand together under their chin, then another photo holding the top of the head. Below is a video of me editing the froggy pose so you can see how its done.

Newborn photography pose – The taco pose

The newborn pose can be followed on from the froggy pose, its quite a new easy pose to lead onto for a newborn baby and they look really cute with their hands around their faces. You can add wraps and hair bands to create some different looks for this pose.

Potato sack pose

Posing a baby in the potato sack pose can look really cute, you have to make sure they have good support around them. You should wrap the baby nice and cosy, if its a larger baby you can use two wraps to get a more rounder effect. I always use a nice fluffy rug and fluff it up around the newborn baby, you can use either posing pillow or a bowl under the rug to get this pose. Again you should always have spotter next to the baby with their hand on them or above them, adding some little props like teddy bears is always a nice effect!

Fully wrapped posed

The wrap around pose

The wrap around is a cute and simple newborn pose that can show the babies hands and feet as well. You can get some close ups of these features, I always try and photograph this at different angels like all the other poses to give you a selection for your gallery. How adorable are these babies and this is a natural simple pose to achieve.

Posing a newborn with props

I love buying new props for my studio, there are so many different props you can get. The main ones are baskets, bowls, beds, cribs and Buckets. etc. There are a lot of different wraps and positions that you can do when posing your baby in a prop. If you are new to newborn photography the easiest one I would say is wrapped up in a basket or bowl and photographed from above. One of my favourites is baby in a bucket, I just think its so cute! Remember to add different hair bands and hats to mix it up a bit.

Newborn twins

When I photograph twins I usually start with them wrapped as I would a normal session. I would get some photos of them each separately wrapped and then together and also do the same in some props. I love using the soft wool to wrap them in! Posing newborn twins on a bean bag can be quite difficult if you are new to newborn photography, make sure you have a spotter next to them. The baby feet with the hearts is always a must for me which i try to capture, their toes are the most adorable thing.

I offer 10% off newborn packages if you have booked in a maternity session with me. You can find the Maternity information here – https://jocovephotography.co.uk/maternity-packages/

contact me at info@jocovephotography.co.uk to book your Maternity session.

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Newborn & Maternity photography workshop – with Ana Brandt & Aoife Millea

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