Newborn photoshoots are often reserved for humans, but photographer Cashlie White shows that baby animals rival them in cuteness. She recently shared a series featuring an adorable piglet named Dynamite who is outfitted with all the things you'd typically see in newborn portraits—soft blankets, stuffed animals, and tiny headbands. The only difference? Dynamite has a shiny pink snout. Coupled with her sleepy smile, you can’t help but say “aww” to each of these sweet photos.
White had the inspiration for the unique photoshoot after first laying eyes on the piglet. “My friend Connie Hamilton with Hamilton Show Pigs in Washington, Oklahoma, posted a photo of Dynamite on social media,” she tells My Modern Met. “When I saw the photo, I texted Connie and asked if she'd be interested in me coming out to do a shoot like this. I'd seen ‘newborn photos’ of puppies before, but never anything with a farm animal and never a pig. It just came to me!”
Having been around agriculture her whole life, the photoshoot proved a fun way for White to combine her love of the field as well as her skills as a photographer. And it turns out, snapping portraits of Dynamite was, in some ways, easier than photographing a newborn human—although she did have to consider the pig’s snout when creating her compositions.
“After she got a bath, I used all my newborn ‘tricks’ to shoosh and rock Dynamite to sleep,” White says of the shoot. “I had a small space heater, like with any newborn shoot, close by and that kept her warm and comfortable. She literally fell asleep in my arms and really sacked out at one point. She was the most comfortable when swaddled. We kept the room warm and quiet and she was in hog heaven.”
This animal photoshoot is just the start for White. “I already have plans for some baby chicks and other farm animals this spring,” she shares. “You never know where this will lead and I'm open to whatever God has in store.”
Photographer Cashlie White had an adorable newborn photoshoot for a piglet named Dynamite.
The portraits are in the style of newborn human photos, and they're complete with soft blankets, stuffed animals, and headbands.
Dynamite, the runt of the litter, was two weeks old when the photos were taken.
