If you are considering a career in Newborn and Maternity Photography, or have recently started, I’ve put together a list of unique challenges you may encounter on your journey to being a master of your trade.
Most of these challenges may not be familiar to even an experienced photographer if they have not practiced Newborn Photography, as they are quite unique and mainly involve human traits and not technical challenges.
All the examples listed here are not intended to dissuade a novice newborn photographer but to warn them as to what they may encounter, so they can prepare themselves when, or if, they find themselves in a similar situation.
Nervous Parents
I’ve had a few clients, particularly parents with their first child, that were worried the strobe flash could harm their baby.
I had to show them that the flash was not very intense and that the large size of the umbrella was to produce a very soft light. The lesson here is to educate the clients so hopefully they will relax and let you work without them being anxious.
One client did not want me to use my strobe, but you can imagine how poor the images would look if you let the clients dictate how you take your shots. This will only cause more issues post shoot when the images are not up to the standard they were expecting.
When positioning a baby in a pose a certain amount of handling is essential to make the resulting image as perfect as possible, but unfortunately one couple objected to me handling the baby too much which severely reduced the quality of the photo session.
They spent the entire session standing behind me every time I re-posed the baby. That was my “nightmare” session. Because the parents were tense, I rushed, my images suffered, and I was unable to do all my poses.
Fortunately these situations are very rare and the majority of clients are a delight to work with. In fact, I’ve had a few clients who came into my newborn photography studio, handed me their baby, and then went to sleep on my reclining sofa. Everyone’s a winner!
Read this blog post to learn how to choose a Newborn Photographer.
Older Siblings
Taking pictures of the baby with family members can be one of the easier, more relaxing stages of the session, as long as everyone is co-operative, which is not always the case when the baby has a slightly older sibling.
Generally speaking you will have no problems if the child is 4 years or older, but younger children, toddlers specifically, can be a challenge. Anyone who has had children of their own will know exactly how stubborn and difficult they can be.
You may find that the biggest effect a toddlers tantrum has is on the parents. They can get very stressed and it can show in the photos. They are so busy trying to get the child to look at the camera they can forget to smile or it just shows in their body language.
The trick here is to plan ahead and let the parents know before the session how you want to schedule the family shots. A good approach is to leave the sibling shots to the end and get them done as quickly as possible.
Also, if possible, have the client arrange for a close family relative to show up with the child at a prearranged time and involve the child immediately, a few quick shots and “boom”, it’s done. A small bribe usually works if the child hesitates.
Premature babies
Unfortunately a few of your clients may have issues with their pregnancy, a baby being born prematurely is something you should expect to happen occasionally.
The main issue with this is that these babies can be prone to infection and extra steps should be taken over and above the normal cleaning routine.
If the parents decide that they still want to visit your (home) photography studio to have the session, then you should give your studio a thorough clean before they arrive. One product I use on hard surfaces are Cavi wipes. These are strong disinfecting wipes that kill just about any potential infection.
You should always let the client know that you cannot guarantee that your studio will be sterile and they should always listen to the advice they have been given from their doctor. So the decision for them to visit your studio is their decision alone.
Assistant troubles
Having an assistant with you during a shoot can be extremely helpful, they will be able to “spot” the baby while you are setting up your shot or while you are selecting a wrap or prop. It also lets the parents relax and just watch the process.
Alternatively some photographers just go it alone and get the parents to help when needed, it all depends on what you prefer, both ways can work fine.
If you do want the help of an assistant you may find it quite difficult to find someone who has a flexible enough schedule to help you whenever needed.
There is also the issue of having to budget for paying them, something which may be difficult, especially if you are just starting out in business.
One issue I came across was with sharing an assistant with another photographer, the assistant was keen to work for both of us, but the other photographer was not.
Obviously something had to come to a head, the end result was me having to find another assistant, mainly to just avoid all the drama!
Dealing with poop
You probably won’t be surprised to learn that babies poop on your sheets and wraps. A lot of the poses have to be done with the baby naked, leaving on the diaper is not always an option if you want that perfect image.
However there are some ways of minimizing the chance of having to wipe down your wall. The obvious approach is to leave the diaper on for as long as possible and only remove it when necessary. Pet and puppy training pads are a necessity to protect all of the blankets under the top layer.
When your favorite blankets and wraps get stained you will have to have a reliable process in place to get them clean, ready for your next session.
