If you’re expecting or adopting a newborn this year and you’re looking into your options for newborn photography, you’ll find an overwhelming number of options out there. We all know you get what you pay for, but having an idea of what your desired end product looks like is key to choosing the right photographer for your family.
Ask yourself these 5 questions to narrow down your options:
Do I prefer natural lifestyle photography or posed studio portraits? One takes place in your own home with natural lighting including the whole family and is more of a documentary approach to preserving the first days of life with your newborn, while the other takes place in a studio setting with big lights props for an idealized set of images.
Do I prefer a moody look, a bright and airy look, a vintage artistic look, or maybe a bold colorful look? There are so many editing styles out there. If you have a pinterest board, revisit your pins and make note of what you’re drawn to. Then look for local photographers who consistently put out work that you like in that style.
Does the style I like on Pinterest translate into print? Would those images look good framed on my walls? It might seem like a difficult question, but it’s pretty simple. What color are your walls and the things already on them? If you have white walls do you also want white frames with bright and airy photos? Or would you prefer wood frames with a white matte and moody black and whites? Just think about the end product.
Do I want prints to frame or do I want a hard-cover Print Album? If you want a Print Album, does your photographer offer this as one of their services? If you’re a busy mom, you might not have time to put together a nicely designed premium album and having a photographer that knows how to put images together in a way that tells a story is a huge benefit. Are you hoping to get a huge print or a canvas print? Make sure to find out if your photographer shoots in a large enough format to accommodate your end goals. Not all photographers can!
Do I want to document my baby’s First Year in addition to Newborn Photos? Many Newborn Photographers offer multi-session discounts for booking multiple sessions at once to document your baby’s first year of life and will also deliver great print products to go with it! Make sure to ask about their options.
Book your Top Choice for a Photographer ASAP
If you answer those five questions you’re going to be a lot closer to making a decision and the earlier you book a newborn photographer, the better. They’ll have to reserve not just your due date but be sure not to be out of town or otherwise engaged for the weeks surrounding your due date. Giving them advance notice will help them to be prepared and you’re more likely to get your top choice. If your photographer is really good, they’re more likely to be booked up!
Considering Add-Ons
One other thing to consider is that some photographers offer Birth Announcement films in addition to your photos. Photos of your newborn baby are a must and they will likely be shared on social media, printed and framed and put up on your walls for your baby’s first year. Then you might replace those prints with their one year old pictures and then those newborn prints will go into an album or storage where they will increase in value. You’ll go back and gush over them as your little one grows and you start missing that tiny little baby you brought home from the hospital or birth center. Preserving seasons of change and growth are so important. They tell your family’s history and preserve memories.
When you have a film made, it will have the sound of your newborn baby’s cries and the motion of your lives as you learn to adjust to their presence. Things like their shaky little arms and legs jerking around like newborns do, or the rocking chair and the sounds they make as you nurse them, and the cycle you go through every 2-3 hours of feeding, diapering, and sleeping.
Being able to capture sound and motion in the form of video has been in the hands of the average family for decades but we’re just now starting to utilize it in an everyday capacity. Motion and sound can be powerful tools to keep memories alive and having a film made is the natural next step in preserving our family’s stories.
Having a Birth Announcement film that you can share with your loved ones far away is invaluable. More likely than not, you have someone who lives in another state or country that, for one reason or another, can’t be there to meet your newest addition. Having the ability to share a film, even more than photos, can make them feel like they’re right there with you and that is priceless.
If you’d like to learn more about what kinds of films we offer, check out our FILMS page!
Here's an example of a First Year film by Rocco Photography.