Favourite Dad Poses
When it comes to Dad’s and newborn babies, a lot of Dad’s feel head-over-heels in love, but also a little overwhelmed, at a loss as to what they can do, and sometimes terrified. I see so many Dad’s come into my studio with their adored newborn, but just not quite sure how the photo shoot is going to go, what they are going to do, and feel really awkward in front of the camera.
It is my job to make them feel relaxed, at ease, and help them love the experience. There is nothing better for me, then when a Dad says at the end of the session, “Wow that was so much better than I thought it was going to be. I felt really relaxed even though I was dreading this.”
So here are a few of my go-too-Dad-poses for a newborn session. They are my favourites for a number of reasons, they are simple, they show so much connection between a Dad and a Newborn, they involve little movement which helps Dad’s feel more at ease, and they perfectly show the contrast in size between a Dad and his new baby.
- Dad kissing baby whilst baby is lying on the bean bag – This is a perfect pose to start for Dad’s who are little nervous, as the baby is already posed and settled on the bean bag. All Dad has to do is come over to the bean bag, lean over and interact with their baby. I use prompts such as, “Kiss your baby; smell that babies beautiful head; touch your nose to babies nose; think about one thing you cannot wait to teach your baby; close your eyes and breath that baby smell in.” This pose can work with baby wrapped or unwrapped, posed on their back or on their tummy.
- Kisses with baby in Dad’s arms – Again this is a great one for Dad’s who are feeling unsure, awkward or a little nervous. Baby can be wrapped or unwrapped and it is an easy transition from baby on the bean bag to Dad’s arms. I make sure I place baby quite high up in Dad’s arms so that Dad can easy turn his face down towards his baby to kiss and interact with his baby. Again I use prompts such as, “Kiss your baby; smell that babies beautiful head; touch your nose to babies nose; think about one thing you cannot wait to teach your baby; close your eyes and breath that baby smell in.” If baby is awake and settled this pose can lend itself to some beautiful interactions between Dad and Baby. This pose works well if baby is wrapped or unwrapped, and again shows that beautiful contrast between Dad’s hands and the tininess of their new baby.
- Holding Baby against Dad’s chest – Some Dad’s find this a really natural way to hold their baby and others can really struggle. But when it works it is just beautiful. Make sure that baby is nice and high on Dad’s chest, just below his chin ensuring that Dad can interact with Baby from above with kisses and snuggles. This is also a great pose to bring Mum in on once you have some photos of Dad alone with Baby, and Mum can come in to cuddle with Dad and Baby.
- Baby up on Dad’s shoulder – this is the burping pose many Dad’s naturally put their babies into after a feed. It works well in just this instance during a session when Baby has had a feed and needs a little burp. Again it can work well for awake or asleep babies and really captures the connection between Baby and Dad.
- Hands – Tiny baby hand or toes and large Dad hand or finger, or just Dad’s big hands on their tiny baby. I love the contrast of these poses and for the very reluctant Dad they are perfect as the focus is purely on their hands.
Those are my favourite poses for Dad’s with newborns. Of course, there are a whole host of other poses which I do with Dad and Mum, with Dad and older siblings, and some others with just Dads and their babies but these are my go-too-poses in nearly every session. I think there is something simple, beautiful and natural about these poses, leaving the focus on the beautiful connections and bonds between these new Dad’s and their new babies.
Book in for your newborn session today.