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The Photo Argus

Fresh photography ideas, useful tips and creative inspiration.

30 Adorable Examples of Baby Photography

February 21, 2021 · Steph Nelson

Newborn and baby photography has become a booming industry with all kinds of props, outfits, and gear for photographers to use. Although some of these accessories can be useful, the photographer is still the most important factor for getting great baby photos. Whether you’re photographing newborns or capturing cake smash photos at birthday parties for one-year-olds, a the photographer’s experience, forethought, and planning are all essential for a successful baby photo shoot.

While there are big differences between newborns and older babies, all ages and personalities share one quality in common: unpredictability. Even the most peaceful newborn can have an “off” day, and a baby who cries a lot may still have a sudden sweet smile. This unpredictability can be exciting or intimidating. It just depends on how you approach the shoot.

Paul Shears – hanging Around
Paul Shears - baby on swing

With so much unpredictability, you might be tempted to take a spontaneous approach. “Let’s just see what happens,” you might think. However, spontaneity rarely leads to perfect baby portraits.

In fact, the best strategy is to plan more, not less. For the greatest chance of success, you need to consider and prepare for all kinds of scenarios. This can be daunting for the first shoot, but it’ll get easier every time.

Planning is especially important for newborn photo shoots. Although sleepy newborns can sometimes be easy to work with, they do require extra supplies and special precaution. For instance, it’s best to avoid wearing perfume or cologne when photographing newborns, as their sense of smell is quite sensitive. Likewise, you’ll want to have a space heater and/or warm blankets nearby, since their tiny bodies get cold very quickly.

Most importantly, you need to be extremely careful when posing newborns. As a newborn photographer, you’re fully responsible for the baby’s safety. While the parents can help with soothing and comforting, they rely on you for safe posing. If you’re not careful or well-prepared, you can end up injuring the fragile newborn with unsafe poses.

To safely get cute photos of newborns, you can choose to either use easy, natural poses, or create unique poses with editing software like Photoshop. This article on HuffPost gives examples of newborn portraits that were made possible with clever editing and photography.

Newborn and Baby Photos

For more guidance on how to have a smooth (and safe!) newborn photo shoot, check out these 5 Tips to a Stress-Free Newborn Photo Session. Then, for inspiration, look through the following photos selected from our fantastic Flickr community.

Line and Roots Photography

 

Floyd Fajardo – Carter
Floyd Fajardo baby portrait

Michael Minella – Baby Feet
Michael Minella - Baby Feet

Keri M – My Sweet Nephew
sleeping baby

jordan parks – finn and winnie
winnie the pooh

jordan parks – in the kitchen
baby in the kitchen

jordan parks – playtime
jordan parks - playtime baby

aminefassi – Focused Baby
Focused Baby

Carina – Happy to be 2 weeks old
baby smile

Shamini – Innocence of Childhood
baby kiss

Manuel Buetti – Straighten
Manuel Buetti crooked picture

Floyd Fajardo – Smiley
Floyd Fajardo baby on wheel

Mariano Colombotto – Love
Mariano Colombotto - Love

jordan parks – boy and dog
jordan parks - boy and dog

jordan parks – 8 1/2 months
jordan parks - 8 1/2 months baby

Michael Minella – Snow Angel
Michael Minella - Snow Angel

jordan parks – finnegan
jordan parks baby portrait

jordan parks – dreams
jordan parks sleeping baby

jordan parks – the grandson
jordan parks - grandson

jordan parks – finnegan
jordan parks - newborn baby

Ana Lukascuk – Untitled
Ana Lukascuk - baby feet

Michael Minella – Addison B&W
Michael Minella - baby portrait black and white

Theresa Knudsen – Leo
Theresa Knudsen baby portrait

alexgphoto – A Mother’s Touch
smiling baby

Christopher – Meet Colin: Newborn {6.9.12}
newborn baby

Michael Minella – Addison in Bev’s Hat
baby in big hat

Kelley Rood – Newborn Portrait – Sleeping sweetly…
 Newborn Portrait sleeping

Carina – Let me sleep 5 min more
sleeping baby

Paul Shears – My Son: Will Shears
Paul Shears - baby portrait

Carina – exhausting to be 2 weeks old
sleeping baby girl

Conclusion

We hope that these newborn images above inspire your shoots.  Whether you’re a new mom looking to DIY your newborn photography or a seasoned pro looking for more ideas or tips, we thank you for reading!

Filed Under: Inspiration

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