Geelong lifestyle newborn photographer
Five reasons why you should never, ever invest in professional newborn photography!
Speaking from experience after having my own babies (and choosing not to invest in photography for ourselves) and hearing some common complaints and concerns about professional photography from clients, I decided to highlight some of the main reasons I think you should avoid hiring your own newborn photographer !
spoiler alert.... I may have ulterior motives with this post....
1. You feel like CRAP
This was hands down, what put me off the most. I wasn’t organised enough during pregnancy to line up a newborn session while I was still feeling human, and by the time my first daughter was born, I felt like actual death. Zombie-like from the sleep deprivation, in serious pain from breastfeeding issues and just post birth soreness. When I looked in the mirror, my first thought was definitely NOT “oh, how wonderful you look this morning Jess! Let's get a professional photographer come and take photos of us for an hour or two!”.... It was quite literally the last thing I wanted to do and so I didn’t do it… I told myself I would wait until I had caught up on some sleep, lost a bit of baby weight and felt sane again….. and then, 2.5 years later, time literally vanished, my babies were walking / talking and only then did I finally got around to organising our first ever professional photos. Seriously…one of my biggest regrets that I don’t have more photos of myself cuddling my babies when they were REALLY babies.
2. It’s bloody expensive
Beautiful professional photography is not cheap, it’s true…the costs of doing business for photographers can be quite high - but honestly, I can’t think of a more valuable, more treasured investment than family/newborn photos. You know the old question of “what would be the first thing you grab if your house is on fire?” – Well, what would it be for you ? The reality is, most of our earthly possessions are insurable, back-up-able and replaceable… time though? Time is something you just don’t get back… your memories of what it felt like when they wrapped their tiny fingers around your thumb or when you nursed them to sleep, they will fade and those images you invested in … they will be your most cherished possessions.
3. You feel ridiculously awkward in front of the camera
Join the club! Seriously, this has got to be one of the most common concerns clients have when booking a photo session !! And it’s also my absolute FAVOURITE thing about lifestyle photography. You guys don’t need to worry about posing for the camera AT ALL. I will do everything in my power to help you feel relaxed and try to get you completely focused on your beautiful baby, so ideally you’re not even thinking about me there taking photos. Ok, ok look, I’m probably going to ask you to get closer to one another than you’re used to and every now and then I might reposition you slightly to get your best angle or get you into the best light…but for the most part, I will just be trying to get you to relax into being your normal, natural selves and focus on each other – not me and my camera !
4. You’ve got a pretty sweet camera yourself and will just take your own *kick ass* photos inspired by your dreamy pinterest board...
Ahem…another one I may or may not be guilty of. The amount of people that say to me “ohh, you’re a photographer !? You must have SO MANY amazing photos of your kids”…. Well actually, no I don’t ! I mean, now they’re older and I have slightly more energy and my brain has begun to function again, I have taken lots of beautiful images of them… but as babies ? There was always something else I needed/wanted to be doing… sleeping / showering / eating / expressing milk / not going within a 50 metre radius of them while they were sleeping for fear of waking them and spending the rest of my life resettling them to sleep….. yknow, the usual! Of course I have a gazillion photos of them on my iphone, but the camera collected dust and as I mentioned earlier, my biggest regret is that I’m not actually IN the photos with them as babies!!
5. OK OK OK Jess!! You’ve made your point, sheesh, we get it! BUT, my baby is already two weeks old, she barely sleeps and can’t be put down for 2 seconds without losing her mind… so, I’ve left it too late then haven’t I?
No you absolutely have not!! The beauty of lifestyle newborn photography is that it’s extremely relaxed and we can just go with the flow. The session is not dependent on your baby sleeping through because we don’t need to try and position / pose them and so really, anytime up to 3 months is fine for a newborn session with me! If bubs is in that joyous “I scream every time I’m put down” phase we will get lots of cuddly photos with bub lying on your chest / snugging into you, if he/she loves having a bath – let’s bath them ! If they are mesmerised by your voice and you sing them to sleep or play music for them, let’s do that! None of these things are dependent on the age of your baby, them being extra sleepy or settled on their own, so please don’t let that put you off! We can also have as many breaks as you need for nappy changes/feeds/settling– so there is really no pressure!
So, see what I did there !? I turned the table on you guys !! I bet you didn't see it coming!? If you're still on the fence, and want to remain convinced that newborn photography is a terrible investment, then DEFINITELY DO NOT scroll through this recent lifestyle newborn session in Yarraville (because you may also remember Bree & Harv's from their maternity session and if you end up looking through both of their sessions I fear you will be overcome with a need to book in your own maternity/newborn shoots!!).
