Newborn Photographer: Mathilde Anceaume on Baby Safety

Babies suspended in hammocks, heads resting on their hands, four-hour sessions: newborn photography has seen some excesses as the number of photographers exploded. Mathilde Anceaume, a French photographer based in Switzerland, champions a different approach: train with birth professionals, listen to every baby and never constrain them.

Talking with Eloa Landais, photographer and head of training at Fotostudio (the two earned their vocational photography diploma together in 2006), she describes her training with the ASPPNN, the Swiss association of professional newborn photographers, her tricks for positioning a baby without handling them, and how she prepares parents. A must-listen episode for any photographer who welcomes, or wants to welcome, babies just a few days old into their studio.

Who is Mathilde Anceaume?

Mathilde Anceaume is a French newborn, maternity and family photographer based in Switzerland. At the time of recording, in early 2021, she had been self-employed for three years and worked from a studio set up in her home. Her background:

• A CAP in photography in 2006 (a French vocational diploma), earned alongside Eloa Landais, then two years at Gobelins, the Paris school of visual arts.
• Retoucher for an e-commerce website: assembly-line catalog retouching, far from the high-end advertising retouching she had trained for.
• An adult training course in web design and graphic design, again at Gobelins, then a move to Switzerland, where she spent four years as a graphic designer, retoucher and photographer.
• A redundancy, when her daughter was about three: the chance to launch into what she truly loves, portraits and families.

"I need people, or at least something alive in my images, otherwise I find them pointless."

Mathilde Anceaume

She is also an active member of the ASPPNN (Association Suisse des Photographes Professionnels de Nouveau-Nés, the Swiss association of professional newborn photographers), whose very first training course she took in 2017. According to her website today, mathildeanceaume.com, Mathilde photographs families in her studio in La Chaux-de-Fonds, in the canton of Neuchâtel, and all over Switzerland: maternity, newborns, birth, couples and unconventional weddings. She also has an offer for professionals (personal branding portraits, product photos, social media management).

1. Why get trained before photographing newborns?

Mathilde describes herself as a "very close" mom, committed to gentle parenting. When she started out, she asked herself a simple question: if she had had to choose a photographer when her daughter was born, would she have handed her baby to a stranger? The answer was no. So she decided not to photograph a single newborn until she had learned, from birth professionals, how to touch a baby, how to decode what they express and how to support their parents.

"We're among the first people to see families after the baby arrives, so it's great to have a message that's consistent with theirs."

Mathilde Anceaume

An almost medical training

She had already trained with other photographers without finding what she was looking for. Then she discovered the ASPPNN, founded in 2017, whose training was designed by a midwife and a perinatal educator. Two intensive days, with very little about photography:

• Theory: how a newborn's brain works, what is and isn't mature at birth, and the upheaval parents go through.
• Practice between photographers, without a baby: blindfolded exercises to feel touch, since newborns still see poorly.
• An image critique session: does the baby look cold, is their expression peaceful, is the pose acceptable?

In 2021, the training and the first year of membership cost 800 Swiss francs, then 200 francs a year. The volunteer-run association also welcomed French-speaking photographers from outside Switzerland. Beyond the training, Mathilde stresses the strength of the community: meetups several times a year, a support group, clients you refer to each other. When you work alone, having colleagues changes everything.

2. How do you recognize a newborn's signs of discomfort?

This is one of the core parts of the training: a baby can't talk, but they communicate all the time. Mathilde lists several cues to watch throughout the session:

• Skin color: an ear slightly squashed against dad's chest quickly turns red or white. It isn't painful, but it's a sign of uncomfortable pressure.
• Breathing and hand position, which say a lot about how they're feeling.
• Temperature, to check constantly: a naked baby cools down very quickly.
• Tension from the birth: the jaw is often tight after delivery, sometimes there's even a bruise. So Mathilde avoids pressing there.

"You need a very, very precise sense of how much pressure to use."

