Your newborn photographer knows how to perfectly position baby’s malleable little limbs for the cutest snapshots ever. But ever wonder how she gleaned those skills? Or how she knows it’s safe?
Meet StandInBaby, the dummy doll helping photographers practice posing babies. Two Australian engineers designed the doll after noting first-time newborn photographers should not be getting their hands dirty on actual newborns.
“Like many other professionals within the industry, I hate the thought of novice photographers learning and practicing on real babies," co-founder Sandra Moffatt tells PetaPixel. “I believe skills should first be undertaken on a training aid, of similar weight, size and range of movements, to a newborn, before photographers apply these methods to real babies.”
Using a ball joint design replicated from newborn x-rays, the doll’s body parts can be moved just like those of an actual baby. And those joints were designed to only allow for as much movement as an actual baby can take. Additionally, the doll — available in both dark- and light-skinned hues — is coated with a special camera-ready finish, which can help photographers test lighting techniques.
“Never before has a newborn training aid been weighted, sized and articulated this close to a true-to-life newborn baby,” says the product’s Kickstarter page. “Our posing and training aid will allow photographers to learn baby wrapping techniques with ease, master camera and lighting setups like a pro and perfect the delicate craft of newborn posing in their own time, at their own pace and without ever touching a real newborn baby.”
Raising over $80,000 in the first 24 hours on Kickstarter, it seems the team will likely hit their $128,374 goal within a month. StandInBaby will be ready for its closeup soon.
