Boy it’s been a hot minute since I’ve shared a newborn safety message (aka rant 😝)
So I saw this photo shared in a newborn community and first and foremost, what in the actual monkey foot was the photographer thinking? I mean, any human with a brain would see this and know it’s not safe, right?
Second, the person who shared it was asking for clarification if is this unsafe?
Number 1, anyone who puts a baby in danger like this should never be allowed to handle a baby, period.
Number 2, anyone who sees this and has to ask if it’s actually safe or not, should not be allowed to handle a baby.
A lot of my clients have told me one of the main reasons they chose me is because of my passion for newborn safety and how thorough I am in everything up to and throughout the booking, session and delivery process. They appreciate my knowledge and unwillingness to bend on any of my policies, especially when it comes to posing a newborn.
I do the bucket pose often, and I have many past sessions where I or mom or dad really wanted that pose and we couldn’t do it because baby was too awake to do it safely or just not having it.
When I do this pose, I have mom or dad sitting inches away from the bucket with a hand mere inches above baby or with a hand actually on baby’s head to support it and I just do a composite to remove the hand.
It doesn’t matter how badly anyone wants a certain pose, I will never force a baby or do something so stupid as to allow baby’s head to fall over the edge like that just to get it.
Here is my view of what this pose actually looks like when taking place in my studio. If baby is wiggly, I always have a parent hand on the head. Other times, they're sitting right there with a hand just above baby's head in case they have to quickly stop any sudden movement. It takes a bit more editing yes, but in newborn photography there is just no room for shortcuts. If a photographer can't handle a little extra work, they shouldn't be working with newborns.
I know there are a lot of options when looking for a newborn photographer and safety should be the top priority on the list of requirements. Someone who is not only trained and educated in this area of photography but also experienced. It’s a practiced skill that is learned, it's not automatic.
Someone who’s just starting out and has never done any courses or had any training should not be working with newborns.
I know everyone starts somewhere but if you have no clue about the anatomy of a newborn or the technical skills to perform any pose with a newborn, or cannot confidently say you have the training and skills required and can 100% safely perform the posing, you should not be working with newborns.
I know a lot of new moms and dad’s that are looking for a newborn photographer are often price shopping as well, so more often than not this is the deciding factor and I get that it IS a factor, but it shouldn’t be THE deciding factor.
Professional photographers that have the education, training and experience are going to cost more, and they should given the investment and amount of work they’ve put in to learning this genre of photography so that they can safely and confidently offer this service.
If a photographer cannot show you proof of this and they have little to no work to show they can, they probably aren’t a good choice no matter the price.
There are thousands of educational groups, websites, forums and courses people can use, that both are free and have a cost to them. With the access we have at our finger tips these days, there is literally no excuse to still be seeing this type of dangerous behavior with newborns.
Seeing that baby's head hanging over the edge like that as it's mother would have made me fly off the handle and I would have never let that photographer touch my baby. If you feel something is not being done safely, and any photographer tells you that it is but you feel really uneasy about it, do not let them continue with your baby.
Even if a client of mine that knows I'm strict about newborn safety and would never even attempt a pose if I don't think it can be done safely said to me I don't feel comfortable with that, I would stop immediately. You as the parent have the absolute right to stop anyone from even potentially harming your baby, and from doing anything you are not comfortable with.
Unfortunately, there are no legal certifications or minimum requirements to being a newborn photographer when there should be, so anyone who picks up a camera and thinks it will be fun and super easy to work with newborns, absolutely can without and education or training.
I write these to mainly educate new parents to help them make the right decision for their newborn photos, but also to hopefully educate other photographers who already are or who may want to work with newborns, to steer them in the right direction from the start.
Moms and dad's, it's never worth the risk for a low price. If you want beautiful newborn photos that are done safely, always always choose a professional who knows what they're doing and will not bend just to get the shot. You have 9 months to prepare for a new baby, absolutely start saving and researching photographers so that when the time comes, you're able to not only afford them but are confident in your choice of photographer.
Newborn photography is an investment, but the price should never be the safety of your new baby, ever.