This post is for potential clients, but more so for fellow photographers.

If you don’t know me, my name is Angela and I run Shot From the Heart Photography. My schedule is pretty awesome- I have many weekdays as well many weekends available for my photography sessions. However, every third day, I leave home for 24 hours and report to Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services where I am a Lieutenant and Paramedic. I’ve been in public safety over 18 years, and have learned a lot along the way. I do get the opportunity to photograph a LOT of firefighter’s babies, and wanted to take a minute to share some important information with you.

(This post and my photography business are in no way endorsed by Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services. This post, and the information herein, is all my own doing in an attempt to help educate fellow newborn photographers and keep babies as safe as possible).

So you have a firefighter who wants to incorporate pictures of his new baby with his turnout gear? That sounds awesome! But before you just ask the family to bring the gear to their session, there are a few things you need to know.

What’s in turnout gear?

Firefighters wear their turnout gear (or bunker gear) at a variety of places, from car accidents, to fires, and even some EMS calls, and their bunker gear is exposed to multiple substances that you do not want near a new baby. Glass shards, gasoline, diesel fuel, motor oil, transmission fluid, and more can all be found at car accidents. Blood, vomit, fecal matter, and other bodily fluids can contaminate turnout gear at accident scenes.

Fighting fires produces soot and ash. Once the fire is out, salvage and overhaul is the process firefighters go through to no only ensure that there are no hidden embers, but also to save as much of the homeowner’s property as possible. Fires produce toxic chemicals like phosgene, hydrogen cyanide, and carbon monoxide. All of these carcinogens can permeate gear and linger for a long time.

If you have a family who wants to include turnout gear with their session, notify them that their gear MUST be CLEAN. My department utilizes commercial extractors just for cleaning turnout gear. I require my firefighters to wash their gear a MINIMUM of 2 times before bringing it to my studio. This is non-negotiable.

Recommend Alternatives to Turnout Gear

Many vendors offer firefighter themed newborn outfits, props, and backdrops. This is the safest way to photograph newborns and infants while showing off that firefighter theme. Some vendors include Number 2 Willow Lane , Sew Whimsey, and Baby Dream Backdrops among others. Check with your favorite vendors to see if they have any firefighter-themed items you might be able to use.

Use a Barrier!

If parents want to use their gear, ALWAYS use a barrier (inside helmets too). In these images, babies are swaddled snugly then placed on top of a barrier device. At no point in time is baby ever in direct contact with turnout gear. Even after being washed a minimum of twice, there is no way to ensure that a small piece of broken glass isn’t embedded in the fabric of the gear somewhere. Do not ever risk putting delicate baby skin directly on bunker gear. Ever.

To set up these images, I place the bunker pants into my set first and separate the top of the boots as much as possible to create a space between the top of the left and right boot. I then take the turnout coat and fold the sleeves in, ensuring that if there’s a last name on a tail tag, it’s visible before draping it over the middle of the boots and pants. I pay special attention to removing the wrinkles and ensuring the name is legible. I want the back side of the setup (where baby’s lower body will go) to be lower than the front, so baby’s upper body is higher. I usually add the helmet last then take several images of just the setup before adding baby. Once baby is placed and settled, I ALWAYS have a spotter with hands on baby. This is edited out in post processing with the help of the images I took of just the gear.

Composite Images:

Composite images are several images merged together to create the final image. These are NOT shot as they appear.

For this, a tall, heavy item is placed in dad’s pocket with the wrap present. (Think bowling pin or similar. The weight will give pull to the pocket, the height give’s dad’s hand something to rest against.) Photograph dad where his hand would be for baby. Then, photograph baby in a prop wrapped up with the same wrap. For this, baby can be in a bucket with one arm resting on the lip/edge, and one arm down like seen here. Having dad place his hand on baby’s head will help with the composite (shadow placement, etc on dad’s hand). Merge the two images together. Photographing intentionally makes this composite much easier to complete.

Keep Baby Safe

Above all, it’s your job as a professional photographer to keep baby safe. Recommending alternatives to turnout gear, ensuring gear is cleaned, using barrier devices, and knowing how to perform composite images are all key to serving your smallest clients. You don’t have to be a firefighter to recommend best practices to your client and prepare them for their session.