What a great look back at them all ! Is it bad that I have the exact “cocoon” hat bowl AND fuzzy rug combo LOL! And FTR, that has to be the BIGGEST colorful lollipop i have seen to date!

I’m just starting out and am constantly looking for inspiration. However, many of these images really showcase the silliness of so many of these fads. Man, the baby with fake greenery on it’s head??? That’s just wrong.

I also am not a fan of babies on platters. And chairs in a field. These things just seem so unnatural and contrived. I’ve had enough of big tutus/pettiskirts. It’s ok if the girl is a ballerina, but otherwise, I’d stay away.

My faves from above are the teen on the railroad track (kind of symbolizes how they are going places and what not) and the graffiti background (it’s interesting without being annoying).

Thanks for this post, it was funny for me to see a roundup.

http://ashleygillett.com

This was fun! OK, the ones I’m still wanting to do are:
railroad tracks – I personally think they’re cool and never go out of style.
colorful chair in weeds – I like the contrast and I think the specific photo you’ve shown is beautiful.
The ones I don’t care for (just my personal style) is the baby blocks and anything with the hands on pregnant belly….but I know those poses are still going strong!

Really loved this post because it is so true! This just really makes me want to be creative and try to push myself even more. Thank you!

Fad-(ish) or no, I think most of those photos are very well done … great lighting, great focus, and I’d be happy to call pretty much any of them my own. Its like the permed hair of the 90′s … yeah, we all look back now and cringe, but at the time, it was popular, and none of us were embarrassed to do it. I don’t think anyone should be *embarrassed* of any of these fads, just acknowledge that their time(s) has passed, for a few, and most likely some other fad will come along and take its place.

Babies in teacups are, well, creepy. And, sort of undignified. I agree with Chris that probably the biggest fad of all is photographers with cameras obscuring their faces. And, Jodi, you make a really relevant point that one must consider … do you consider yourself an artist or a business person. Honestly, I don’t know that you can be both without compromising one side or the other.

@Nick – I agree that many pregnancy photos are cheesy, but if you take the time to capture their personality and interactions even maternity photos can be unique.

Like this lifestyle maternity session:
http://www.amberkatrina.com/blog/?p=888

I’m not a professional, but I’m a mom learning how to take better shots. I am not a fan of the silly fads in photography. I’ve never paid a photographer for professional shots of my children or my family. I’m so afraid of spending a ton of money and ending up with silly photos that don’t truly represent my family. Now that I’m learning about photography, I can appreciate trying new things; props, fads, etc. I think they can be a fun addition to good photography. Keep the classic, tried and true photos and sprinkle in the fads for fun. Also, you’ll never learn what your own personal style is unless you try new things. You must always keep learning and growing.

I think the biggest concern that the seasoned photographers have with “fads” in maternity/engagement/senior/neonatal shots is that it may be “cute” now and creative, but will they still be appreciated 5, 10, 15 years down the road when they look back on those photos. Will the client look back at the photo as a classic capture of who they were at the time, or will they look back and laugh at the goofy pic they had done and roll their eyes?
Amber Katrina has the right idea with the maternity shots she has. Fads like ‘baby in a teacup or cereal bowl’ come and go, but people still just want to see themselves and remember the joy. We all remember how Ann Geddes’ style changed things for baby photos, but her calendars go for $1.99 at Walmart now. Her style is almost kitschy.
The main concern I think when you read between the lines of this post is will the work have longevity.

Erin,
Great point – the junk… Photos in front of grungy old building with broken windows and peeling paint. I am guilty of that occasionally. But my husband always is like, why on earth would you take a kid’s picture in front of an abandoned building? LOL

I love how some here love a certain fad while others cannot stand it – it shows how we are all different too – so many tastes and likes.

One fad that really gets on my nerves is putting babies in a vintage suitcase–those always look like coffins to me, and I can’t stand to look at them.

Just wanted to add that I’m not a fan of selective coloring at all…. but if a client ask for it, I’ll do it (only if it fits the picture)… but they’re paying me for it, so why not? I don’t put selective coloring on my website or blog because its not something I want to push, but I always get asked to do it with the pregnancy block shots almost every time.

That was freakin’ hillarious! Seriously, it doesn’t get any better than this! (I’ll leave you a tweet, too) That needs to be published!!!

P.S. What about the fake bubble bath? LOL

haha some of those are getting a little cheesy… Some I like and still want to try. Like the baby with the head on its hands in a hat I have yet to convince a newborn to try that pose! I would like to see a post on editing fads I think there is nothing that ruins a picture like glowing alien eyes or over edited skin:( Thnx I love your blog and have learned alot from you:)

I really enjoyed that post, it was a lot of fun! Also interesting for me because I am not a professional, but as someone else mentioned, am a mommy trying to learn to take amazing photos. I haven’t tried props yet but that would be fun. I too, would love to see a post on editing fads. That would be really cool to look at!

