Newborn photography : “can you make my baby smile ?

As a newborn photographer , I get asked this question often.    When I ask parents if they have a special request they usually answer “can you  take  a photo of my baby smiling in it?”and I tell them “I will try, but I cannot guarantee it!”

I totally understand why parents have that request though.  I mean, aren’t smiling  babies the cutest thing on this planet ?

The truth is…  not all babies smile during a session, but they all make cute faces which I certainly capture 100% of the time.  If baby smiles, then I can also guarantee I will take a photo of it.  I have learnt to be quick !  For safety reasons I never wear my camera around my neck when I am touching baby, but my camera is on the floor, right next to me.  Within a blink on an eye, I put my camera strap around my neck, and take a photo, LUCKY LUKE style.

These first smiles,  which we witness during a newborn photography session, happen when baby is very relaxed and content, and usually, they smile a couple of times in a row.  When that doesn’t happen, I am always happy to hang around until baby smiles again.

And sometimes you can see they  are about to smile, I don’t know how to describe it, you just learn it, then giving a gentle stroke on one check going from the mouth to the ear will bring that smile !

Another thing that helps me catch smiles in photographs is when they are entering that sleep with rapid eye movement (REM).  Their breathing changes, I always think they are chasing sheep…   They are so cute when they do this !

Here’s more smiles below.   Enjoy.  Isabelle Newborn Photography.

 

 

Isabelle is a newborn photographer based in Brisbane, Australia.

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