Special Assignment
New trend for baby photos could be dangerous
MILWAUKEE- A photo is meant to preserve a memory, not potentially injure a young child's future.
"It could be catastrophic for a new born," says Joy Vertz with Shoot the Moon Photography in Mequon.
Newborn photos capture a child's essence just days after birth. Photographers generally like to see a newborn between 5 and 12 days old. And the new trend spreading on the Internet, is to have photos as "artsy" as possible.
"I wanted something a little artsy and just kind of classic," explains one mom during a newborn photo shoot at Shoot the Moon Photography.
However, while artsy newborn photos are possible, they do come with a warning if done at home, or not done the right way.
"Babies are hanging from trees, or stuffed in jars," explains Vertz as she points to her computer screen and shows us potentially dangerous looking baby photos found all over the Internet.
Vertz says it is very important that the baby's head be supported at all times. In many of the potentially dangerous looking pictures, it does not appear that the baby's head has any support. Babies are also top heavy. Vertz explains that in many of the photos seen online, babies are sitting upright in poses that could cause the baby to fall over.
"We're having women that are pulling out their whole Pinterest page of all of their newborn poses and asking us to duplicate all of them in one session," says Vertz.
Many photos may look like something anyone could duplicate at home. However, Vertz says that is not the case.
"That's the problem with Pinterest. No one knows exactly how those images were created. They don't know that that's all Photoshop work," says Vertz.
Vertz explains she works with composites. Meaning, she takes multiple images, where the baby's head is constantly being supported with another set of hands. She then combines the photos and uses professional photo editing software to seem the images together and remove the hands from the composites. The end result is one final, adorable image. Vertz says this is a common practice among professional photographers. However, she says her clients still bring in many images found online, that she simply does not believe ever should be done with infants.
"When I explain to my clients that I don't want to see anything hurt their baby they usually understand and we will get something else that is just equally as beautiful," says Vertz. the right way.
Before trying to take newborn photos at home, or when choosing a professional photographer it is important to do your research. Many photographers, like Alex Villaseñor, document their safety techniques through their blogs. The online store, shootbaby.com, also showcases how to take safe baby photos.
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