Taking pictures of your new baby is expected. They're so tiny and they'll never be that way again, they're a new little life that you created. By all means, snap as many pictures as you can, time moves too fast. But those pictures aren't what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the new trendy professionally done posed photos with costumes and props that basically turn the baby into a prop himself. They're taken when the baby is so new, that the kid is basically sleeping all of the time and can't really move, so he can be placed into or onto anything in a fetal position, have any stupid hat on his head, and he's stuck there while the photographer gets the lighting "just right" while his mother's in the background saying, "Isn't that the most precious thing?"
No, lady. This is not precious. Do you remember how devastated you were when your friends saw pictures of you as a naked baby? Multiply that embarrassment by 5.5 million for the addition of a silly hat, or the fact that they're curled up in a macramé nest, have a quaint ribbon tied around them since they're a "gift from god" (blech) or they're stuck in some sort of vegetable like a pea pod, and this is what these kids will be feeling. Do these parents have no shame? I'd like to see them pose themselves in these scenes just to see how they'd feel, but they'd never do it because it's too embarrassing. Hmmm...doesn't that say something?
To me, these pictures are far creepier than the memento mori photos taken during the Victorian era. At least with those, they tried to make the pictures look natural - well, as natural as possible for any photographs taken in the Victorian era. The deceased person was in their own parlor, sometimes laying on a sofa, sometimes looking out a window (creepy), many times with family, and yes - sometimes there were props, but usually something the person would be holding anyway, like a book or glasses. They never put wings on them to show that they're angels going to heaven, they didn't give them a harp or stick a halo on their heads. They were people with families and stories.
I truly hope this trend goes away soon. These poor babies are people too, and though they can't protest yet...they certainly will when they're older. I doubt the 16-year-old goth son will look on those pictures with fondness. In my opinion (because this is my blog and I can say what I want) remembering your baby in his natural setting: in his crib, on his blanket, with daddy holding him on the couch, in the rocker with mommy, is much more valuable than a creepy posed "precious" photo that cost you hundreds of dollars and will cause everyone embarrassment for years to come.
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