This might very well be the most controversial topic I’ve ever attempted to confront on this blog. I first want to make it clear that by discussing this issue I mean no disrespect towards any of you and only want to encourage newborn photographers (and all photographers) to reconsider what portrait photography is supposed to be about: illustrating the character of your subjects.
We live in an age where cameras have become the most available means of self expression. How wonderful that our memories can be so easily captured, enhanced, and shared. Looking back through history, photography and portrait photography has quickly evolved from a mysterious challenge into a race to create the most original images. When I first started to pursue this as a career, I became confused in my motivations (I write about this in my ebook “It’s Your Atmosphere” and explore this in my classes / mentorships as well). I wanted to be a great artist, to be unique, to stand out. I think that’s what we all want as artists, at some point in our journey. My work quickly started to gain attention on my deviantART account where one of my self portraits now has over 40,000 views, and on my old Flickr account (which was deleted for promoting my sites, but had over 600,000 views in just 2.5 years). What more could an artist ask for than to have so much positive feedback?!
But the desire to appeal to my audience started to hinder my true performance as an artist, where, since I was a child, have created from a place of deep honesty and a place where I longed to evolve spiritually and gain more understanding about the world and about people. To express real emotions. When I realized that acceptance had taken the lead in my artistic pursuits, my entire focus shifted. I started to ask myself why I create all over again. It was painful to admit some of the things I admitted to myself. There was shame towards some of the jealousies I’d felt at points along the way. But what’s significant is that I acknowledged my deep compassion for people that had always been present in my life, and that is what continues to drive me forward now. What drives you may be different, but the important thing is to question yourself periodically to consider what your art is actually saying, to consider what you want it to say, how it speaks, how the world speaks to you.
To narrow the discussion a bit, about 4 years ago I started paying closer attention to newborn photography and considered offering those kinds of services in my existing line of work since I specialize in Childhood Portraiture. I don’t know about you, but when something interests me I practically obsess over it, studying every aspect, considering the mental processes involved. What I noticed about myself during that time was an urgency I’d never before felt; the need to learn how to pose a baby. I posted a few model calls and practiced these “posing techniques” with a few different babies, but it never failed that I felt intrusive and the process itself felt unnatural (at best).
The more I studied and practiced, the more uncomfortable I felt. Babies in vases and on plates, on bookshelves and hanging in awkward positions. Just looking at some of the images made me uncomfortable, even knowing that many were safely created; if a portrait of a baby made me uneasy in any way or the thought of safety came up at all, then it was no longer, in my mind, a portrait of a baby… but instead a conceptual artistic photograph. The curiosity of the process involved outweighed the emotion portrayed. A portrait of a baby should illustrate fragility and innocence, and should illustrate safety, warmth, comfort, and a sense of nurture. Since not every photographer explains the measures of safety they have taken to accomplish certain images, I’m sure many other photographers have tried to replicate or exceed what’s been put forth in the industry, to keep up with the “creative demands” not fully knowing the process.
So I ask, is all of this really worth it?
I stumbled across the above photograph on Facebook yesterday, and to respect the company I will not disclose who posted it (I know how hateful people can be on the internet). I don’t know how it makes YOU feel, but for me it is the final straw in what people are willing to do to be the most “unique” or “creative”. This in no way for me depicts any of the things I feel when I am near a new baby, in fact, it does just the opposite. It makes me want to rescue him/her. It in no way respects the helpless infant and is undeniably dangerous. Saddens my heart…….
Again, I want to ask, is it really worth it to compete, to this degree, for the chance to be considered a unique artist? Are all the props and production and preparation and posing really necessary to illustrate a human being’s personality? Have we crossed the line? Maybe it is time to go back to the basics, when portraits were just that – portraits.
I’ll be writing more on this. In fact… I think I’ve found inspiration to educate further on this issue, something that has been bothering me for a very long time. It would be wonderful to know your thoughts. Let’s take a stand together to promote safety and sensible portrait photography. Thank you for reading.
but not for every pose. I love seeing their little heads too. I hope you do write more about this because more people need to be aware that there are dangers associated with newborn photography.
by Michelle Black
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