One Newborn Pose, Multiple Photos

One Newborn Pose, Multiple Photos

When a newborn is comfortably settled into a pose, I don’t immediately move on to the next one. Instead, I’ll usually take a little time to work around the baby and see what else I can find from that setup – different angles, distances, compositions and little details.

In other words, I like to milk the pose dry. 😄

The baby may stay in exactly the same position, but the photographs don’t have to look the same.

Why this works particularly well with newborns

Newborns aren’t exactly the easiest subjects to direct.

You can’t ask a baby to hold a position while you change the angle, then wait patiently for the next pose. So when a baby is settled and comfortable, I’d rather work around them than unnecessarily disturb them just to create another photograph. That doesn’t mean staying in one pose for the entire session. I use plenty of different poses and setups throughout a newborn session.

It simply means I try to get what I can from each one before moving on. This helps create variety while keeping the session baby-led.

It’s not just about taking more photographs

There’s a difference between taking several photographs and creating several different photographs. If I photographed the same pose from exactly the same position, with exactly the same framing, ten times, you’d probably end up with a pretty repetitive gallery.

That’s not what I’m after.

Instead, I’m looking for small changes that make each photograph worthwhile:

• A wider frame to show the overall setup
• A closer portrait to focus on the face
• A different angle that changes the light or background
• A detail of tiny fingers, toes or other little features
• A different expression or fleeting moment from the baby

The differences can be subtle or they can completely change the feel of the photograph. That’s one of the things I enjoy about newborn photography. The best photograph sometimes isn’t the one I had in mind when I first set up the pose. I only find it after moving around and looking at the baby from a different perspective.

And sometimes the baby simply does something unexpected that makes me want to keep the camera there for another moment.

There’s no magic number

Some poses give me three or four photographs I really like.

Others might give me six, seven or more.

I don’t go into a pose thinking I have to get a certain number of images from it. I simply keep looking until I feel I’ve got what I need.

The important part is recognising when there’s something worth photographing – whether that comes from a change in perspective, a little detail, the way the light falls, or simply what the baby happens to do in that moment.

So rather than thinking:

Pose → one photograph → next pose

I prefer:

Pose → explore → photograph → photograph → photograph → move on when I’ve got what I need.

This way, the baby can stay comfortable and I can keep looking.

Curious to see how this approach fits into a full newborn session?

Take a look at my Newborn gallery or Newborn packages. to see more of how I work.