Of all the photographic images I create, newborn photographs are I think the most important. There’s literally no way to get this moment back. When a baby is born, within days he or she begins to grow, to stretch out into their new environment, lengthening their limbs and settling in for the long road ahead. These moments, turn into hours, then days, and then, before you know it, the days turn into years. You wrap your newborn son in a blanket and then that blanket isn’t big enough to keep him warm anymore. You hold your newborn daughter in your arms, her head fits into the palm of your hand, and then, in the blink of an eye, your hand is holding hers as she takes her first step, as she goes off to school for the first time, as she walks down the aisle.
How will you remember the moments that started it all? With cell phone selfies lost in the last update? With blurry snapshots when you handed the phone off to a friend? Maybe you back up your images. And certainly those selfies and snapshots are part of the story. But wouldn’t it be awesome to be able to share an album of beautiful, professionally captured photographs with your son or daughter when they are older, or with their children – a keepsake that you can hold and share and won’t get lost when the cloud crashes?
What are some of the challenges to hiring a professional photographer to capture newborn photographs? Maybe there’s some fear. It’s certainly understandable that new parents might be nervous about getting their baby photographed, especially if they have to drive with the baby to a location that is far from home. This is one of the reasons I offer newborn photos in the home. I also have the experience and expertise to make newborns (and parents!) comfortable, knowing how to handle and swaddle babies, how best to get them to sleep and keep them asleep, and how to be patient!
Maybe parents don’t want elaborately posed newborn photos because they feel like these images don’t look real, or look overly-staged. While I have done this kind of photography in the past, I actually favor more natural newborn photographs. – and this is another great reason to do newborn sessions in the home. For families who don’t think their home makes a good setting, I can also make my home studio look more homey.
Maybe it’s the cost that is prohibitive. But if you think about the things that you value that you will spend good money on – maybe it’s self-care, maybe it’s boutique clothing, maybe it’s home decor or a nice car…think about the things that you prioritize putting your money towards and then imagine putting professional photography into that same category – investing in something that will last a lifetime, and beyond.
