Newborn photography should not be full of stiff, uncomfortable and unsafe poses. My approach to newborn photos is to capture your family as you love on baby. My favorite poses for newborn photos are ones that highlight your family as you settle in with your newest family member.
These photos may feel “candid” or unscripted. You probably think that you’re not natural in front of the camera, or unsure about being in photos so soon after giving birth.
However, I guide families into poses for newborn photos that lead to natural reactions and interactions. While I guided you to take advantage of light and lead to beautiful connections, the results are fully your family.
What can you expect from a newborn photography session? I’m sharing my favorite poses for newborn photos to give you a glimpse into a session with me.
The first pose for newborn photos is “the family snuggle.”
This pose works great on the master bed or on a couch. Your family will snuggle all up together and love on baby. As you study their every detail, count her fingers and toes, smell her sweet baby smell, I will photograph your family.
This pose works whether baby is your first child or your 6th. It also works well if you have fur babies, as they can snuggle right in with you.
It also offers lots of room to get different angles while capturing various dynamics within your family. Another reason it tops my list of favorite newborn poses.
When baby is ready we lay baby on the bed for classic portraits.
This “pose” is the least posey of poses, yet it’s still a favorite pose for newborn photos. We simply lay baby on your bed. Depending on baby’s needs we may begin swaddled or unwrap to capture all of those tiny fingers and toes.
The tiny size compared to the big master bed serve as a great reference for you as you’re looking back at your photographs in years to come.
If you have a nursery we will capture your baby in their crib.
You spent time selecting a theme, picking decor, and putting together a beautiful space for baby. Even if baby has yet to spend a moment in their crib, we can capture them in it.
This is also a great time to capture the room details and a few more family photos in the nursery.
The next of my favorite poses for newborn photos is the sibling photo.
As I capture the sibling portrait of baby with their siblings (even if they are “just” fur babies), I can hear the audible squeal from parents. There’s nothing quite like seeing all of your babies together, another reason this is one of my favorite poses for newborn photos.
Once again, baby leads the way. Here, the age of your older children matter too. If they are young we can either have them lay next to each other, or have a parent helping stabilize baby in their toddlers lap.
Another favorite pose for newborn photos is baby in each parent’s arms.
During your session we will take time for each parent to love on baby alone. This allows for special portraits to show baby’s size against your partner’s chest, how tiny they looked in your arms. I guide you both into positions, but also allow you to simply hold and love on your baby.
This list of favorite poses for newborn photos was not in any specific order. Baby, other children’s needs, and mom’s comfort guides the session. Should everyone be ready to go from the start, we start with the entire family. However, if you are still getting ready we may start with your partner and baby. Should siblings need a break, we will focus on just baby. There is no set flow that I aim for. By not forcing it, everyone walks away happy while you get the photos of your family you love.
Looking to plan more for your newborn photos? Make sure you check out my other resources!
