When their babies fall sleep, they spring into action. HANNAH MARIE tracks down the creative mummies behind those viral baby dress-up photos you love.
When their babies fall sleep, they spring into action. HANNAH MARIE tracks down the creative mummies behind those viral baby dress-up photos you love.
Joey Marie Choi, eight months old Claim to fame 485,000 followers on her Instagram account @lauraiz (www.instagram.com/lauraiz) Lives in California, the US Mum Laura, freelance photographer.
Half of it was from boredom.
People say that when you have a newborn, you should sleep when your baby sleeps. That didn’t happen to me, because I ended up staring at her all day and night – I was so in love with her. She slept so deeply and I thought it would be fun to add a few props here and there, just to send some hilarious pictures to our parents.
I was a little scared to do newborn pictures.
I used to be a wedding photographer, but recently moved on to portraiture. I don’t have much experience photographing babies, but I think I’ve got the hang of it now.
I panicked when the photos were viral.
There was a bit of mother-bear panic when I initially got a lot of attention online. I thought about stopping, but I started receiving messages from many people who said that my photos and videos were the highlight of the day for them. Some say they enjoy viewing them with their kids.
I rarely buy anything to make a look.
The wigs are my old wigs from past Halloween costumes, although people have been gifting me wigs, as well. I try to use things we already have around the house as props, including my own clothing. It turns out we have a lot of things at home!
I use the most random things.
The most elaborate look I’ve done was probably Furiosa from Mad Max. The character wears lots of accessories, including a prosthetic arm, so it was harder to make it look real. I ended up using things like a bra insert as her shoulder pad, a crab leg cracker and even mini Mason jar lids.
Joey naps about four times a day.
I shoot during her first or second morning nap. I do an arm drop test to see if she’s completely asleep before I start. It usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes to dress her up because I’m still making stuff or adding things I forgot I had in the house. It takes an hour at most, but usually only 30 minutes, including the time it takes her to fall asleep.
Natural lighting works best.
I shoot with my iPhone 6, with natural light coming in through my bedroom window.
My parents and in-laws are my biggest fans.
They’re constantly checking my Instagram and watching my behind-the-scenes videos over and over again. They claim to read all the comments, too. My parents even marathoned the Stranger Things TV series over a few days after the photo of Joey dressed as Eleven went viral. Our parents don’t get to see Joey every day, so it’s been a way for them to watch her grow and they love it. They call every day to talk about my latest post.
My husband Allen and I are big fans of TV and films.
He knows how much of a heavy sleeper Joey is, and he loves seeing the posts of her in different costumes. We have a fun time coming up with costume ideas together.
I have to find creative ways to make it work.
Using props found at home may restrict my creativity at times. I really want to try creating a Darth Vader look, but I’m not sure how it will work out as I don’t want to put a mask on her.
Hopefully, she’ll see how loved she is.
I’m not sure she knows what I’m doing because she’s always asleep. She had woken up a couple of times before, but she looked at me a little dazed before going back to sleep. It’s a way to memorialise her growth and little milestones, and I really hope she’ll get a good laugh out of the photos in the future.
Parents who never lose their sense of humour are the best.
Other than putting a smile on people’s faces, I hope these photos are a reminder to parents that parenting isn’t all that serious – you need to have fun, too.
Wengenn Liao, six years old Claim to fame Over 6 million views on http://wengenninwonderland.com Lives in California, the US Mum Queenie, freelance artist.
Photography has always been my hobby.
Wengenn is six years old now, but I began taking pictures of him while he was napping when he was about three months old. My friends and relatives found the photos cute and creative, and encouraged me to share them with other mums. That’s how I star ted posting on my Facebook (www.fb.com/ Wengenn.Wonderland), then Bored Panda (www.boredpanda.com/wengenn-inwonderland- sioin-queenie-liao/), an online community for design and photography.
Look out for my picture books.
I received thousands of e-mails within days of my first posting, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly supportive. Many have praised me for my creativity and artistry. I compiled the photos and published a Chinese picture book, Sleepy Baby, in Taiwan in 2012. The book provides step-by-step details of how some of those pictures were taken, as well as how other crafts can be made out of baby pictures. An English version of the book is underway.
You just have to let your imagination take over.
I have no formal training in styling and photography, and picked up the skills as I experimented. Sometimes, it takes hours or even days to come up with a scene. Once I get an idea, I sketch it out on paper first before gathering the materials. Occasionally, I visualise the image in my head and set up the props. I used a Nikon D7000 at first and a D810 now.
I don’t spend money on props.
They’re mostly household items like clothing, bed sheets and stuffed animals. It usually takes about one to three hours to set up, depending on the complexity of the design that day.
I’d like to see Wengenn grow up and reach his dreams.
“The Star Catcher” is my most elaborate look, with the star being a symbol of dreams and goals. Other looks, like “A Castle in the Sky” and “Magic Sail Ride”, are my most popular looks. I draw inspiration from fairy tales, children’s stories, Disney cartoons, and the works of famous baby photographer Ann Geddes.
He gives comments and feedback.
Wengenn enjoys looking at his baby pictures. He still likes posing for photos, except that he isn’t sleeping when we shoot. We’ve invited his friends to be in some pictures, as well. Wengenn would tell me what objects should be added or removed, and even talks to me about what colours he thinks would look better. His two older brothers are more camera-shy, but they help prepare the props and decorate the scenes. I get them involved whenever possible.
Be patient and enjoy the process.
You should try this with your child, too. He will treasure the pictures when he grows up. Tip: dress him and get the props ready before he naps.
Ichika and Taichi Omori, two years old Claim to fame 18,900 followers on their Instagram account @ayumiichi (www.instagram.com/ayumiichi) Lives in Japan Mum Ayumi, stay-at-home mum.
The photos from my Russian friends influenced me.
I learnt Russian in college and went to Russia for two weeks, where I made many friends. They would use clothes and miscellaneous things from around the house to form photo backdrops for their children. I found their work very adorable and began to experiment with similar ideas. I have no formal training in styling and photography.
I get inspiration from my twins’ sleeping positions.
I don’t change their clothes; I see what they are wearing and come up with a concept. Sometimes, I add shoes and hats. I also look at how they are positioned when they’re asleep. Once, I put headphones on them so their father wouldn’t wake them up while watching TV. That’s how I came up with the “DJ” look, which became one of my most elaborate concepts.
I start immediately after they fall asleep.
It takes about 20 to 30 minutes to style and shoot. I use things from around the house as props.
It once took me two weeks to complete a picture.
When the kids turned two, I wanted a picture that spelt “happy birthday”. I took one letter each day, so the final photo took me two weeks to put together.
My twins cannot tell fiction from reality.
I often show my children these photos, and it makes them happy. They love seeing photos of them becoming their favourite characters or “flying in the sky”. They’ll say things like: “Let’s visit this place again”, or “I want to do this again”. They can’t quite tell it’s just dress-up while they’re sleeping yet.
It has been very rewarding.
I didn’t start with the intention of getting people to like my photos, so it makes me happy knowing that they have fun looking at them. I may stop taking these photos when the kids start attending kindergarten in a year.
