If you have just found out that you’re expecting a baby, or if you are willing to treat a loved one with a newborn photography session gift, this blog post is for you. I’m going to be giving you the heads up on what you should be considering when you're shopping around for the perfect newborn photographer for these precious babies.
Every day, I receive several newborn photography enquiries, and too often, they pretty much consist of only one question: “How much will the photos cost?”. This typically happens because people don’t know what else to ask. Of course, you should consider your budget for photography, but you shouldn't make your decision based on price alone.
When it comes to giving your most precious new-to-the-world baby to a stranger, you should definitely inquire on other topics, such as the photographer’s level of experience, their training in safety, style and consistency, reputation, and so on.
In this post, I will list the keys considerations to help you finding the perfect photographer for your family.
The following topics will be discussed:
Safety during the newborn photo sessions.
Style, duration and consistency.
Sales and pricing.
Digital files and printed products.
Service and turnaround times.
Is the photographer insured?
Safety during the newborn photo session
The very first thing to consider when you are coming to choose a newborn photographer is, of course, if they are fit to keep your little one safe. To this day, the newborn photography industry here in the UK is currently unregulated. That means that there is no specific qualification that a newborn photographer must obtain before they can start offering the service.
So, in theory, even a novice photographer, with zero experience of handling babies, could potentially setup shop and market themselves as a newborn photographer! This is very worrying but, unfortunately, happens a lot and very unfortunately babies put in the hands of inexperienced and untrained photographers are too often put at risk.
A good newborn photographer will typically have quite a few training sessions under their belt and a very strong portfolio to show off their artwork. They will be familiar with safe posing and work with a professional editing program. They possibly also use an assistant to keep an eye and hand on your baby at all times. Of course, these trainings and programs have a cost that will reflect on their prices. If a photographer offers their service at a very low price, the chances are that they are not trained, nor are they using professional equipment to create your images.
To avoid putting your baby in the wrong hands, it is worth spending the time exploring the market to find a photographer who can demonstrate a track record of satisfied customers and high standards of professionalism.
Review their website and social media presence
Look for comments and feedback from recent customers and see how they interact online.
Do they seem positive, passionate about what they do, and good with people?
Can they demonstrate how they create baby photography poses safely?
Contact them directly and ask questions.
Example of composite images and safe posing:
Style, duration and consistency
While it might seem obvious that you should like the style of your chosen photographer, you might overlook two other important criteria: the length of the session and the consistency of the photographer's work.
Some photographers spend as little as an hour on a session, while others are willing to take as long as is needed to create a beautiful set of newborn photos. How long a session takes tends to be related to the variety of poses.
Our newborn sessions last approximately 3-4 hours and result in about 20-30 unique photos that are shown to the family a week later, at their viewing appointment.
Some of the images from baby Erin's session
The other aspect that you want to examine is how consistent the photographer's work is. An experienced photographer will be able to maintain standard in its posing and images style, and while this sometimes does depend on how cooperative the newborn or siblings are, if the portfolio of the photographer shows similar images, the odds of them being able to get the same kind of images for your family keepsake are far greater.
Display of similar posing with older and younger babies and children.
Sales and pricing
Once you have found a photographer's work you are in love with, and that you are reassured that they are trained a professional, it is time to require more information on their prices.
I would recommend arranging a meeting with your photographer to have an informal chat. During this meeting, you might ask various sales related questions like:
Where will the photoshoot take place (ask to see the studio if they have one)?
Can you bring siblings and other family members for the session?
What are the studio policies for you making prints out of digital files?
What is the digital file resolution and will there be a watermark on images?
When you will see the photos and where?
How does the sales process work?
What does the packages include?
Digital files and printed products
Let's face it, everyone wants the digital files! And while I want you to have them to share to you hearts content on social media, I also want to make sure that you have a visually beautiful, touchable record of the session to take home too.
A very important note about digital files: how we will be able to look at these in 10 years time. You may want to think about how you will present these images 10, 20 or even 30 years down the line. Will you give your children a USB stick as an heirloom? Or a broken link to a long gone social media platform? (Remember those VHS tapes filled with family movies collecting dust on your shelf? )
Taking that in consideration, you might want to seek professional displays of your images. A reputable photographer should be able to source for you, high quality products that will last for decades without changing. They are also likely to be able to present you with samples to help you decide what range of product has your preference.
While having the digital files might allow you to enlarge them at a low cost, the truth is that, with certainty, the colours will fade and the fabrication will be poor, affecting their longevity. I do believe that your images deserve the best quality display available on the market, so if you would like to pass these as a legacy to your children, you will want to inquire if the photographer is able to provide you with such a service.
Our round Acrylic on display:
Service and turnaround times
The service provided and turnaround times vary greatly between photographers. Some photographers will see you only one time on the day of your session, others will spend time in consultation talking with you, defining preferences prior to your session. Some will provide you with an online gallery or "all photos on usb" while some will invite you back in their studio to reveal your images. As for turn around time, it can be anything between a week and several months, so it's always worth asking beforehand to avoid unnecessary frustration.
Is the photographer insured?
It is always a good idea to check whether your newborn photographer is fully insured. While you hopefully will never need to make a claim, being insured is also a sign that a photographer is legitimate and has a professional mindset.
I hope that these six important consideration will help you hire a photographer who will deliver the quality of experience that you desire and that your new baby deserves, and photos that you will treasure for a lifetime.
Should you wish to choose Rockabye Baby Photography, you can contact me on 07434430780, email me at catherine@rockabyebabyphotography.co.uk or complete the form on my contact page: https://www.rockabyebabyphotography.co.uk/contact
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