WINTER 2020 | GALLERIE MAGAZINE | 14
SAFETY AND CREATIVITY IN NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHY By Melanie East ONE OF MY MAIN VALUES AS A NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER IS SAFETY. MY CLIENTS KNOW THIS, MY PROSPECTIVE CLIENTS KNOW THIS, THE DELEGATES WHOM I TEACH KNOW THIS, AND THE NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHY INDUSTRY IN THE UK KNOWS THIS. IT’S A POWERFUL COMPELLING EMOTION FOR ME TO KEEP BABY ONE HUNDRED PERCENT SAFE WHILE IN MY CARE. EVERY TIME I AM ENTRUSTED TO POSE AND PHOTOGRAPH A NEWBORN BABY IT IS A COMPLETE HONOUR AND PRIVILEGE, NOT ONLY TO PHOTOGRAPH BUT TO DO SO IN THE SAFEST MANNER POSSIBLE. WITH THAT IN MIND, MY WORKFLOW IS ONE HUNDRED PERCENT RISK-FREE. When you work safely and you extoll the virtues of working safely, it builds a relationship of trust between you and your client. It enables the parents to sit back and watch you at work knowing that their baby is in the best care possible. It provides a calm and soothing environment where the client feels cherished and reassured, knowing that they will receive the most beautiful creative images, without any risk whatsoever and that you have their baby’s safety as paramount importance.
There are many very safe newborn photographers in the industry however there are also newborn photographers who aren’t working as safely or consciously taking the safety of their tiniest clients as seriously as they should. This can be for a variety of reasons - it may be a lack of knowledge, or it may
