7 Great Poses with Your Newborn You Can Do at Home

Most cutsie poses should be left to the experience photographer but here is a list of poses you can try, no experience needed.

Before you get into it, here is a small disclaimer:

1. Babies (much like myself) lose heat really quickly. (My husband would argue that I never developed the ability to produce heat. And I concede). Make sure the room is warm.

2. For some poses you may need the help of an assistant. Babies quickly move out of place and certain poses, queue assistant. You can sort out your camera while your trusty plus-one makes sure baby is comfy and in place.

3. Take photos early in the day – everyone works better after a nights’ rest and full stomach.

4. A general rule of thumb is the plainer the clothes the better the photo. It’s not a hard rule but take your and baby’s clothes into consideration.

Swaddled Newborn

Your midwife will show you how to do this before you return home and it is truly the easiest pose. Photographers generally use a bean bag to rest babies against, but you can use a small rolled up towel hidden under a blanket to support baby.

Prop shots

Simply place baby on his/her back in any well-padded prop. Baskets, boxes, buckets all work well. You can either dress baby up or cover baby with a blanket.

Side view

Place baby on his/her side. If you want, you can tuck both their hands in under their cheek.

Pokey toes

Wrap baby up so that their toes are pocking out. Take the photo showing the underside of their feet or only the top of their toes.

Details

Look for details. Toes, nose, mouth, folds in their skin or wrinkles next to their eyes all make good photos.

Parent + baby

Baby can be wrapped up, naked or dressed up. Rest baby’s head on your chest-shoulder area, you can then either rest your cheek on baby’s head or lean in for a kiss.

Sibling + baby

The easiest is to have both kids lie on their back on a bed, baby resting his head on their older siblings’ arm. Or the older sibling can lie on their side gazing at baby. The older sibling can also sit with their legs crisscrossed in front of them and have baby sleeping on their lap.

There are a gazillion poses you can try, but all you really need are the basics. Add some variations and you are good to go.