Babies–I love to photograph them. The best part of photographing babies is that they grow and change so quickly. I love doing sessions throughout the first year so you can see the progression of a baby from newborn to a tiny walking person at one year. It is really cool to watch them grow.
One of my favorite ages/stages to photograph is when babies have mastered sitting, but do not yet crawl. They can focus their eyes really well, they can smile, they interact with you–but they can’t really move too far. The not moving too far part can never be underestimated when photographing small children.
The images in this post are all from the same session. The variations come from the clothing (or lack thereof) and the poses. The first image is a more formal image. The other two are more relaxed. Incidentally, I think this is one of the cutest ages to get a nude shot.
My goal when shooting babies is to show off their personalities as they grow–so sometimes you get a less than technically perfect shot in order to get an expression you really love. That is the challenging part of baby photography–letting go of some control and respecting a baby’s limitations. I always have a plan for a shoot, but a lot of times it will go in a totally different direction. Maybe that is really kind of a life lesson. Sometimes you need to let go of your personal agenda and let things happen. You might get a really good surprise. Working with babies can teach you a
lot.