Speaking of trends/fads, let’s not forget the one making it the rounds of the engagement pose where the girl is hugging the thigh of her fiance, like she’s about to “service” him. First time I saw that, I thought, “Whoa! That’s suggestive!”
Not what I generally visualize with an engagement shoot.

This was such an enjoyable post! Some of these I feel will stick around, like babies in knitted hats, that is ultimate cuteness! However, I never could stand portraits on railroad tracks – I’ve seen thousands of those. The heart shaped hands on the pregnant belly (or anything heart shaped, but especially the hands) is by far the most overused. I’ve never heard of barn door rugs, but don’t care about them either. I’d rather not use props, I go for the natural moment and a real environment. Thanks, Jodi, you rock!

Fun post! Thanks! A fad I hope goes away soon is that photoshop action that makes everything creamy, even the sky. It’s the ugliest thing I’ve seen since selective color.

I do the rings-on-baby picture a lot. I think it’s cool because it shows scale of the baby’s tiny parts relative to something that won’t change in size over time, and is meaningful to the creation of the baby in the first place.

I don’t often do the hands-on-belly shots, but one that I loved that was real — spontaneously during a lifestyle maternity shoot the 2-year-old started to rub lotion all over mom’s pregnant belly, and mom’s hands joined her daughter’s. It was a beautiful shot! Still, I’m glad it was natural and not a suggested pose.

Thanks again for the great post! Bookmarking you!

Ha – how fun! I still haven’t tried a lot of these

One you forgot Jodi is the holding a picture frame up around your face with optional B&W on background outside the frame or vice versa lol.

I’ve done some, love some and not a fan of others LOL! Great view of it all though:)

It is nearly impossible to be original these days. Odds are if you thought of it I bet you can find it on the net. I think if you take your idea “trend or fad” and incorporate your clients personality then you will have a photo that someone will love forever and isn’t that really the whole point

oh great! Does this mean I need to return the whitewash wood plank floor mats I just received from Amazon today?!?!? LOL

Great post!

They may be fads or trends, but I still think they are adorable!! When I think of fads, I think of one of the girls that sang in my wedding (let’s just say it was in the 80′s). I still laugh whenever I look at her pix with her lace gloves with the fingers cut out! Now that’s a fad and I don’t think it would make any difference how the photographer would or could have shot it, but it still brings a smile to my face! Ultimately that’s what’s important, right?! By the way, please tell me some of these photos are still in style, cause I’m still doing some of them! lol

what a great post! i’ve done a few of these and hate a few of them. i just saw sandy puc’ speak and she said something that has stuck with me: at every shoot, she tries to do one thing different from any other shoot (and she shoots 6-8 sessions a day). i think that’s a great recipe for staying fresh.

apparently, i love trends and fads! i look at all of these fantastic photos as more like “must have” shots. i don’t know if i’d consider the fake flooring a trend or fad…it’s really just another version of a backdrop.

I wouldn’t really consider the “child in focus and the parents out” a fad… Mainly because it is something you can do in camera. Of course, I do love selective focus shots!

I have personally only taken two of these fad photos… The chair, and the one I mentioned above.

What a great article!! I think I better start getting more creative with my props now. LOL

This is a great post! My partner and I were discussing this the other day, and remembering the emergence of Anne Geddes, who pioneered a lot of these kinds of shots.

Also, your last example image reminded me of a hilarious photo that my friend Matt shot during a maternity session:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/killerotter/2772371409/

Perfect, huh?

Jodi – I will drop him a line and see what he says!

[...] TIME to create what you think is perfect for you. So many times photographers start out just doing what everyone else is doing and don’t actually think about what really clicks within them. We all had to start somewhere [...]

I hate the baby hanging one. It just makes me scared the baby is gonna fall! Also the crazy baby poses with the baby holding up their own weight on their hands. It’s not natural! I dont mind the one shown above b/c the baby is not holding up their own head, just resting it on their arms. And the railroad tracks, it’s ILLEGAL! Now if you can find some in a park that is not in use, that’s different. But you shouldn’t use real railroad tracks. I do like some of the things, like babies/children in buckets/bowls. Especially with toddlers, it helps keep them in one place. And I like the flower hats, knit hats, and headbands. But I think we as photographers should be balanced and do some of the trendy shots our clients want but also make sure we do some classic shots as well.

I can’t wait for the editing post! I hate the current Lillyblue trend where everything is hazy and skin looks yellow.

