Newborn photographers risk injuring babies with ‘unsafe’ poses

BABIES are at high risk of injury – and even death – from unregulated, unvaccinated newborn photographers who are posing fragile babies in dangerous positions to get the perfect shot.

Safety advocate Kerryn O’Brien and Jessica Jenkins with her four-month-old son, Angus Greensill. Picture: AAP/Claudia Baxter

BABIES are at high risk of injury – and even death – from unregulated, unvaccinated newborn photographers who are bending and posing fragile babies in dangerous positions to get the perfect shot.

Social media has sparked a tsunami of newborn photographers and it is now a multi­billion-dollar industry.

“Every second mother it seems has started a business around newborns. It is an easy option,” Brisbane photographer Kerryn O’Brien told The Sunday Mail. “They need no experience or qualifications, and parents love to capture their baby’s early days.”

One of Kerryn O’Brien’s images. Picture: Kerryn O’Brien/Little Fingerprints Photography

Ms O’Brien, who has photographed 1200 babies, has launched the country’s first academy dedicated to raising safety awareness in the industry.

The Academy of Newborn Photography training is done online and is supported by an advisory committee that includes a paediatrician, a neonatal nurse and a chiropractor.

“Many photographers strive for the ‘potato sack’ pose, where the baby is wrapped up tightly and sitting upright, with just their head exposed,” Ms O’Brien said.

“In reality, a professional would have a parent support the child in this position then photoshop out their hands.

“If not done properly, this pose could cause overheating, asphyxiation, and could be damaging to the infant’s neck and back.”

Newborn photography is now a multi­billion-dollar industry. Picture: Kerryn O’Brien/Little Fingerprints Photography

Ms O’Brien said many parents had told her they felt concerned at their baby’s photo shoot about the poses.

“Many parents also assume the photographer would have to be vaccinated like any person in health care working with babies, but many are not,” she said.

Jessica Jenkins is the mother of two boys under two and was horrified when a photographer who came to her house to photograph her firstborn tried to pose him in a tall cupboard drawer. At another point, he had a blanket over his head.

“The photographer was so abrupt and pushing me to agree to positions that didn’t seem right,” she said. “She asked me to throw him into the air at one stage and put blankets over his head so she could capture a surprised response.

“I refused a number of poses and eventually asked the photographer to leave.”

Ms Jenkins said parents needed to think about the qualifications of the photographer they chose.

“It’s not just prices and the final images parents need to consider; they need to ask about immunisation, infection control, safety, and safe handling qualifications,” she said.