Jul 27, 2022

Liberty Infant Photos | Investment

Liberty Infant Photos | Investment
I’m going to say something that you are going to want to disagree with.  And that’s fine.  You can disagree with me, but I’m actually not wrong.  I know, I sound like a know it all, but you are on a newborn photographer’s blog here and I am a newborn photographer.  It would kind of be weird if I didn’t know more about this than you. So I am going to pull rank on this one.
Unpopular opinion: Your baby’s newborn photos are just as important as your wedding photos.
Weddings only seem more important than newborn sessions.  And they seem that way because you have been trained by social media to believe it.  And you have been trained to understand that if you want a beautiful wedding you are going to have to invest your money in the things to make it beautiful.  And if you spend all that money on this huge beautiful wedding it would be kind of insane not to document that day by booking a talented and experienced wedding photographer who is going to capture each detail and turn those moments into memories and those memories into artwork.  Do you at least agree with that? I think that’s pretty fair.
The problem is, you have also have been trained to believe that you can find a newborn photographer who “doesn’t charge an arm and a leg” (by the way, I don’t accept body parts as payment) simply by posting in a community group for who ever is the cheapest because anyone can take newborn photos.  Listen up, this is crazy.  It actually doesn’t make sense at all.  This IS YOUR NEW BABY.  You are just going to let anyone old person handle them because they only charge $100.
THERE IS A REASON THEY ONLY CHARGE $100.
THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING!!!
I know, I’m yelling.  I shouldn’t be yelling.  We only just met, but you guys made me this way.  A woman can only take so much nonsense before she goes insane.
You spent thousands on a wedding photographer to follow adults around for a day and give them instruction and document what was happening.
Adults who can take instruction.  Adults who listen and respond.  Adults who don’t cry, have gassy tummies or poop their pants and need a clean up mid pose.  Adults who independently make decisions to move and dance and naturally create candid moments to be captured.
Am I saying a wedding photographer has an easy job? No way.  Absolutely not. I can’t do that job.  I am hugely unqualified.  And listen, if you are offended by my over simplification of the job description then you are probably an overly sensitive wedding photographer.  So, no I’m not saying that.  But what I am saying is that a newborn photographer works just as hard.  BUT in a different way. And we deserve the same respect and compensation for the job we do.
We work with a subject who can’t speak and can only communicate by crying or other cues that you have to be well trained to pick up on.  Our subjects need to be fed, changed, cleaned.  Our subjects cannot have eyes taken off them for a second, their safety always the top concern.  Our subjects require lighting, props, tiny clothes, hats and headbands and a room that is kept at the perfect temperature.  Our subjects require a photographer that knows how to safely and properly move them into the perfect pose without waking them or making them the least bit uncomfortable.  Your newborn photographer can often spend upwards of  3-4 hours painstakingly photographing and caring for your baby. And we don’t even need to get into the details of wrangling your older children for sibling photos or the hours spent editing out newborn acne and jaundice.
You guys, documenting your wedding is no more important than documenting the first days of a new human life.  It just isn’t. Do not trust this job to someone you haven’t vetted, met, or talked with in a phone consultation and thoroughly viewed their portfolio for skill and consistency. I mean, do they have a website? Because if they don’t, c’mon.  What are you doing?!
Basically it comes down to this, the take away is, photographs of your drunk relatives dancing to old Lionel Richie songs are not more valuable than  photos of your new baby.
I’m not wrong. You can’t change my mind.
I will die on this cross. Fight me.
To view more of our current newborn work click here.
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