Photographer shoots clichéd 'newborn baby' album – with a couple and their puppy

The couple were 'poking gentle fun' at baby photos on social media

The project has taken off on Facebook following the couple's photoshoot (Getty Images)

A couple decided to "poke some gentle fun" at all the baby photos splashed across social media by putting their new puppy in a pram instead.

Gazing adoringly at each other in perfect surroundings, the couple send up the rather saccharine pictures found on Instagram and elsewhere by having a scruffy brown dog in their arms where the baby should be.

The project, which has taken off on Facebook, was the brainchild of photographer Elisha Minnette as she and couple Matt and Abby drove home from picking up the puppy.

Abby & Matt would like to introduce their little baby Humphry.Aren't they a gorgeous little family??!! hehe

Posted by Elisha Minnette Photography on Wednesday, August 19, 2015

"Abby and I have the craziest sense of humour and we feed off of each other with ideas," Elisha told BuzzFeed. "We did this shoot just for a little bit of humour between ourselves, as well as for those that share the same sense of humour as us."

The photos have since received over 3,000 likes on Facebook and garnered the photographer followers from around the world.

Matt and Abby were not expecting the response to the photoshoot with Humphrey the dog. They initially thought it would be a good way to stop parents-in-law asking when they might have a baby.

Elisha told BuzzFeed: "We did not expect this to get as big as it has! Myself, Matt and Abby are overwhelmed with how far this post has reached."

Bemused Humphrey is now the proud owner of his own Instagram account, to keep his fans up-to-date.

Elsewhere on BuzzFeed from 2014, there is another, very similar photoshoot by a professional photographer in much the same vein - even some shots, such as the dog hanging in a baby sling and three feet poking out of of a bed, that look identical.

But these shoots are with an older dog that is a Jack Russell, rather than a fluffy puppy. It seems being cute matters as much for a dog as a baby.