Newborn Photography: The Controversial New Trend

By Aimee Mahmoud

First-time parents everywhere can attest: Getting to see what your baby looks like is one of the many rewards of a usually chaotic labor. Pink-skinned, wrinkled-faced, and resembling something more like a bald Shar-Pei dog, newborn babies are something of a marvel in that they remind us of the inescapable fragility and vulnerability of life. Many new parents are keen on hiring professional photographers to help commemorate this moment, with some going so far as starting a trend that has become rather controversial in mainstream circles: newborn studio photography. Parents take their infants to photography studios specializing in this fad, where they are usually positioned in poses that they would otherwise be unable to assume naturally, owing to an infant's underdeveloped bone and muscle structure. They are then dressed up in adorable little outfits - a turtle, a ladybug, nude, etc. - and then the studio lights come flashing like something that might take them back to the moment they left the womb. 

While many professional photographers that have dedicated their careers to maternal and newborn photography take great care in assuring their subject's comfort and safety, some view this practice as a form a child abuse. It's true - the positions that these newborns are forced to assume are uncomfortable and put strain on their developing bones, the flashing camera lights are blinding to their sensitive eyes, and the outfits are just plain itchy and intrusive. Infants would much rather be at home, cradled in a pair of loving arms and enjoying a warm bottle or nipple, all in relative peace and quiet versus the commotion of a photo studio. "He was screaming and crying a lot...it was the last place he wanted to be. My wife and I felt really guilty afterwards.", says one father who decided to take his 3-day-old to a costumed photo session. 

"Having been a Newborn Photographer for 2.5 years now, I know that there is so much to know in order to have a successful session. And I should mention; a successful session, to me, isn’t just a beautiful gallery. It is a session in which the baby sleeps well, the parents are relaxed, and we all leave the session feeling excited about the entire process.", says a newborn photographer and guest blogger to the popular photography blog 'Click It Up A Notch', who states she makes a point to assure her subjects' utmost comfort.

Many would also argue that it is the parent's right to decide what is best for their children (within legal boundaries), and that naysayers should simply mind their own business if they don't know all the facts.

Controversy aside, newborn photography stuns us in a way that solemnizes the manner which all human beings (and mammals, for that matter) come into the world: Naked, disoriented, screaming, relying on others to protect and care for them till we inevitably surrender to the ravages of adulthood - and eventually find ourselves with the task of protecting and caring for a new life, carrying on with the Circle.