America's Next Top Model

Newborn photos are all the rage right now. At the recommendation of friends, the new mama and papa arranged for Amanda Treiger to showcase Baby Liam's star-potential. Yesterday morning was all about lights, camera, and as little action (great arcing streams of pee, fussiness, etc.) as possible. Fortunately, Liam is pretty calm, cool, and collected, even when naked and having his legs and arms tucked around him.

Our only instruction was to have the heat cranked up to 78 degrees so that the babe would stay warm. Once the photographer's lights, the fireplace, and central heating were on, it was like a sauna in the living room. The rest of us were sweating, but Liam was quite comfortable for his first nude photo shoot.

Amanda brings props but also uses whatever's available at the baby's home. Kate and Greg have a great black-and-off-white animal-stripey chair that worked as a very artsy-fartsy prop for GrandBoy. We also made use of the baskets, pillows, and backdrops that Amanda brought.

She knew just what to do and how to position the baby, mama, daddy, and GrandMary (yes, I got in on a couple of shots) for the greatest effect. Of course, Liam was the star, and it takes a lot of patience to wait for just the right mouth or hand position. I also liked that she made sure his little legs were crossed modestly over his private parts in every shot. Yes, his little behind shows, but that's the extent of the baby-cheesecake.

The whole thing took about three hours. We had to stop down for a feeding and, yes, had to clean up a couple of pee-accidents, but all in all, Liam took the whole thing very calmly. He slept through most of it.

We've seen a sampling of the pictures, and they are fantastic. Can't wait to see the rest of them. Thanks, Amanda, for a great experience and fabulous results!