When Toddlers Meet Newborns: How I Create Safe Sibling Images Using Composite Photography
Written by: Liz Lockie.
Toddlers are wonderful, hilarious, and completely unpredictable and I mean that in the best possible way. Even the most gentle, loving little one can wobble, lurch forward, or simply lose interest and move on in the blink of an eye. Which means relying on a toddler to physically support or hold a newborn is simply never something I’d do. Safety isn’t a box I tick; it’s the foundation everything else is built on.
Whilst baby is snuggling up with Mum or dad, I can give all my attention to the toddler and photograph them first, sitting on their own as we play. No baby, no pressure, just fun for them. Then the toddler gets a sticker from me and runs off to play/have a snack and only then does the newborn come in! I will have already wrapped them in a way that supports their chin to rest gently on their hands, keeping their airway completely clear and unobstructed. I use mum or dad to help and sit right beside with their hand on baby the entire time. Two completely separate setups. Two separate photographs.
(You can see exactly how this works in the images here – the toddler shot, the newborn shot with mum supporting, and the final blended result.)
One thing that often gets overlooked when people think about composite photography is how much work happens beforethe editing even begins. For a composite to look truly seamless, both shots need to be taken with exactly the same lighting setup and from exactly the same camera angle. If the light falls differently across the toddler than it does across the baby, no amount of editing will make them look like they belong in the same image. Getting it right in camera first is everything.
I keep my lighting consistent between both setups so that the shadows, highlights, and overall feel match perfectly. It’s possible to add or refine a shadow in post-production if needed to help the two images sit together naturally but the goal is always to need as little of that as possible. The more accurately the two shots are captured, the more realistic and effortless the final result will look.
Newborn photography is still largely unregulated which puts the responsibility on photographers to hold themselves to a high standard. Parents of course do their research too but may not be aware of safety practises and how certain poses are achieved until they arrive.
Composite photography isn’t about faking something. It’s about doing things properly. Some may feel that somehow the image is less meaningful because it wasn’t one perfect moment but the magic is still very real! Those moments happened and still tell a story. The closeness you feel when you look at that photo? That’s real too. I’ve just constructed the scene around keeping everyone safe, rather than leaving anything to chance. Props and posing should never come before a baby’s wellbeing.
It’s a balance of artistry and responsibility and that balance is what I love most about this career and I’m so passionate about sharing it!
