The list is daunting. You scroll and scroll and scroll hoping something, ANYTHING, will jump out at you. But, all you see is a long list of newborn photographers with impossibly cute photos.
Where do you even begin when choosing a newborn photographer?
There are many factors to consider when choosing a newborn photographer. Some of these things you can find on their website’s and others require a bit of digging. Let’s take a look at the top 5 things to consider when booking a newborn photographer.
- Safety: The safety of your baby should be their number one priority
- Recommendations: Either from a friend or posted reviews
- Style: Does the photographer match your preferred style?
- Communication: Does your photographer respond to your needs/questions/concerns in a reasonable time frame?
- Location: Where is your photographer located and do they travel?
#1: Safety Should be the Number One Priority
Newborn safety should be the number one priority when booking your newborn session. Most photographers agree and take the most care possible to ensure your baby is safe and secure.
In addition to paying attention to a baby’s physical safety, it is important that a photographer is patient, kind, and attentive to their needs as well. When a baby needs to eat, he needs to eat. When she needs some down time to snuggle with mom, then that is what she needs. A newborn photographer should take the time during these sessions for all these downtime moments as well.
Lastly, the safety aspect needs to continue through to safe environment. A newborn photography workspace should be cleaned and sanitized on a regular basis to keep babies and their families as healthy as possible.
#2: Listen to your friends and the social proof
Your friends are your friends for a reason. You trust their instincts, their advice and their recommendations. If your friends have good things to say about a photographer, chances are you are going to love them too.
I often mind myself chatting with clients only to find out they are in the same social circles as past clients. Over the years, I will routinely see a large number of employees from the same office or siblings from the same family. I absolutely love making these connections and bringing everything from my business full circle.
Even if your friends have given you some strong recommendations, you should still check out the public reviews posted online. These reviews can help give you great insight into the type of photographer you are hiring.
Don’t worry if you see a bad review or two – photographers are humans also and sometimes make mistakes. Just take in the effect as a whole and get a feel for the type of person you are hiring.
You can check out a bunch of reviews for Andrea Ryerson Photography on my facebook page or my google reviews. (And hey, if you are a past client who wants to leave a review for future clients, please do!)
#3: Style
If your preferred style is dark and moody and your photographer photographs very light and airy you might never feel settled with your photos.
It’s great that there are so many different photographer styles to choose from, but it can make the process a little more difficult if you aren’t exactly sure what you are looking for.
One trick to help you narrow things down is to think about the room you want to hang your photos in. If your living room is light filled with cool colors you might want to consider a photographer who is true to life with colors and shadows. If your room is cozy and warm with glowy sunset shades, you might want to consider a moodier photographer.
If that still doesn’t help narrow it down, take a look through the photographers facebook page, website, or instagram and see if the style they are posting matches the style you like. If so, you might have found a perfect match!
#4: Communication
This is a hard one because, admittedly, I am not always the best at communicating in a timely manner. However, I do truly care about my clients getting the best experience possible with their sessions and I am always doing my best to answer questions, follow up, and just send a quick email to say hi.
Even though I might get a little bit behind, I want to be sure your questions are answered thoroughly. The last thing I want is for you to be confused or overwhelmed.
Any photographer who you hire should be approachable and friendly. They should care that you understand the process and that you have your questions answered. They should share with you what to expect throughout the process as well.
#5: Location
Where is your photographer located? Are you willing to travel to them? Are they willing to travel to you? Do they have a studio?
Some photographers travel to clients homes for newborn photos while others have studio spaces. There are pros and cons to both types of sessions which we will talk about in another blog post. Are you willing to drive to your photographers location? Is it an area you feel comfortable going to?
Keeping these five ideas in mind will help you narrow down your choice for a newborn photographer.
With over 8 years of experience, photographing newborns has been such a big part of my life! I love to photograph these sweet little babies and I’d love to share more with you about why I love this and how I can create beautiful newborn memories for you.
If you’d like to learn more about booking a newborn session, I’d be happy to answer your questions! Let me know how I can help!
Be the first to comment