Newborn Photography Poses: Part 1
Newborn photography poses. What are they? When doing a posed newborn session, your photographer will most probably put your baby into all different poses to get a variety of look and angles. There seems to be so many different types of Newborn photography poses, so let’s break down some of them and see what they look like! This is part one and we will continue with Part 2 at a later date. Obviously every photographer will have their own variation of these poses, so keep that in mind when looking though this list!
Newborn Photography Poses: Taco
Ok, the Taco or womb pose is when baby has his or her feet folded underneath them and their little tiny toes are peeking out. Some babies have them under the elbow, as seen in the image above, while others are able to fold them all the way under the chin. The reason this Newborn Photography Pose is called the womb pose, is because this is how many babies are in their mothers womb! Not every baby is able to do this pose. It really depends on how old they are and if they’re still lose limbed or not. When the baby does do it though, it’s so stinkin cute!
Newborn Photography Poses: Bum Up
Bum up, or tushie up pose is when the bum is up and the feet are crossed underneath lifting it higher into the air. Parents love this newborn photography pose because it shows off baby’s rolls to perfection. Photographers love this pose because you can vary it up pretty easily and get a lot of different images to fill a gallery. Using a wrap or layer, this pose can look totally different, and that’s one of the great things about it! Also this pose can be done clothed or naked, but either way looks super sweet!
Newborn Photography Poses: Bucket
Now there are 2 different ways to pose baby in a bucket. This newborn photography pose is always a parent favorite. The image above shows you how a baby looks wrapped in a bucket. (He also happens to be making the cutest face!) The second way is when baby has their arms out in front of them and they’re resting their head on their arms. That bucket pose is also super cute!!! The wrapped bucket pose can be done when baby is awake or asleep, but most baby’s will not do the head on hands bucket pose if they’re not sleeping. They would just continually startle themselves out of the pose.
Newborn Photography Poses: Head on arms
This pose is super sweet because it focuses on babies face, doesn’t she look so delicious? This newborn photography pose, especially for girls is easy to vary just by changing out the headband for a bonnet or visa versa. I love how this pose shows off babies squishy little cheeks and lips! This is also a great pose to take macro images with…getting all those tiny little details is so important! Similar to the head on hands bucket pose, this can really (usually) only be accomplished if baby is sleeping.
Newborn Photography Poses: Tucked in
Tucked in pose is exactly what it sounds like. The baby is tucked into a blanket and they look so sweet a cuddly. This can work for babies who are both awake or sleeping. When the baby is awake, I will either wrap them up, like the image above, or I will get the parents hands involved. If baby is sleeping we can do more of a variety and pull their hands out, or use a sheer over layer to show off their cute limbs all curled up. This is also a great pose to incorporate a stuffed animal of other little item to add texture and variety to the image.
I love incorporating parents hands in many newborn photography poses, because it shows just how tiny and precious their little baby is!
In general when talking about Newborn photography poses, wrapped poses are so much easier to manage because baby feels more secure and the photographer is not dealing with flailing limbs. But if baby is super sleepy, then getting those naked images is always my favorite part of the session. They show off the perfection of the baby, from the rolls to the toes and all the tiny little parts in between.
Some newborn photography poses are more challenging then others. As always, safety needs to come first, and if you as a parent don’t think you baby is safe, then make sure to speak up. Fellow photographers, if you are new to this genre of photography, please be aware that many newborn photography poses are done as composites and are not what they seem. The safety of the baby must take priority over everything!