I have to say without lying, so many of these I love! I just am not so sure about the teacup babies. Poor things look so uncomfortable. I like the parents out of focus ones, and the children in realllly trendy clothes. LOOOOVEE fake flooring and plan to definitely invest in many variations when I get the chance. As cliche as the blocks are…I can’t help but like them…actually looking at them now inspires a different angle that I may want to attempt. The lollipop…I keep on getting tempted for a big sucker for that sole purpose but can’t bring myself to bring that sticky thing in my home. I take pictures for myself and not professionally. I just look the idea of recreating and building on looks I love with my own friends and family featured instead in them. I actually have a pale green wash bin that I bought for the sole purpose of photos. Lol. I love the railroad tracks and the old fashioned buggy also. I guess I’m just as cheesy and kitschy as the next, besides in infant torture that is baby photography. Lol. Wait, take that back…I definitely do love the baby in the drawer? Is that awful? Lol.

I know I’m super late commenting on this post, but I just found it. I actually like many of these, but I want to scream when I see people posting selective coloring….and the inevitable fb comments that say “oh wow that is so cool how did your photographer do that??” Grrrrr!

I love the juxtaposition of the furniture in a field, and sometimes it just helps to have somewhere for people to sit or stand or lean. Furniture also helps to vary the height of a family and make the composition more interesting. I also shoot the family feet and the rings on baby’s toes, because both of those things show the child’s size in relation to something that will remain the same as the child grows. My thought with the feet is to shoot that when the baby is a newborn, and then shoot the same thing through the years.

Great advice from the Sandy Puc’ workshop attendee–do something new each time! But I think it’s also great to have a “signature” shot.

I think the important thing about photos regaurdless of props, is that we keep them timeless. Timeless in the sense that the focus is on, the lighting is good, and the picture itself is good.

good article. I personally am over the newborn with a hat on and hanging from a tree. I just think everyones stuff starts to look alike and while you can take inspiration they should also try to think outside the box. I like it when I see someones work and can immediately identify whos it is. I think some of the “fads” is because of so many people starting up as photographers and do not understand composition,light, their camera, but it does give people a starting point.

[...] Enjoyed this article about photography trends and fads from mcp actions. Got some good [...]

[...] what if the senior you are photographing wants to do an unflattering pose?  What if a mom brought a prop you do not feel fits your vision?  What if your customer wants a photo edited a certain way that you feel is not the best choice, [...]

Fads or not fads, I think the newborn ones are all done beautifully and will always be looked back on as beautiful. Just calling them fads make them sound awful but really everything we do revolves around changes… cars, clothes, home interior and.. photography. Fads are whats in, whats modern, what everyone wants! and are not a bad thing… well unless we are talking about the 80s. lol Great post though!

I just love playing around with different props and backgrounds to start to get a feel for what IS my style. I think you are exactly right about what makes a fad and what makes a trend. I think that some of the poses and props you have shown are fads, but the whole shift away from the “sears portrait studio” look is a trend. And as some others have said, if you are doing photography for clients, you have to go with what sells and what makes them happy (within reason of course, if the boudoir pictures aren’t in line with your morals, then by all means forgo them) but just because YOU don’t like selective color or whatever, if that’s what they want, you have an obligation to your clients. I run into the same thing as a caterer. People will say “Oh, and could you do some of those barbq meatballs, those would be perfect” and I’m thinking “Noooo, they are so yesterday! Let me do some goat cheese and sundried tomato crostini with a chiffonade of basil…” But, alas, I do the meatballs because that’s what they want.
On another note, I think high fashion photography has influenced some of these poses and props and I also think that the timeless National Geographic and Time photos have as well. Who hasn’t seen the stunning pictures of the unsmiling children in Romania wearing the vintage clothes playing in front of rubble in their village? With the bright colors or the striking black and white? (Or something along those lines?) Then, photographers try to capture that striking image in a false environment. That’s my 2 cents worth anyway.
One thing I didn’t see mentioned was sunflares and overexposed skies. Personally, I LOVE them, my photos like that are among my very favorites, but when I posted some the other day, I had one person comment that those images would be perfect if it weren’t for the white sky, I needed blue sky and clouds. And another told me that I was going to ruin my lens shooting into the sun and I should just photoshop them instead.I was very hurt by these comments at first but I love them and my model loved them and everyone who sees them loves them (except for a couple of “professionals”) so I have decided that is what matters!

Have to add my two cents worth. Yep we cringe at fads and trends, but when a parent looks back on their newborn they aren’t looking at how the photo was captured or how it was posed, they are looking back on a memory. Really, newborns all start to look the same to a photographer just as much as a pose,prop or “fad” does.In years to come though, a mum and dad will look back on their baby as it was then, tiny and precious. The rings on the toes is just an indication of the size of those tiny little toes and is popular here. Okay a fad comes and goes for us as photographers because it becomes stale, but to that mum or dad their newborn doesn’t get stale, they just grow up with a lasting memory. To us however that image we have forgotten about we might cringe over, but to them it becomes their ever lasting treasure.