Precious Baby Photography
When Angela Forker started taking photos of babies, she tried to fit a "newborn photographer mold": neutral colors; minimal props; traditional poses. It was fun, but the New Haven, Indiana, photographer said it just wasn't her. Then came the scenes that have made her both a viral phenomenon and a highly sought-after photographer in the Midwest: bright, colorful, whimsical fabric "paintings," with babies right smack-dab in the middle of them.
The newborn, infant, and baby months go by so so fast, and honestly, there's nothing like them after that. In a blink of an eye, our babies are not tiny, squishy little beings anymore. They're standing, sitting, crawling, walking, running kids, usually headed away from us. Of course, this is why every parent with kids older than yours says those words: Enjoy it while it lasts. They know how fast it goes.
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This is why photographer Angela Forker's artistic creations are so precious to parents. They capture forever some of the magic of those short months (full of long days). She imagines and creates an irreplaceable keepsake of one of the shortest, best times in our lives as parents.
Read on to see how this photographer sends these babies on epic adventures in seriously creative photos. You're going to want one on your holiday card, gracing your walls, and in that special spot over the fireplace mantel, we promise.
Pint-Sized Picasso
"I started following my crazy imaginings," Forker tells CafeMom. Inspired in part by Adele Enersen, an illustrator whose photos of her baby posed on fun floor scenes became inspiration for a number of children's books, Forker began using fabrics and props to make her own scenes for photos of her grandkids.
Vroom Vroom
Forker calls these her "Baby ImaginArt" series. She places real-life babies on backdrops that she creates by hand to make it appear as though the little ones are feeding dinosaurs, spinning on carousels, or riding a whale's water spout. Then she starts clicking away with her camera.
Riding With Rudolph
"I had been asked why I wasn't doing the floor scenes I had done with my grandson with my clients," Forker says. At first she was resistant. The scenes take up large expanses of her studio, and each takes anywhere from four to eight hours to set up. "Still, something inside me said I should try it," she says.
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Santa Baby
She tried her first scene with a client a year and a half ago as an experiment, and not only did the clients like it, but Forker did too. "Not only did I love the final effect, but there was something very gratifying to me as I 'painted' that scene with fabric. I wanted to do this again — and again — and again! This creativity that was bottled up inside of me was finally being set free!"
Special Delivery
Parents began seeking her out because of that creativity. "Very often, I come up with a scene for the parents, but my favorite is when I can incorporate their interests or occupations into a scene." The stork with the "special delivery" tag scene here, for example, was created for a midwife.
Thing One & Thing Two
Meanwhile, the mom of the twins seen here told Forker she'd purchased "Thing One" and "Thing Two" outfits, and she asked the photographer to incorporate them into the shoot. She left it to Forker to come up with the Dr. Seuss–themed scene.
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Whale of a Time
Forker says her "true artist" comes out when she's creating a BabyImagin Art scene. "If I were to describe myself, I would use these words: fun, creative, unique, crazy, colorful, happy, and loving," she says. "Those words completely describe my photography. I have finally found my style!"
Unicorn Adventures
The process for creating a scene, like this unicorn dream, takes days. "I first start imagining what kind of scene I want days before the session," Forker says. "What do I want the baby to be doing?"
Rock On Baby
She turns to photos, cartoons, and other takes on the topic before turning to the types of fabric. "I usually set up my scene the night before, because when I sleep on it, some of my craziest ideas and fun little details come into my head," she explains.
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Up, Up, and Away
"When parents come into my home studio, I very often bring them right to the Baby ImaginArt scene that I have spent hours creating for them," Forker says. "They ooh and aah over the setup and imagine what it will look like with their baby in it."
Little Bo Peep
Everything begins to come to life once the baby is actually placed in the scene. That's when Forker climbs up on her photographer's ladder and begins to click away with her camera.
Mini Mountain Man
The father of this little guy is into rock climbing, so Forker wanted to send baby on an adventure. She threw in this fun fact — pictured is real edelweiss that she bought while living in Germany!
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Flower Child
The mom of this little one is an entomologist. Dad is a biologist. This was a setup that Forker created to fit both sides of the family.
Watch Out, Peter!
Don't worry. No Peter Pans were harmed by cranky crocodiles during the shooting of this cute scene.
Future Hall of Famer
This little one has a professional hockey player dad. Forker made a rink that was just right for a shoot.
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Wheeeeeeee
Forker loves all of the babies who show up in her studio, but she admits she's partial to two. Her grandson and granddaughter play a role in a number of her images.
Aliens Attack
Although she's known for her work with babies, Forker still loves doing shoots with her grandson, who got her into this type of work to begin with. "I tried everything with that adorable little guy and discovered I had a gift," she says.
Gone Fishing
Her latest setup with her 5-year-old grandson and his baby sister: a series of floor setups featuring a baby T-Rex. "People have been going crazy over these photos," Forker says. "It is my hope to one day have these photos and story published as a children's book!"
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And Away They Go
"Whether I'm doing these photos with a newborn baby or with my grandchildren, I'm loving every minute of it," Forker says. "I think my favorite part about it is expressed by my slogan: 'ANYthing is possible!' It's so much fun making the impossible possible for all of these parents who bring their babies to visit me."
Check out more of Forker's photos on her Facebook page.
