The Tummy Time Snooze

How to set up The Tummy Time Snooze

1. Set the frame before anyone moves. The Tummy Time Snooze wants a close frame filled with faces, with 1 person already close enough to touch. A sleeping baby lies on the tummy with arms tucked under the cheek. A gentle, safe alternative to studio froggy poses.
2. Get them into the lying shape, then say this once and stop directing: "No talking needed; we'll let baby settle and capture the sleepy face."
3. While they hold it, make one flatter change and shoot again. Use a firm, padded surface and keep a parent's hand close for safety at all times.
4. If the first frame feels stiff, do not rebuild the group. Try this next: Head turned the other way.

Who it suits

The Tummy Time Snooze is a baby pose. Support and warmth come before the composition. It suits 1 person and a lying down shape. It is intermediate: you need a bit more space or balance than a standing hug, so shoot an easier frame first. Have a second adult within arm’s reach. The interesting frame is not worth a baby who is propped and unattended.

Where to shoot and how to light it

Shoot The Tummy Time Snooze indoors (indoor). A sofa, bed, table, window or step you already have is the set. Clear the background directly behind the heads so the newborn photo poses subject stays the subject. You do not need a studio wall.

For The Tummy Time Snooze, face a window and turn the ceiling light off. Light from the side sculpts faces. Overhead light puts eyes in shadow and flattens the lying shape. If the window is behind them, they will be silhouettes, which is only right when the pose is meant to be a silhouette.

The usual miss on The Tummy Time Snooze is a gap, a straight line of heads, or a face waiting for the next instruction. Use a firm, padded surface and keep a parent's hand close for safety at all times. Then take the frame before anyone resets.

Variations

• Head turned the other way
• Tiny feet in focus
• Baby on a parent's forearm