The wooden hammock is one of those props that tends to get requested in runs. It disappears for a while and then suddenly everyone wants it at once. I’m not complaining.
This session was a good one because a favourite bear came along to keep the baby company. I like the simplicity of it. The bear sits alongside the hammock rather than in it, which keeps the focus where it belongs, and the two textures together work really well against the dark backdrop.
It also gave me a chance to use the custom pillow I had made for the hammock after the first few sessions with it. When I work with a new prop there’s always a period of figuring out exactly how to get the best from it, and in this case a little extra support made a noticeable difference to how settled your baby can be in it. These things tend to reveal themselves in practice rather than in theory.
If you have a toy or a bear with a bit of meaning behind it, it’s always worth bringing it along. It adds something personal to the images that no studio prop can replicate.