I remove poop stains from my materials by using a pre-treatment stain remover, combined with scrubbing with an old toothbrush, then machine washing with stain removing powder along with the usual baby sensitive washing detergent.
I use oxi-clean products, these have worked the best for me. For really stubborn stains the material can be soaked in water with the stain remover prior to machine washing.
Unsettled babies
Having a sleeping baby during your newborn session is the ideal situation, but quite occasionally you will, for whatever reason, encounter a baby that is fussy and will not sleep. Although this can make the session a lot more work, it shouldn’t mean that the quality of your images should suffer.
Prior to any newborn shoot, the temperature of your studio should be raised to about 77 degrees fahrenheit or 25 degrees celsius. This is the ideal temperature to keep a naked newborn baby comfortable.
The baby should be fed just prior to the session to make it as sleepy as possible, when that is done and if the baby is still awake, the first approach I take is to swaddle the baby with a wrap and try to rock it to sleep.
Gently tapping the baby rhythmically with your fingers on its forehead can help as well. Tapering off the tapping slowly as the baby falls asleep. Practice makes perfect and you will soon become a baby sleep whisperer.
Not all babies will fall asleep, which is fine, as long as it’s not upset and is content. In fact, this will give you some good opportunities to get images of the baby with different awake facial expressions.
The downside may be the lack of opportunity to get naked shots, because a swaddled baby is generally more content and less likely to cry, but it will just be a case of making the best of what you can get and adapting each session to the individual baby’s mood.
Pets
Including pets in your newborn photography sessions is a topic you need to decide on before anyone asks you if you allow it.
If you work from your own studio you may want to keep your work space pet free or if you travel to a client’s home to do your photography, you may decide not to include pets for many other reasons.
If this is the case then you should be prepared to say no, and make sure you include this in your contract.
Taking pictures of a baby with a pet, usually a dog, can be very frustrating because the dog very rarely sits still, you may only have a split second to get your shot.
Also, experience suggests that even well behaved dogs are usually too interested in exploring your studio than lying still. I have lost count how many times I’ve heard the owners saying, “he’s not usually like this”, or even worse,” I’m so sorry, he doesn’t do that at home”.
I’ve dealt with this in the past by using a strategy similar to dealing with a sibling, that is to get the husband to bring the dog at a prearranged time and have the pet in the studio just long enough to get a few shots.
I have recently started only allowing dogs during a maternity shoot when they are outdoors, this way the client gets to include the pet in their images and I keep them out of my studio.
Personal props
Parents will often request to include items in their newborn session that have some meaning to them and their family.
Small items, jewelry for example, are ideal and can look perfect and complement the image really well. But occasionally parents will request to include items that are not practical, and sometimes border on ridiculous.
One example that springs to mind is trying to fit a golf bag into a shot, also incorporating toy plastic food and a cookbook. That last image ended up looking more like a product photo than a newborn image.
The best approach I have taken is to only allow small items and limit the amount of shots that you will include them in. Hopefully as you improve your newborn photography you will develop your own style and techniques and that they will not involve using clients props.
With this in mind you have to consider how other potential customers view your work. You don’t want to put prop pictures on your website because the only people who will like those images are the parents of that child.
Also a large percentage of your customers can come from referrals so you need to consider that every gallery of images you give to a customer is potentially an advertisement for your business.
So when someone makes a request to use their own props, whether it is an item like a toy, or baby clothes, consider the effect it may have when other potential customers view your newborn portfolio.
Emotionally sensitive mothers
This is an issue that I have never seen mentioned anywhere before, but seemed really obvious after encountering it myself.
I would guess most female photographers would be able to relate to and take into consideration how it can feel after recently giving birth.
New mothers may be emotionally fragile and feel conscious of how they will look in a photograph, for example, they may be carrying a little extra weight after their pregnancy.
This is where effective posing techniques will pay off when doing the family shots. This is another topic in itself and an area which you will have to learn as you improve your skills.
Mothers that have had a c-section can have difficulty with their mobility and will be in discomfort, so consideration and planning will be needed when you are taking shots of the mother and baby together.
Some of these issues you will have to deal with a lot, others very rarely. You will soon learn your own ways of handling the common pitfalls and the rest are so rare they certainly won’t be deal breakers.
I hope this article has prepared you for some of the more unique challenges of being a newborn photographer.