For the majority of baby photography a tripod is essential. Using a tripod and cable release will be free to concentrate on maintaining a relationship with parents and child. This is especially true when photographing young babies with their parents, you can free yourself from throwing a ball to the mother or some other antics to raise a smile.
The tripod and cable release will allow you to detach the device. This will enable you to support the report that you have already established with the assistants and to continue talking with them in a relaxed and informal way. It will also give you more opportunities to monitor the baby in advance when to press the shutter.
It is difficult (but still possible!) To do all these things if you're squatting on the ground, camera in hand and one eye pressed against the viewfinder and the other closed. I just said that a tripod is essential, and I think it is. However ... there are moments in photography baby when it is necessary to move the camera quickly to get a shot if you miss the camera was fixed to the tripod!
I will clarify this for you. My own thought and practice is that, with older infants (6-7 months) that can hold their head up and be "tweaked" on the back of a sofa looking towards you or placed in a fixed point that is a plush, then a tripod is essential.
When the baby is able to crawl off and the tripod may not be appropriate, but that said, I want to inform you that it is difficult or impossible for the baby to crawl away from your chosen location.
However, with the newborn, you will need a different approach. For example you can shoot them in the arms of their mothers, or in the hands of their parents. You can even stand over them as they lie on the floor, shooting straight down on top of them. In these cases, I do not use a tripod.
