Here we go with another safety post of what NOT to do, and how to do so safely!
Froggie pose is one of the most complex newborn poses in my opinion, but it's never to be done without hands on and as a composite.
This is an example of how not to do this pose or any similar safely, because this baby is at high risk for serious injury if she flinches, moves quickly or anything goes wrong. While not in the total "froggie" pose with the feet forward and toes showing, this baby is not safely supporting her own head. They likely put her on a pillow for more support, but the fact is that no newborn is able to support their own weight and if the assumed secure way she is currently posed moved even slightly, her head would fall and she can be seriously injured. There should always be a hand on baby at all times in this pose. Plus, her head is at a very high angle which can also be risky for cutting off her oxygen.
There is no way the photographer who is at a distance holding up a camera, or any person nearby can be fast enough to catch the baby if she falls before she's injured. She's also on a prop, meaning she has a further distance to fall completely off of and do you see the sharp corners of that prop her head would be dang near in line with?
I myself have not done this pose a lot, I have minimum requirements before I even attempt it, and with hands on but this is to show you how I recently did the pose, and baby didn't want both feet out so it was with one sided froggie toes. First, dad was right there. Second, I was supporting baby's wrists and head for the top half and then had dad holding baby's head for the bottom half of the shot, which I then put together as a composite for the final image below.
It took me a mere minute to remove dad's hand beside baby and all of 10 minutes to put these two images together to make this pose safe. It's appalling how many photographers take shortcuts and do whatever they can to get the shot without any regard to the risks they're taking for the baby. It's even worse when a lot of these photographers actually teach their methods, they actually encourage this poor practice and think they're doing anyone a favor.
Ultimately, it comes down to safety and that is and will always be my number one priority in my business no matter who I am working with and I would never ever put a baby in danger for a photo, which is why I don't do this one often.
New parents may not know these things, they may believe that the unsafe way is actually safe because the photographer told them it is, and they trust that person to know what they are doing. Just because someone does it, and nothing happens doesn't make it right and it should never be encouraged or taught to new photographers just starting out.
My message is always the same, mama's and daddy's, when you're looking for a newborn photographer, do your research, ask questions, make sure they are reputable and make sure they truly know what they're doing. I know seeing the final pretty pictures and a good price sound great, but you want to make sure your photographer actually knows what they're doing, that they're educated and trained and that they have 100% safety in mind and won't do anything less for a photo.