Swimming Babies! Amazing Pix of Aquatic Tots Make Major Waves

These water babies with wings give new meaning to the maxim, "Why crawl when you can fly?" Photographer Lucy Ray, 33, of Starfish Underwater Photography, located in the London suburb of Greenwich, takes pictures of toddlers submerged in swimming pools — and the results are remarkable. How does she capture the cute kiddy kickers looking so calm, cool and collected? "Babies will automatically hold their breaths," Ray, who is also an infant swim instructor, tells Yahoo Shine. She explained that once the tots can hold their heads up on their own, they're ready for aquatic wings, waterproof diapers and swim lessons. Samantha Bense, a certified infant swim instructor in Palm Beach, Florida, agrees. "We start them at 6 months and as long as infants are able to sit up independently and hold themselves up, it's fine." For Ray, after an infant has completed at least one term of swimming classes and is at least 4 months old, he or she is ready to strike a pose in the pool. "I take the photos really quickly and they're under for very little time, but the photo freezes the moment," she says. While Speedos and classic swimwear are certainly cute, parents can opt to have their little ones in costume. Fairies, ballerinas, astronauts, Santas and superheroes (a perfectly positioned cape can make a baby appear to be flying underwater) are some of the looks that make a shoot go ... swimmingly! — Lauren Tuck, Shine Staff