How to Photograph Your Baby (& Why it's Important) When a Professional Photographer Can't Be There with Laura Foote | Episode 076
Always take the photos.
Even if you're not sure.
even if you don't want to look at them for now.
even if you feel weird about it.
Don't.
Just take the pictures because it is the only chance you will have.
CHELSEA, member of The Joyful Mourning Community
If your baby has been given a life-limiting diagnosis and you will deliver during this time of Covid-19 or you somehow miraculously found this episode as a mom who just got news that there is no heartbeat and will deliver a baby already born into heaven — this episode is for you. If you are a nurse who works with labor and delivery this episode is for you too.
Today I interview my friend Laura Foote. She is a full time professional photographer who also volunteers as a photographer for Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep. Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep is a non-profit organization that provides beautiful, professional photography for families who are experiencing or expecting the death of their baby. Laura voluntarily walks into hospital rooms where mamas are saying goodbye to their babies. She documents these moments, the details, tiny fingers and toes and desperate embraces.
If you are listening and have not gone through the loss of a baby, this may sound incredibly strange -- who wants images of the worst, most tragic moment of your life -- and yet, while it is a tragic moment, photographs capture the life that was lived. A baby we love. A baby we will never forget. Images catch details we might forget. Details we want to remember but may become hazy over time. And while photographing a moment like this may feel impossible, even looking at the photographs may feel impossible for a time, having them is not something a grieving mom will ever regret.
Unfortunately during this time of Covid-19 with restrictions and limitations placed on hospitals it is very likely that having a professional photographer with you when your baby is born will not be possible. And as a mom who has buried a baby, as a mom who has only a handful of photographs to remember him by, that feels devastating to me — all you have when you leave the hospital are the photos and in a moment of such loss and such grief capturing images is most likely the furthest thing from your mind.
So, in this episode I asked Laura to walk us through how to take photos of our baby even in an unthinkable moment and to make it is as simple as possible. She does that and more. Stay tuned to the end (or scroll down a bit!) to hear the details about Laura is currently offering a service to professionally edit any photographs you take absolutely free. As a gift because she cares so deeply about you.
Throughout the episode we discuss what tools you will need, what items you should bring with you to the hospital to photograph your baby, a few simple tips for getting better photos as well a list of images you will want to take. We have put all of this together in a pdf that you can download and take with you to the hospital so you don’t even have to think about it. When the time comes, ask one of your nurses if they might be able to help you with this list.
Article, Tips & expertise by laura foote
As a volunteer photographer for Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, and mama simply with a heart to serve families who’ve lost a child, I have come to understand how priceless these images are. The limitations Covid-19 has placed on all delivering families equates to loss, but for families who will not get to bring their babies home, photos are all the more important. While no family should have to document images of their sleeping babies themselves, I want to equip you with a few practical ways to do so (with the help of your wonderful nurses!) & also provide some resources to ensure these images are preserved timelessly.
Remember, regardless of your birth story, your child’s diagnosis, what your support system looks like right now… your baby is valued, and deserves to be remembered— from one mama to another.
Tips for hospital photos
a phone can capture a lot
If you don’t have a professional camera, it can be easy to think your images won’t be great. But our phones have become powerful ways of documenting life, and in this moment, will be perfect & just what you need.
Consider creating a folder within your main photo gallery with your baby’s name. This will allow you to separate the photos while also being able to upload them easily to iCloud, Google photos etc. It’s ok if you’re ready to look at them, share them etc. But it’s also ok if you need to tuck them away. Knowing they were captured will hopefully bring peace of mind for whenever you feel ready to access them.
Even if it’s dark, disable the flash on your phone. Tapping your photo subject should adjust the brightness in-camera, and that will be better for backend editing than trying to work with flash of any kind. You can also ask the nurses to help with overhead light (turning off, if there’s daylight + windows), adjusting brightness etc.
Consider Pic-Tap-Go, Snapseed or Lightroom Mobile (with presets-- there are many you can find/buy online) if you’re feeling like editing any of the images yourself. These are all mobile editing apps that make it a bit easier to do so. (More on editing later, that won’t require any work for you!)
