Are you confused about what newborn photography posing system to use?
Well, I’ve got you covered. Today I am going to talk about the dog bed, round filled beanbag and the Posie.
There are so many options when talking about newborn photography systems and it can be confusing. I will show you what I’ve used in the past and what I’m using right now
So at this stage, we will talk about newborn photography posing systems:
- the elevated dog bed
- the beanbag, is round and filled with polystyrene and has a round frame around
- and The Posie a new posing system from Graceland Design
1. Newborn photography posing system– The elevated dog bed posing system
My favourite newborn posing system I currently use.
What I love, about the dog bed, is that I can put it on wheels and I can move it around as I want. I have the back bar, which I can incline it as much as I want. I have done these changes because I’m tall and my back hurts if the system is to low, but at this level, I can still shoot from above as well as the normal poses you will get on a normal standard bean bag like the chin on hands, the side pose, the curled or the womb pose.
The dog bed it’s very versatile.
My dog bed is a large size of 90×100 cm. And the back bar it’s about 50cm.
I use about 8 to 10 blankets and I clamp it with the industrial clamps. They are from Bunning Australia.
As the dog bad was given a little under the baby’s weight I have placed aboard which keeps the dog bed straight. The board is quite firm, and the 10 blankets give me that soft support.
For the wheels I used the caster wheels, I bought them from Bunnings.
The legs I have extended with pipes from Bunnings, we cut them adjusted and added the caster wheels from Bunnings.
You can find some caster wheels, what they go over the bar but they are a tad more expensive. The one used here is the wheels with a screw-type, so we had to insert a piece of wood. We drilled the wood in the middle and screwed the caster wheel inside.
The back system is a safety rail so when I photograph my baby, I have that beautiful soft blur background so wanted in newborn photography.
I also love how I can store it. As I don’t have a huge studio and I can easily store it around my table. I have my makeup station and I put the legs around the makeup station and out of my way.
You can use the dog bed as it is, you don’t really need to raise it up. I have done it because of my height as my back was hurting too much being so low on the floor.
2. Newborn photography posing system– The bean bag photo prop with a round frame posing system
The round beanbag is filled with polystyrene beads, a foam/sponges.
On the market you will find them are some, the one which I’ve heard mother beans, I might’ve been, it’s called, um, the from Aliexpress, Amazon, Original Photoblock (the Motherbean) or Paloma Schell.
For me, this one was perfect because I was able to go lower pose my baby and because I have done the round pipe system I was able to keep my blankets very tight.
For the pipe system, I used the water pipes T shape connector and just some flexible but still a tad firm pipes.
You can still use the plastic T-connector and then just glue it to the pipes.
The frontside it’s about 36 cm and the backside is 90cm, and the middle is 70 cm.
The beanbag is 100cm in circumference.
What I didn’t like about this beanbag is that when you have to move it around, you have to slide it on the floor. And I’ve done quite a few scratches on the floor because of the pipes connector. But yet again, if you’re engineer, you can put this on a moveable platform
Another thing which I didn’t like as much as the dog bed is that it’s bulky, so you need to hide it somewhere or if you don’t use it, you need to put it in closet s=o it takes up some space.
At this stage, I use it without the frame, for my simple white setups or I use it sometimes for siblings shoots. I can ask the brothers to lean over and kiss the baby’s feet or gently kiss the baby’s head.
Also, instead of having the Flokati on the floor, you can pose the baby and the sibling on the beanbag. And with a 35 mm lens, you can photograph them easier and without any fears of collapsing.
3. Newborn photography posing system-The Posie from Graceland Design posing system
It looks like a round doughnut shape. You can purchase it filled or empty and it will come with a brown cover.
I love the brown cover as I can put my pee pads underneath to protect the Posie as is not waterproof. She is made with it’s a beautiful soft material, made with care.
You can buy different covers: white, grey and green.
The brilliant part about The Posie is that they made a round base with legs so you can clamp your materials and blankets on it. And, maybe the best thing is that The Posie is like 75% smaller in size than a normal beanbag and you can still achieve the same images as the on the dog bad or the beanbag.
If you have an assistant, I highly recommended going for the base system.
I personally use it for the parents’ hands image, the womb images and for Digital composition from Luisa Dunn. Luisa is one of the creators of The Posie, and if you want to diversify your gallery, you can use digital. And I use lots of pillows from https://fab-fabrics-australia.myshopify.com/
If you travel to your client homes then using The Posie beanbag will be the best option as its small, easy to move around, super light and very versatile. And if you use the framed system then again your fabric will be super stretched.
As you have seen in here, I have three newborn photography posing systems in my Rochedale South studio and I use them all for newborn photography.
I could say I have four as I still use my floor sometimes to do sibling shots. But with having all these three options, you can do so much more. I have a very good workflow and I use my Posie in one corner, my elevated dog bed in another corner and sometimes I keep the beanbag in on the side of the studio, in case I have siblings and they are not cooperating sitting on the floor, sitting on the beanbag they feel like they are in their home sitting on their lounge.
If you travel at home, you can buy a dog bed without elevating the legs and just clamping the back of your blanket on two chairs. Or you can buy the Posie system, and take minimal stuff with you in the client’s home.
If you enjoyed this video, please like and subscribe to my youtube channel and join my Facebook group, if you are interested in maternity and newborn photography.
I will have a members area where I will put videos related to posing. I will have beautiful challenges for you to follow up and to get better at our jobs. So don’t forget to PM me and leave your comments below and I hope you enjoyed this video. See you on the next one.
Victoria – your Brisbane newborn photographer
Resources:
The Posie- https://www.gracelanddesign.com.au/
Dog bed: https://www.bunnings.com.au/fido-fletch-extra-large-pet-bed_p3440238?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsO-CwujL6QIVinZgCh3LngvFEAQYASABEgIwi_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Beanbag: https://www.shootbaby.com.au/products/newborn-posing-beanbag-australia
Or amazon, etsy, aliexpress, paloma schell
Caster wheels: https://www.bunnings.com.au/tactix-castor-set-4-pack_p2583694?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkLv6punL6QIVBnZgCh2Sjgy5EAQYBCABEgJxnfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Bed guard: https://www.catch.com.au/product/veebee-valco-102cm-fold-down-bed-guard-white-539968/?offer_id=27743018&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrsTauunL6QIVhTMqCh21LgnFEAQYASABEgIIlvD_BwE
posing pillows and wraps: https://fab-fabrics-australia.myshopify.com/
https://www.facebook.com/LifetimeStoriesPhotography/
facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/maternityandnewbornphotographywithvictoriab/