I just had a sub-baby-photo-session at the local swimming pool.
Charlotte, the swimming teacher, lies on her knees at the edge of the baby pool, and with a professional push she sends the water-baby over in my direction. I have either the mother or the father of the child standing in the pool just next to me – ready to catch (save) the junior-swimmer..
It is funny to see the babies, some of them only a few months old, really enjoying the dive with their eyes wide open – for the most part – and some even with their mouth open.
Before the “torpedo”, the parents are first briefed to “have ice in their stomach” – in order to not just lean in and grab the child out of the water as soon as Charlotte let go of the baby ..Sometimes the mother ( more often than the father) is a little too fast, which results in hands and arms all across the picture..Once in a while, though, I`m the one to reach out and push the baby upwards,.when I think the catching parent has a little too much ice in his or her stomach.
On the photographic site, the challenge is to get a couple of sharp shots of the moving baby, during the few seconds the dip lasts. At the most you get two tries with this action..Just to safe-guard the shoot, we also take a photo with the parents…That is, those who are not afraid to get their heads under the surface.
It is a very positive experience to take these pictures. Some of the kids enjoy the session so much, that they just want to continue diving and shooting. Of course it also helps a bit, that the water is 33 degrees (C). I already look forward to the next sub-baby-photo-session.