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What a gorgeous portrait of a newborn baby girl on a swing! This might seem a little scary to put a baby on a swing, and IT IS if you do this straight up, and I STRONGLY discourage anyone from trying to do this pose as is, because then it would be very, very dangerous!

I love taking and posting images to share of newborns that we photograph with this fun prop, but I would be amiss if I didn't tell you how it's done.

Before we photograph any newborn the very first thing that we consider is safety. It is, without a doubt, the MOST IMPORTANT aspect of our photography sessions when it comes to newborns. This image is what we call a composite. It is two or more images merged together to have the end result look like this. I would never in a million years photograph a baby laying on a swing like this straight up.

Below I am sharing the images that it took to make this photograph. A lot of time spent in post production is required to get this result.

As a matter of fact, a lot, and I mean A LOT of time is taken to even get the shot! This is not a rushed attempt; and sometimes it can take a good 30 minutes or more to get a portrait of the baby relaxing on the swing before you even take the first picture! I don't guarantee these images to my clients. Sometimes a baby may not settle, or just is not comfy lying on the swing, even though it is padded. In this instance I will not do the shot. It is not worth getting the baby, parents, and myself all flustered. That does not make for a fun session.

So, anyone considering doing this, please do it the right way, the safe way. Practice, practice, practice before you photograh a real baby on this prop. Or better yet, take some mentoring lessons from a photographer who has lots of experience at it. It is not worth the risk to take shortcuts! It's not fair to the child, the parents, or yourself, and quite frankly if you do take shortcuts.....well DON'T!!

Below you see the three images that were used to get the final image. As you can see I have spotters there at all times, and that the swing is actually resting on a firm surface with beanbags, blankets, a softness all around the perimeter of the swing bottom. Setting this shot up takes a lot of time and planning. Once ready to photograph it only takes a few shots, and we are done with that part of it.

Have fun photographing, and ALWAYS put safety above everything else. And parents, if you have a photographer in mind for your baby;s portraits and you want something like this make sure he or she is comfortable doing this, and has had practice and experience at it.

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