Baby Zoe, photographed by Laura
Let the nurses help you pose
It’s likely that your sweet baby will need gentle handling, so I want to encourage you to
a.) if needed, advocate for limiting how much the baby is moved by others and
b.) ask the nurses to help with swaddling etc. You’re the mama, but they will be so tender to help preserve skin tears, wipe away fluid, adjust hands + feet etc. It’s possible your baby will not be able to be fully dressed, easily, for photos, so if possible bring a sweet swaddle blanket with you along with a hat. The hospital can also provide these things, but it’s often special to pick something yourself that is extra soft (Lou Lou & Co makes a sweet newborn set of mits, blankets and a hat/headband) and that you can keep as a memory of something they wore.
Take photos of their little details (feet, hands, body etc.) prior to getting them all swaddled up. Again, less movement and more time for you just to snuggle them after photos are captured without having to unwrap/adjust further. Nurses will also be wonderful about helping with any medical equipment, or taking photos before things are removed, and after.
Images to capture
Save the Photography Guide + Checklist to your phone or print it out to tuck into your hospital bag so you can pass them to your partner and/or a nurse and check off the list. The last thing you need to be thinking about is “what did I miss? What will I wish I had captured later?”.
These can all be captured right in your hospital bed— and the white sheets/blankets can be used for a little “backdrop” of them at the foot of your bed for the images of just them— you’ll be right there for it all.
Hands & feet, just baby
Hands & feet in your hands
Overhead image of baby (once swaddled), head to toe
Close face image of baby
Baby with each parent (looking at camera, looking at baby, nuzzling noses etc.)
Baby with both parents (same poses as above)
Medical board in the room with baby’s birthday, nursing team, little details
Footprints + bands (on their own or with baby)
For the complete list of images to capture, download the Photography Guide + Checklist
Preserving your images
Once you have your images, there are a few resources available during this time to help you make sure they are edited beautifully and saved for years to come.
Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep has two offerings that may assist, as well as many resources on their website regarding bereavement portraiture. The first is to submit your images directly to them for retouching. The second is to let your nurses know about the medical training program they are offering to help equip them to assist with photos, and then submit for editing.
*A note, part of NILMDTS complimentary gift process is that all images are delivered back in black and white.
My business created a Labor in the Time of Corona, Galleries for Families program that is open & available to all families delivering starting March 1st and for however long restrictions/limitations are in place for expectant families. This program is complimentary for you to submit 10 personal images of color and black and white professional retouching, returned in a professional gallery for you to download, share and save. Once your baby is here and you have your images, you can submit here.
Sending you all the love,
Laura Foote
meet the guest
laura foote
For almost a decade I have been documenting the stories of couples, families and business owners. A Kansas girl who travels often, this work has changed me; allowed me to know people deeply, travel all over and love the work fully!
You can find Laura over on her website and also on her Instagram account @laurafoote.
To learn more about her initiative Labor in the Time of Corona click here.
notable moments
words of wisdom
from moms like you
JENNIFER: My advice: if given the option to take photos or not, TAKE THE PHOTOS. I'm so glad I did. In the moment it was a challenging thing to even think about - somehow being photographed while crying, holding my son before he took his last breaths - but those memories are precious and I'm glad I'll always have them.
DEANNA: Always take the photos!!
TARA: My baby was only 20wks - but we still have photos. I was encouraged by other moms. I’m SO thankful we did. ALWAYS TAKE THE PHOTO is my advice. It may feel weird. It may not feel right. But you’ll treasure it at some point. It keeps them real… I treasure them.
LINDSEY: In the back of my mind I thought why would I want to remember my son looking this way but I am so glad I was given the opportunity to have pictures taken. My emotions were all over the place and looking back the nurses might have seemed a little pushy about having photos taken. However, this was something they had experienced before and they knew how important it was to have pictures taken.
MARY MARGARET: Take more pictures then you think you might want!
CHELSEA: Always take the photos. Even if you're not sure, even if you don't want to look at them for now, even if you feel weird about it. Don't. Just take the pictures because it is the only chance you will have. Also, take way more than you think. I know I struggle with only having a limited amount of our son who passed away, especially compared to the ever growing amount of our living kids.