Mathilde Anceaume

The right touch, she explains, sits between a feather-light brush (which tickles and bothers the baby) and a firm grip (which is unpleasant too). Eloa shares a telling story: some parents had told her their ten-day-old baby hated being on his back. Six months later, they understood why: he had reflux. The baby had signaled it during the session, to anyone who knew how to listen.

3. Why are some newborn poses dangerous?

In France, Eloa points out, you can register as a photographer in a few minutes, with no qualifications at all, and book a session with a five-day-old baby the next day. As the number of newborn photographers exploded, a trend that came mostly from the United States spread: spectacular images of babies suspended in little hammocks, heads resting on their hands or balanced in place.

Images that are actually composites

The photographers who popularized these images create them responsibly: they are composite photos. Mathilde walks beginners through the method. The hammock is set almost directly on a beanbag, the baby is held, and you take the photo. Then you photograph the same hammock, empty, hung two meters off the ground. All that's left is to merge the two images and remove the beanbag. The problem is that many photographers reproduced the pose "for real," without compositing.

"If you put your baby in the hammock two meters off the ground with nobody holding them, that's where it becomes a problem."

Mathilde Anceaume

A baby isn't a doll

Eloa brings up the babies in flowerpots made famous by Anne Geddes in the 80s and 90s, which sparked the idea of dressing up newborns and placing them in improbable positions. Both photographers share the same unease about heavy posing: standing a swaddled baby upright or propping them on their elbows means putting them in a position they could never get into on their own. Mathilde had watched American and Australian training courses that detailed where to put each hand, each leg; the ASPPNN training confirmed why these poses bothered her: they aren't natural.

4. How do you position a baby without forcing them?

Mathilde's photos look very posed. In reality, she rocks the baby, settles them in a prop or on the beanbag, then lets them wriggle and find the position that suits them. She only makes sure their hands don't hide their face, without moving them away: a newborn needs their hands close to their face.

Try, then listen

Some babies can't stand being on their back. So she tries them on their side; if that still doesn't work, on their tummy. She keeps the position where the baby is comfortable. And forcing, she adds, doesn't necessarily mean being rough: even gently, if the baby doesn't want to, you don't insist.

"If they've settled like that, it's because they're comfortable like that."

Mathilde Anceaume

Rely on newborn reflexes

Rather than moving a limb, Mathilde uses the baby's natural reflexes, as newborns always seek contact:

• The foot: touching the top or the sole of the foot is enough for the baby to move it in the right direction on their own.
• The hands: a light touch in the right place, and the baby moves their hands away from their face by themselves.
• The head: brushing the cheek on the side you want them to turn toward triggers the rooting reflex; they open their mouth and turn their head.
• Areas to avoid: the fontanelle, of course, but also the jaw, often tense after birth.

5. How do you plan a calm newborn session?

Mathilde photographs babies between about 5 days and 3 weeks old, often while dad is still on leave and can come along. For her, the number one priority is how the parents are feeling, because the baby picks up on everything.

No strict start time

She gives a time slot starting at 9 a.m., but if the family arrives at 10, it doesn't matter, as long as they aren't stressed. For many parents, it's one of their first outings with their baby: they don't know yet what to bring, and a rushed departure passes straight on to the newborn.

"I want them to arrive calm and relaxed, because the baby will sense any stress."

Mathilde Anceaume

Set the rules from the first contact

From the very first inquiry, Mathilde explains that the session will last between one and three hours depending on the baby, and that it's normal for them to spend much of that time feeding. She also warns that some dream shots won't be possible if the baby isn't up for it. Putting these conditions in black and white in your contracts avoids misunderstandings, and a questionnaire sent before the session lets you learn the baby's habits in advance (feeds, reflux, sleep).

A typical session

• Family photos first: the baby stays in their parents' arms and gets used to the place, the photographer's voice and the smells.
• Then the props, prepared in advance in Mathilde's style. The parents chose that style by coming to her, but she promises nothing: it all depends on the baby.

Eloa confirms this from her own experience: trained in pure posing in Belgium by an American instructor, she used to spend four and a half hours per session, with delighted clients but an exhausted photographer. Once she became a mom, she allowed herself to follow her instincts, and her sessions became shorter and freer.

