5 Of The Weirdest Instagram Newborn Photography Trends

What’s The Deal With Baby Photography?

Newborn photoshoots are all the rage with parents, these days. The newborn stage only lasts a few precious months, so parents want to memorialize this special time in their baby’s life.

On Instagram it feels like there’s a competition to find the best baby hashtags and how to use those hashtags for likes. To be able to use these hashtags though, you have to get some interesting content. 

There’s a lot of weird baby photography out there but we found the most unique in the newborn photography realm.

Where Did Newborn Photography Come From?

According to Vogue.com Anne Gedde started back in the 90s by “photographing naked newborns artfully curled up in pea pods or nestled in hollowed-out watermelons. A pioneer of pre-internet cute overload, Geddes sold an estimated 19 million books worldwide and, clearly, planted a seed.”

Now over a decade later it is a trend with millennials, who of course like to post photos all over social media. I bet Anne Geddes had no idea the craze she was starting back in the 90s!

Why Newborn Photography?

When a baby is just born, they are more sleepy and there is way less crying so capturing a sleeping “angel” is much easier. The baby’s bones aren’t fully developed either so the baby can go into all kinds of folded and curled up poses – pretty weird right?

webbabyshower photos of newborn babies sleeping

According to photographer Stephanie Beth, newborn photography is important because it captures such a cherished moment that doesn’t last long and the newborn session acts as a celebration for your new baby

Why We Think it’s a Little Odd

Considering how babies cry, poop and pee a lot we don’t think this is capturing a very natural newborn. It seems a little forced and unnatural if you ask us.

According to fash.com newborn photography costs on average $200 an hour, we think the money would be best spent on a diaper fund!

Bizarre Baby Photography Trends

If you’re thinking of planning a newborn photoshoot for your own baby, then Instagram is chock full of inspiration. There, you’ll find your normal, everyday, photos of babies posed in front of flowers, balloons, or other cute props. 

But beware: there’s also a subset of themes that are sure to make you scratch your head but also say “AWWWW”.

Sure, they’re all adorable, but they’re a bit unusual as well. 

Here are 5 of the weirdest newborn photoshoot trends!

  1. Baby’s First Pandemic
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-DP-UGjtdz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The Coronavirus has upended life as we know it on such a scale that it’s bleeding into newborn photoshoots. Titled “Baby’s First Pandemic,” these shoots involve babies who are posed with necessities needed to survive the Coronavirus. Think things like the highly-coveted toilet paper that escaped supermarket shelves for weeks, hand sanitizer, and of course, disinfectant wipes. If you don’t think too hard about how depressing the fact that a person’s first pandemic happens when they’re a baby, it’s almost cute. Almost

  1. The Baby In A Bucket Shot – a classic!
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9SuRntlU3R/?igshid=54fes7qdb4wp

Ahh…babies in buckets. They’re everywhere. These types of photos even have their own hashtag! We don’t know exactly where this trend originated from, but we wish it’d go back to where it came from. We know that babies are teeny weeny, but just look at the discomfort across the little guy’s face. Because he’s, you know, been stuffed inside of a bucket! Where are his legs? His arms? And don’t even get us started about what he’s wearing. Fashion might not matter as much when you’re a baby, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter at all.

  1. Newborn on a Swing
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDwUHi7l4X1/?igshid=1m7p8f9jyzqat

Swings will probably play a huge part of a young child’s life, but that usually happens once they’re old enough to hold on to it! There’s a reason that babies don’t play on swings and it’s because their underdeveloped motor skills don’t allow for it. Can you imagine a baby, who can barely hold its head up trying to hold on to a swing for dear life? If you can’t, don’t worry. Overzealous parents are posing their babies in these exact positions for the sake of a photo-op! Okay, well maybe they’re not sitting up and holding on, but they are laying on the swing, which is just as dangerous! 

Okay, so we know the photographer works their magic and they’re not actually on a swing hanging precariously from a tree branch but we can’t help but cringe

  1. Baby In a Wrap as tight as humanly possible
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEIXXmUDQOA/?igshid=1qkswqysszx5o

Nothing says precious like wrapping your baby up so tight, you wonder if their circulation has been cut off. While the baby in this picture looks perfectly content and adorable, we can’t help but notice just how uncomfortable this whole setup is. And while we know that babies find comfort in being wrapped tightly, this photo trend just takes things a little bit too far, don’t you think?

  1.  A basket full of…a newborn
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBmkfAjF3pn/?igshid=9ekkgrikj1pt

Just imagine what that angelic face is thinking about. Possibly  pondering over the meaning of life, when’s the next time they’ll be fed, or most likely, why their parents have them sitting in a basket. And a heart one at that! Baskets are for storing items, gathering easter eggs, and transporting gifts. Babies don’t fit into any of those categories, but do you think that stops some parents? Of course not! Judging by the hoards of babies in baskets on Instagram, this is a trend that’s not dying down anytime soon.

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Don’t worry, there’s more!

These are just a few of the wackiest newborn photoshoot trends we’ve come across, but trust us, there are far more! The #newbornphotography tag on Instagram has over 8.4 million photos inside! The odds of finding parents who’ve dressed their babies up as fish on a fishing pole, or a penguin on ice, are pretty high. You just have to do a little digging. If you’re ever having a bad day, or just want to smile at the utter cuteness and ridiculousness of it all, then head on over and enjoy a scroll or two! 

Capture the real moment

Babies rarely look this peaceful and if they do, it’s not in a swing hanging from a boho dreamcatcher, these photos are cute but it doesn’t capture genuine moments of your baby.

What about the beautiful hospital photo of Mom holding the new baby exhausted and sweaty but perfectly happy. Or the late-night photo of dad falling asleep with the baby curled up in his arms?

These are the moments we want to capture.

Alia S. is a freelance content writer and strategist who resides in the Midwest. In her free time, she keeps her nose buried in a good book or enjoys the scenery around her home town.

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