Variety is my goal for newborn sessions. From blanket poses to bucket poses, wrapped to parent poses, not to mention a plethora of props. To get this variety a sleepy baby is a must. When a baby fights sleep, I do whatever I can to soothe them and get them back to sleep. Some babies cannot be soothed no matter what I try so I turn to wrapping. The wrap is a fancy swaddle that helps them feel like they are once again in the womb. Most fall asleep shortly after wrapping and stay calm throughout their session.
This sweet girl was a newborn who needed a lot of soothing. I began with naked blanket poses. I had an array of pink and peach fabrics, along with a multitude of tiebacks and hats that I was excited to shoot on her. Unfortunately, she was not thrilled about being posed. I tried her on her side, her tummy, and her back. Although she was most comfortable on her side, she never quite settled. My next trick was wrapping, which did the trick. She calmed and slept well. However, her mom wanted one pose above all others and that was on her tummy naked.
Unfortunately her tummy was the one position she fought me on. It took a bit of time and a lot of soothing, but I managed to capture one image of her. We finished with an attempt at her in a bucket next to some lilacs. I say attempt, because each time I tried to remove her pacifier she was very unhappy. So I did what any Photoshop loving photographer would do and Photoshopped her pacifier out. It worked like a charm. Although she wasn’t a sleepy baby, she was beautiful while sleeping.
