Cheap posing tool for infants

Anyone who has ever tried to pose an infant under the age of 6 weeks knows that they are basically boneless chickens and it is difficult to pose them. When I worked in studios I always had a variety of infant posers, beanbags, pillowed baskets at my disposal. That is great if someone else is paying for it, but when it is your own nickel and you may not want to spend much.... I found that a cheap dog bed from Costco has worked as well as anything I could have bought from Denny's. They are large, which allows you to drape a large blanket/background around them, so when you crop in on the shoulders/neck or even full length, you get a continous background with no horizon lines.

I take the dog bed and fold it, laying it into a wicker chair or any chair with a low back and arms. I put a large white or black blanket on it (just in case any edges show on a full length) and follow that up with a pretty blanket that the mom has. I then have the mom lay the infant along the "fold" and tell her to lay the baby kind of on its back and kind of on its side but not really either. They always "get it" when I say that and the baby is at the perfect angle for a belly/shoulders/head shot. On its back, slightly angled toward the camera. For $20 bucks, you can't beat it.

If you do choose to go full length, don't forget to criss cross the baby's feet. It looks so much better. And remove the socks, cuz those little corn niblet toes are worth looking at. If the baby will allow it, bend his lower arm and tuck his hand behind his ear. If you have to hold the elbow briefly to keep it there, do it or have mom do it and remove it quickly before the shot. If it makes the baby mad, don't bother, but most babies will let you do it.

Here is one I covered with an American Flag and bunched the flag up around the baby. Dad was a fire fighter and he loved the shot. If I can figure out how to upload the pic that is.... If I did it over again, I'd have the baby's head back a bit further to eliminate his double chin, but whattya gonna do. You have a very limited window of opportunity with these little guys and sometimes you just gotta roll. sue

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Very sweet capture. I like to use a bean bag sometimes.. it's easy to mold into any shape you want. The dog bed is a good idea too.

I really like the concept. The baby seems too "scrunched" up to me, like the flag is swallowing the baby. Just my opinion of course. Good ideas on supports as well. I've used a Boppy covered with material as an infant support, too.

Thanks for the good idea. I like the pic too. Looks good.

ROFL

Hilarious observation! Very true, but hilarious nonetheless.
I have to o to sleep now. Oxygen deprivation is hitting my brain to hard and that comment has me rolling!!!