Me Ra Koh's Baby Papa Photo-Recipe

Photography expert Me Ra Koh inspires you for this month’s photo contest, Baby Papa, with a simple Photo-Recipe to tell the story of Big Papa and Little Baby

Papas are powerful figures in our lives.  They symbolize shelter and protection, among many other things.  No matter how old I am, I will always be my daddy’s little girl and my papa will always be a giant in my eyes.  At one time, in comparison to my nine-pound newborn self , he was a giant.  The pictures that really show this are precious to me now. 

As you embark on this month’s photo contest, let your creative mind expand and experiment with ways to not only tell the story of love between baby and papa, but also papa’s great presence and strength next to your baby’s newness.  Here’s a simple Photo-Recipe to help get your creative juices flowing! 

1. Size Comparison.  Have papa get under the covers and tuck the sheets over his pants so that we only see his bare back - or catch him when he’s snoozing.  Have him rest his arms above his head, and place the baby in the middle of his back.  Grab your camera, stand up on the bed, and straddle papa with one foot on either side of his hips so that you can shoot straight down.  (See the photo above!)  This is a fun idea for showing size comparison - your baby looks smaller than ever. 
2. Big Hands, Small Baby.  This is a fun theme to work with, because there are endless possibilities for positioning papa’s hands when he’s holding the baby.  For example, have papa wear a black T-shirt and hold his baby’s feet in his hands.  Zoom in on those feet so that all you see is papa’s big hands holding the baby’s tiny feet.  The black T-shirt ends becomes your black background, drawing attention to those feet. 
3. Muscles!  Remember last month’s Photo-Recipe for Baby Mama we talked about how moms don’t like their whole arm showing in photos.  Well, papas are the opposite.  In fact, have papa press his bicep against his body to show that muscle off even more while he holds his little one. 

Put this simple Photo-Recipe to the test with these three tips, and not only will you have a memorable Baby Papa photo, but you will have also documented this fleeting time in life when dad wasn’t just a giant in theory, but in size too! 

I look forward to seeing your photo contest submissions!  Happy Father’s Day to all the amazing papas out there who give endlessly!    

Click here to enter the Baby Papa photo contest.

Me Ra Koh loves cameras, kids, and moms and spends her life bringing them together.  She is the regular photo expert contributor for The Nate Berkus Show on NBC, and her work and popular photo-recipes have also been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Lifetime Television, and VH1.  She is the author of the bestselling book, Your Baby in Pictures; The New Parents’ Guide to Photographing Your Baby’s First Year (Amphoto, 2011), as well as an inspirational speaker holding her CONFIDENCE Photography Workshops for women nationwide.  Me Ra is proud to be a SONY Artisan of Imagery, as well as host her annual SOAR! Scholarship Program for aspiring women photographers.  She is honored to be a guest blogger for Our365.  You can learn more about Me Ra at www.merakoh.com.