6. How do you show parents you're trained?

Many parents don't even ask the question: they see pretty baby photos and book, telling themselves they'll be there during the session. They know how to pick a style, but not how to check that the photographer knows how to handle a newborn.

To draw their attention to the issue, ASPPNN members add a short line to every newborn photo they post on social media: the image was taken by a professional photographer trained by midwives through the association. Membership also commits them to following a charter validated by the training. Eloa notes that in France, the APSNN (a French association of newborn photography specialists) offers its own charter and a label that members can display on their website.

"We think it's really important for potential clients to be informed about this, to know we're not people who just wing it."

Mathilde Anceaume

7. How do you find your style as a newborn photographer?

Mathilde's style is instantly recognizable: only natural tones (beige, brown, green, a touch of rust), wood, wool, plant fibers and real plants around the props. No fuchsia. Eloa, browsing her website during the recording, even thought she saw soil: it was wool.

Such a distinctive style filters clients on its own: families who don't like this aesthetic don't contact her. Her newborn clients come for two reasons: some fell in love with her images (and wouldn't have had these photos taken by anyone else), others found her through the association because they were looking for a trained photographer. For this filter to work, your aesthetic has to be visible at a glance, which is why a photography website that truly showcases your images matters so much.

A style that can evolve

Finding your style doesn't mean freezing it. Mathilde's photos were darker three years earlier, in a "moody" vein; they've stayed brown and warm, but are getting brighter and brighter. Copying another photographer's style, on the other hand, doesn't last.

"You really have to take the time to find your style and then stick to it."

Mathilde Anceaume

Eloa has noticed the same thing: a few years ago, she would have cut a baby pulling a face from her selection. Today, her clients often pick exactly those images ("he does that all the time!"). Leaving these photos in the online gallery delivered to parents, and showing them on your website, attracts precisely the families looking for something natural.

8. Breastfeeding, birth: photographing early parenthood

Mathilde sees herself as a "committed photographer." She breastfed her daughter until she was 3 years and 3 months old, trained in breastfeeding and babywearing, and these topics naturally found their place in her offer: her nurturing packages add breastfeeding or babywearing photos to the family session. She avoids any judgment: breastfeeding or bottle-feeding must remain a choice.

Birth photography

At the time of the episode, she had photographed only one birth, a "very, very powerful" experience she dreams of repeating. The parents look at their photos all the time: all the details and emotions they missed in the moment. As a single mom, she has to be able to leave her daughter with a babysitter at three in the morning, which limits these assignments even further. Home births or births in a birth center, more natural, are also simpler to photograph. To learn more about this line of work, read the story of Nathanaël Charpentier, birth photographer.

The two photographers also compare the situation in the two countries: in Switzerland, home birth is covered by insurance and midwives are insured as normal; in France, in 2021, midwives who practice it struggle to find professional insurance. Eloa, who gave birth in a birth center, argues for just one thing: that parents have a choice.

9. Should you give advice to new parents?

Mathilde hesitated for a long time. She had gathered a lot of information about breastfeeding, babywearing and car seat safety, but feared parents would take it as judgment. The perinatal educator answered without hesitation: you have to share it. The photographer is often the parents' first or second outing, and medical staff are unevenly trained on breastfeeding.

Offer, never impose

During her sessions, Mathilde "chats a lot": she asks parents whether they're having any difficulties, then whether they'd like some information. The answer is almost always yes. When they leave, she offers a quick lesson on fitting the baby into their car seat, because nobody checks this when parents leave the maternity ward. She especially recommends the website of Sécurange, a French association that tests car seats: some approved models with good commercial ratings turn out to be unsafe in a crash.

"If you want to share something, you have to be sure of what you're saying."

Mathilde Anceaume

The final word, shared by Eloa: you come to photograph a baby, but behind that there's a brand-new little human being, and a whole family turned upside down by their arrival.

Episode recorded in early 2021, during the pandemic (in Switzerland, gatherings were then limited to five people, children included, and the association's training courses were suspended). The prices, training dates and rules mentioned relate to that period.

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