“Do you photograph babies?”

My reply to the question posed in the title of this post is usually something along the lines of, “It depends.  What type of baby?”

Then the conversation tends to go one of three ways.

The first two answers are the obvious ones.  I either hear “a little boy” or, not surprisingly, “a little girl”.

The third answer is my favourite, and the one I seem to hear most often;  “It’s a baby [insert random non-human species here].”

It’s not that I have anything against kids, you understand, but if you want the absolute best photographs of your new children, go find somebody who’s good at photographing babies and LOVES doing it.

The images will be worth it!

When it comes to animals, however, it’s a whole different story.

I don’t care what species they are, what sex they are, what their attitude’s like or where they happen to reside on the food chain, I will happily photograph your baby animals.

Animal babies face a lot of the challenges that human babies do.

Many of them are unable to eat without a little assistance, such as these “adorably hideous” (thanks, Amanda!) one day old Northern Hawk Owls.

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They can be kinda clumsy, have trouble with their balance, and fall over a lot, as demonstrated by these European Eagle Owls.

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Even if they can at least sit straight, it can still take them a while to find their feet, like this three week old Northern Hawk Owl.

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And this three week old Lanner Falcon

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But once they do, they soon learn to make friends, like these three week old Serama Bantams.

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Although some can definitely stand out on their own with rather strong personalities!

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And, some may feel a little different and out of place.

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But they’re all special, they’re all beautiful, and they all deserve their moment in front of the camera.

And, let’s face it, who doesn’t love photographing a bunch of screaming chicks?

Of course, I’ll photograph animals when they’re all grown up, too!

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Pets and other animals usually aren’t with us for very long, and they’re certainly not babies for long, but photographs can last a lifetime and will continue to remind us of those that brought so much joy and happiness into our lives.